Guerilla TV

Everybody is so enamored with YouTube, but did you know that people have been doing indie videos since the 60s. YouTube just made it easy for almost anybody to get exposure.

Back in the 60s and 70s, there were video collectives. They would go around and record themselves at events. Sometimes, they would just sit around in their lofts and record their daily life. Just banal videos about the counter-culture, which was really groundbreaking back then. They were kind of like guerilla reporters. They wanted to get the voice of the counter-culture with a sort of diy, grassroots method. Michael Shamberg termed it “guerilla television” (also the title of his book). He formed one of the first collectives, Raindance Corporation. He wanted to give to voice to the community and allow any joe-schmo to have a say. It was like the beginnings of Public Access.

Now, you can get your break on the internet. Before, you had to schmooze people or pray to god they saw your show on cable access at like 2am on a Wednesday. With a sony 330 camcorder, anyone can make their voice heard. Guerilla television was focused on giving the minority view a chance. It thrived on exposing the diversity of society. These aspirations are transferred into a reality with the accessibility of mini digital camcorders.

If you ask some of these innovators, they make it sound like they were just having fun. They just wanted to write and film their own opinions. With YouTube, I hope this feeling doesn’t get lost in dilution. There are so many videos (and blogs for that matter). I really hope this indie spirit of expression lives on.

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