The Revolution, Televised: Not Channel Zero

In the early 1990s, New York City–based artists and filmmakers Cyrille Phipps, Thomas Poole, and George Sosa founded the video collective Black Planet Productions. This program spotlights their video series, Not Channel Zero, with two works that were supported by the Film/Video Studio in the 1990s. Under the motto “The Revolution, Televised,” adapted from Gil Scott-Heron’s famous words, the collective produced community access programming that examined contemporary issues in race, gender, politics, culture, and education. X ½: The Legacy of Malcolm X examines the historical and contemporary legacies of Malcolm X through community interviews and cultural interpretations of Black history and memory. An unfinished work, Not Channel Zero’s Grassroots Cookbook provides an overview of the series and Black Planet Production’s approach to media activism, which included accessible technology, hip-hop strategies, and a grassroots ethos. (approx. 76 mins., DCP)

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IMAGE CAPTION
Black Planet Productions, left to right: Jacqueline Dolly, Mark Aubert, Cyrille Phipps, Thomas Poole, Joan Baker, Donna Golden, and George Sosa, courtesy of the artists.