The Revolution, Televised: Not Channel Zero
Reflect on histories of community activism and public access television with Black Planet Production’s Not Channel Zero series.
Film/Theater
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)
See the entire Picture Lock lineup.
Program lineup
- X ½: The Legacy of Malcolm X (Black Planet Productions, 1994, 43 mins.)
Supported by a 1993 Film/Video Studio residency. - Not Channel Zero’s Grassroots Video Cookbook (Black Planet Productions, unfinished, 33 mins.)
Supported by a 1995 Film/Video Studio residency.