Black & white, sound. 55’ 41”

Media Primers, produced by the collective Raindance in 1971, is an artifact of the political activism of the early video movement. A lowtech, improvisational snapshot of a cultural moment, Media Primers illustrates the groups’ theories of alternative television and video, and their engagement with mass media, pop culture and the counterculture. Foregrounding the political and social implications of portable video technologies, the collective looks at the camera’s role in shaping individual and collective actions. With contributions from Raindance members Ira Schneider, Paul Ryan and Michael Shamberg, Media Primers brings together touchstones of this politically charged era, including Portapak documentation of a 1969 Rolling Stones concert, news footage of Nixon and scenes of activist Abbie Hoffman.