Privatized Prisons In America

People unite at a conference to deal with the growing number of private prisons in America and the unfair labor treatment that takes place. Ever since the Mid 1980's, prisons have become privatized on the free-market, and so now people can buy stock in prisons... which means, if you own stock in a company, you are going to want you company to grow.

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Critical Resistance

In 1998, Deep Dish covered the first Critical Resistance conference in Berkeley, California, that founded Critical Resistance's movement to abolish the prison industrial complex (PIC). Each participant, with their own experiences of oppression and resistance, watched as diverse struggles were unified: by humanity, hope, and the shared vision of a different world. We witnessed a vision of a world with truly safe, healthy, and whole communities; a world with unconditional access to self-determination and dignity for all; and, critically, a world without imprisonment, policing, and other forms of punishment and control.

Luana Plunkett and Neal Morrison of Videology and Carla Leshne and Sasha Magee put together two programs about the conference which were up-linked to community channels around the United States. In addition, Chris Burnett worked with DeeDee Halleck to audio stream many of the conference workshops and plenaries. This was possibly the first use of audio streaming by a progressive conference. This year there will be a tenth anniversary of Critical Resistance in September in Oakland, California. The following clip edited by Isaac Ontiveros contains some excerpts from the Deep Dish programs:To purchase a copy of Visions of Freedom, the inspiring overview of the 98 conference made by Videology, go to www.deepdishtv.org

Erasing Memory on Archaeology Channel

Erasing Memory: The Cultural Destruction of Iraq, a half-hour piece from our series "Shocking and Awful: A Grassroots Response to War and Occupation" is airing on the Archaeology Channel. This film in very shocking fashion details the horrendous destruction of the oldest treasures of human civilization held in the museums and archives of Iraq in the wake of the 2003 U.S. invasion. At that time, millennia of history were bombed, looted and destroyed. With them went a large part of our precious memory and knowledge of Iraq as a cradle of human civilization. Much of the footage shown is from the time and place of the destruction, which stands as a prime example of the loss of treasured cultural patrimony that often is caused by war.

To get a copy for your library click here.
To view a sample click here.
To see feedback on the film on another blog click here.

13 Years Before "Sicko"

In the spring of 1994, Deep Dish Television produced a 17-part series about the national healthcare crisis called "Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired." This series brings you a grassroots perspective on health care from across the nation. You've heard from the policy makers, the insurance agents and the drug manufacturers. Now it's time to hear from the people. This series presents the voices and visions of those most affected by health care reform, the people themselves.
"Healthcare Jeopardy" is just one piece included in the half-hour program, "National Health Emergency: An Activist Survey." This program presents a timely analysis of health care reform in the United States. Video segments from around the country illustrate successful models for a comprehensive health care plan and local news reports on continuing strategies and organizing events are featured. The program also highlights the work of national and regional organizations, such as the Health Care! We Gotta Have It Campaign, Physicians for a National Health Program, Nurses for National Health Care, the Universal Care Action Network (UHCAN), ACT-UP, the Older Women's League, Single Payer Across the Nation (SPAN) and Georgians for a Common Sense Health Plan. Additionally, National Health Emergency ... examines the primary financiers and forces opposed to reform: hospital chains, insurance agencies and pharmaceutical companies. (28:00) Coordinating Producer:Cindy Nelson (San Diego, CA).
Visit www.deepdishtv.org for more information or to see the full program.

DEEP DISH TV ROCKS!!!

This is an excerpt from the Deep Dish TV program "Give Peace A Channel." The office staff at DDTV has been updating descriptions of our programs from the 1980s. When we caught a glimpse of this segment from our first series, we knew this was too good not to share. Enjoy!

Description of "Give Peace a Channel":
This segment shows poet Anne Waldman rapping about Plutonium. From Vietnam Veterans blasting the Rambo myth, to activists raising money for local peace groups, to regular folks getting arrested on the steps of a weapons factory, this show is a testament to the level of public concern around issues of militarism and disarmament. Voices of city teenagers talking about spending money for bombs instead of helping to rebuild their neighborhood while viewing footage of abandoned buildings brings the discussion of "budget priorities" out of the realm of the abstract and into our daily lives, where it belongs. (58:00)
Produced by Caryn Rogoff and Kirk Ruebenson (NY, NY)
Paper Tiger Television Collective, a New York based public access producers' group known for their imaginative and low-tech media critiques produced the pilot series of Deep Dish TV in 1985-86. Each program was made up of excerpts from tapes made by community TV producers from around the country. The series was offered free of charge to access stations that wanted to record it off the satellite. The Paper Tiger collective formed ten production teams including some people who were new- comers to access production. Over 186 stations down-linked the first series.

Featured Video From the Archive: No Place Like Home

Here at Deep Dish TV, we find that some of our programming has been ahead of its time. In New York it seems that you hear the term "gentrified" or "gentrification" everyday, and used to describe almost ever neighborhood in the five boroughs. Our program "There's No Place Like Home" tackled the issues of gentrification, homelessness, and housing crisis back in 1986. Please take the time to check out this unique and startling program. You can view here:




http://www.archive.org/details/ddtv_4_theres_no_place_like_home

The following is a description of the show:
All kinds of people nationwide are suffering from the severe shortage of affordable housing. A unifying thread connecting the tapes in this show is that the producers allowed people to speak for themselves. Squatters in "Gentrification On the Lower East Side", neighborhood people forced out of their homes by General Motors in Poletown Lives!, and community organizers in "Take Back the Hill: The Rebirth of a Neighborhood" articulates their anger and frustration about the housing crisis.
Paper Tiger TV’s Fiona Boneham is a modern day Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, clicking her heels as a voice over reads apartment listings. She and others repeat that memorable phrase, “there’s no place like home” as Deep Dish TV investigates the housing crisis facing tenets and homeless alike.

Features the segments:
"Not the American Dream" by Tami Gold, Jersey City, NJ. Discusses the vacancy rate at the time, rent increases, and landlords controlling the housing market. Includes interview with William Kincaid Newman, former chair of the Housing Advisory Committee, for the Town of Montclair, NJ and many others.
"Gentrification on the Lower East Side" by Sachiko Hamada and Scott Sinkler. Interviews with people who are homeless, shows them building tents to try and protect themselves from the rain. "Room" by David Wald, New York City. Opens on Avenue C in New York City, a great video montage of how the neighborhood called "Alphabet City" looked during the 1980s. Shows people being forced out of their neighborhoods in favor of more expensive apartments. "Justiceville" by Gary Glaser, Hollywood, CA. Shows homelessness in California, asks for justice for the Americans living below the poverty line. Justiceville was created in an effort to unite and organize these Americans. "Homeless in Philadelphia" by Dirk Eitzen, Philadelphia, PA. Interviews with homeless people provide a back stories that show the difficulties the individual faces in overcoming homelessness. “St. Francis Residence” by Julie Keydel, New York City. Includes interviews with residents and staff at the St. Francis ResidJohn Luence. “We Are the City TV” by John Luvender, Jamaica Plain, MA. Curtis Davis and Andrew Jones, founders of Greater Roxbury Incorporation Project are interviewed about the town of Roxbury, and wanting to secede from the city of Boston. “Take Back the Hill: The Rebirth of a Neighborhood” by Kendall Hale, Roxbury, MA. Describes the fight to convert former hospital buildings into affordable housing. Despite work within the community to create the housing the hospital demolished the buildings to create a parking lot. “Poletown Lives!” by Information Factory, Detroit, MI. The story of Poletown, a neighborhood of 1,500 homes, that was set to be destroyed in order to make way for one of the world’s wealthiest corporations, General Motors. Poletown lost all of their appeals while organized arson and theft drove out many residents of Poletown. Residents watch the demolition crews tear down the neighborhood they have lived their entire lives in. “Mayor Bernard Sanders” by Nat Ayer, Burlington, VT. Sanders speaks about the housing problems facing the state of Vermont.

Erasing Memory in Upcoming Film Festival

"Erasing Memory" has been selected to partecipate at the 18th International Festival of Archaeological Film, taking place in Rovereto from the 1st to the 6th October 2007. It will be shown the 3rd October in the evening, and it will compete for the “Città di Rovereto-Archeologia Viva” Prize, given by the public to the most appreciated film.

About Erasing Memory:
Erasing Memory is on of the half-hour programs from our 12-part series on the Iraq War called, "Shocking & Awful: A Grassroots Response to War and Occupation." This program describes the horrendous destruction of the museums and archives of Iraq, the oldest treasures of human civilization, in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Millennia of history were bombed, looted and destroyed, and with them the memory and culture of Iraq. It was also selected for the 2006 Icronos International Archaeology Film Festival in Bordeaux, France. The series "Shocking & Awful" has been shown in many festivals, and notably, was featured in the Whitney Museum of American Art's 2006 Biennial. The review of the Biennial in the Financial Times in London said that our series "is a sobering indictment of global democracy at gunpoint and on its own makes the Biennial essential viewing."

About the Film Festival
The Civic Museum of Rovereto, in conjunction with the magazine "Archeologia Viva", is organizing the XVIII International Festival of Archaeological Film, which will take place on 1st, 2nd 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th October 2007. The Festival is open to any film in the fields of archaeological, historical, palethnological and anthropological research and to any documentary aimed at preserving and valuing the cultural heritage. A special section will include films on ancient civilizations which have alternated on the territories of the today's Iran. This Festival, in conjunction with the magazine Archeologia Viva, promotes and values the documentaries through a variety of cultural, scientific and educational events. The theme of this year's competition is: " Archaeology of the Americas".