PROGRAM:
During ‘TV Turnoff Week’ (April 19th – 25th) Global
Griot Productions unveiled ‘believe Freedom: The American
Hype Campaign,’ a national campaign aiming to deconstruct
the paradox of democratic media through screenings and discussions of
the satirical documentary film 'A DAY IN THE HYPE OF AMERICA.’
Winner of Best Documentary at the 2002 Rhode Island International Film
Festival, A DAY IN THE HYPE OF AMERICA, offers a savvy critique of the
hype and hysteria, which made the arrival of the millennium such an
anticlimax.
Filmed entirely on December 31, 1999 and set against the cacophony of
the unrelenting media circus, the stories of four Americans take us
into the heart of the millennial zeitgeist. A DAY IN THE HYPE OF AMERICA
unveils a shrewd commentary on the lack of media responsibility, which
has helped turn America into a culture of fear.
“What do we believe? Who do we believe?
Why do we believe?”
As millennial madness dissolved into history, Americans began looking
for another story of epic proportions to satisfy their need to believe.
What better to fill this void of uncertainty and bolster the American
psyche, than ‘trust worthy' corporate media, who, thanks to the
FCC, now have even more access to our homes than ever before. But even
their beloved weapons of mass destruction have begun to implode and
Americans are again searching for something to believe in.
This April we say ‘Turn off your TV and believe FREEDOM!’
‘believe FREEDOM: The American Hype Campaign’
brought together thousands of people, from all corners of the country
and all walks of life, to create a dialogue about the effects of media
consolidation, the promise of fair and balanced media and the ways we
can support, create and distribute independent media ourselves. The
goal of campaign was to empower ordinary citizens to think critically
about their media consumption at a critical time in our nation’s
history.