Political and Activist Web Sites and Videos

Politics, politics and politics - where do you stand on the issues?

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A guide to Web Sites for those who want to change the world through multimedia

Politics & Activism (also see Documentary Page)

This is great. This perfect greeting video is a rollicking animated musical with a cast of thousands- all sung to the Ghostbusters song. You'll love it. A little politics, a little social commentary - but all in all, a lots of fun. Remember to vote.

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Do you do your own thing? Are you a style iconoclast? Check out this short film "Female Seeking Female Companionship" by Jocelyn Hsu. Only 3 minutes in length, it humorously deals with image, fashion Nazis and other problems that women face. Hosted at the wonderful Food for the Moon site.

JibJab has partnered with AtomFilms to release the sequel to their Internet blockbuster, “This Land.”  The sequel, titled “Good to Be in DC!” is set to the classic American folk song “Dixie” and this time around, no one in Washington is safe more

How much money does it take to create a music video for a modern pop star? What if that money was used instead to feed hungry children; to build homes for the poor, to provide medicine and medical care for those in need. Check out this political tinged music video, "World on Fire" from Sarah McLachlan. You'll need to install Apple's iTunes player but it is free and works for both Windows and Apple machines.

Sort of a rap song - sort of a political protest against all that is wrong with our modern day consumer society and TV media advertising. Check out Lazyboy - "Underwear Goes Inside The Pants" . Great editing; intriguing and challenging concept.

Protest songs go hand in hand with politics. And as the November election draws closer, these songs and messages become even more important. Checkout “If You Tell a Lie” - Produced and Directed by Jonathan Halperin. Photographed and filmed by Tom Erikson, Jonathan Halperin

Check out seven brand new Instant Films - Collection 15 from InstantFilms.com that deal with politics, elections and the candidates. These are great. If you are having a hard time making up your mind about which candidate to vote for, make sure you check out the “The Swidge”

Sometimes kids know best...check out  What Are We Teaching Our Children  that explains what some kids think is required to be President of the US. This was one of the entrants for the Bush in 30 Seconds contest sponsored by MoveOn.org. "What Are We Teaching Our Children" was created by 
by Fred Surr, Ted Page, Janet Tashjian of Needham, MA

Check out the 7M Pictures parody of MoveOn.Org.

George, The Texican:  Didn’t get enough of George at the Republican National Convention? Get into the mind of the prez and his right hand man on a musical excursion that includes detaining enemies and transferring funds to off-shore accounts.  This is one of the funniest new shorts on AtomFilm's MockTheVote.com spotlight.

In President George W. Bush's national and spiritual world-view, America's war against terrorism and the conflict between Christianity and Islam are now one and the same. And the American people - particularly our children - need to embrace this concept in a way that's clear and easy to grasp. Towards that effort, the Bush administration has created a new animated movie to help educate the Evangelical Christians on this complex, global issue. Brought to you by Dangerous Media

It's political season and we have to do our best to support the American way of lying, cheating and slinging mud. Check out Atom Films' "Mock the Vote" collection of great politically oriented animations and short films. Good stuff. It's the Web's best and brightest political satire shorts all in one place. Check back regularly for every electoral evisceration and political pot-shot.

This is truly cool. Are you ready to get besieged by TV commercials extolling the virtues of your favorite candidates and expounding upon the rumored sins and negatives of their opponents? Are you ready for obfustication? If so, you got to checkout the The American Museum of Moving Image and their new Living Room Candidate online exhibition that features the best and most powerful presidential race commercials from 1952 to 2004. This is amazing and a great resource for the students of politics and television advertising. 

"The idea that you can merchandise candidates for high office like breakfast cereal is the ultimate indignity to the democratic process."
-Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, 1956

"We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People" Chronicles the Dismantling of Big Media's Monopoly on the News 

The November elections are coming up fast and the political feeding frenzy is exploding. In the meantime, it is important to laugh once in a while. Check out this relatively non-partisan flash video from Job Jab - This Land - this is a musical comedy parody of the classical Woody Guthrie song.

WAMtv just posted four excellent free downloads for you to peruse. `Diana`, the highly controversial video by Alison Jackson. This piece was the subject of mass media attention when we first screened it in London and there were attempts by some politicians to get it banned. You can now judge for yourself as Alison challenges us to look at our own perception of celebrity. `3 Drunk Gits` This clip comes from WAMtv`s experimental revue show and contains the kind of language that normal drunk Scottish men use.  If you are offended by drunken bad language don`t download it!  `Vagina` Another extract from the acclaimed dance show by Tokyo Triangle. Sexy and dark it contains some nudity. `Phocus` Photographic slideshow by `P` featuring the WAMtv presenter Dani. More sinister that it first appears, there is some great hair by Zoot. Contains some semi-nudity. 

No matter your opinion about Gay Marriage, you are sure to enjoy the latest film from Mark Kenneth Woods, prolific political gay filmmaker. A bit more than 4 minutes long,  "Holy Matrimony Billy", is a hilarious and entertaining look at the politics and games surrounding the issue of gays and marriage. Definitely worth your time. 

This is outrageous. Christopher King, a budding comedian/malcontent/performance artist of the Chris King Pop Icon web site (look on page two for videos), created "Good Fire, Hit Him" a VH1-style pop-up war video, set to Psychedelic Furs' "Heaven". The imagery could be disturbing.

This parody of the Passion of the Christ trailer was created by a NYU student Spencer Somers and was recently removed from NYU’s servers because of the pressure put on NYU from New Market Films and Mel Gibson who was very upset after viewing this piece. SingleReel believes in freedom of speech and the right to create satirical pieces of art regardless of what any film studios, or religious followers may say. 

If you hate George Bush - you'll love this site, BushFlash! Great flash movies coupled with original music - all dedicated to dumping Bush. Check out "Idiot Son of an A'Hole".  It's complete with subtitles in a variety of languages for all the people worldwide who also don't like George Bush. And if you get tired of the Bush-bashing, check out "He's a Nazi" a funny bit targeted at poor Rush Limbaugh.

Move over "Queer Eye" because Pepe and Vance are hitting the small screen. And why not? Creating a new queer-themed hit television show is easy. Just mix mainstream assumptions about sexuality and gender with plenty of stereotypes and throw in some pointless sexual content and you’ve got “Designer Gays”, the ultimate in exploitive programming. This is the latest from Mark Kenneth Woods, formerly of WayOutWest TV, home of the infamous Pimp & Ho: Adventures in Queersploitation” and “Pimp & Ho: Licence To Queer” and  “Pimp & Ho: Queer Fashion Crime Models”. Check out the new  Mark Kenneth Woods web site for some interesting and political takes on gay and gender issues.

Animation can be subversive. Check out Dangerous Media and see how they are trying to change the world. Their two newest productions are "Commander Bush and the Last Crusade" and "TV Series". Did you realize that the only real WMD may be your TV set and the powers that program? Check it out... The "TimeBomb's Man of the Year" is also great.

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Pepsi and iTunes are teaming for the Super Bowl - get an inside look at the new Super Bowl Pepsi commercial that features 16 teenagers who were sued by the recording industry for illegally downloading music from the Internet and announces a new service, sponsored by Pepsi, that enables music fans to legally download music for free - the Pepsi iTunes 100 Million Song Giveaway. Check it out. More about the commercial at Your Mac Life.  Check out this brilliant political comment to the Pepsi iTunes Commercial - brought to you by Vogner.

Is our government too big or maybe not big enough? Check out WHO - a political music video by Matt Ames. Great original music - nice selection and editing of stock video clips and photo images. This is presented by Philosophy, Inc., a consulting company specializing in providing philosophy services to certain markets. Its founders have over sixty years of philosophy experience between them.

The toostupidtobepresident.com web site is dedicated to demonstrating that George Bush  is not fit for office solely by reason of insufficient intelligence. Perhaps, his brain was damaged by a 20 year alcoholic binge. Maybe it was all the alleged cocaine, or even a combination of both the former and the latter. He may have just started life with an inferior processor. A man of his pedigree would suffer from a lack of diversity in his genetic make-up. But, we will not address the possible reasons 
for his limitation. We will deal only with George W. Bush's present and potential mental capacity.

Some have said this site is mean. But if it's mean, it is only because of the sad truth that George W. Bush is dumb. If he were smart the site wouldn't be mean, it would be silly. Perhaps as Dubya has said recently, "there ought to be limits to freedom." Check it out - it's a great collection of ShockWave cartoons.

Another new film from 7M Pictures, "Saddam's Exam: Too Hot for TV!!!" tells the story of what really went on behind the scenes at Saddam's capture. This 2 minute film from Kevin Carr is great and gets funnier and funnier as you watch. Yes, it is a bit crass....

Regardless of what you think about George Bush, you got to check out the Bush-bashing ads at MoveOn.Org. This is some great film-making. IF PARENTS ACTED LIKE BUSH by Christopher Fink of Sherman Oaks, CA (the wiine rof the funniest ad) is hilarious; the overall winner, CHILD'S PAY by Charlie Fisher of Denver, CO, is not only thought provoking, but is also beautiful. Bush in 30 Seconds is a project of the MoveOn.org Voter Fund, a new 527 fund affiliated with MoveOn.org , the pre-eminent online advocacy group in the United States. The Voter Fund will create and run powerful political ads in swing states to challenge President Bush's policies and his administration.

Even the punk rockers are getting in on the action. Check out this patriotic celebration of Saddam's capture - using found footage and news footage - all cut to "Fascist Pig" by Suicidal Tendencies.

Welcome to The Meatrix, the Flash movie against factory farming has spread like wildfire through email, blogs, message 
boards, and scores of websites.  The Meatrix is a humorous 3-minute Flash animation that 
highlights the problems of factory farming while spoofing The Matrix. Instead of 
Keanu Reaves, The Meatrix stars a young pig, Leo, who lives on a pleasant family 
farm ... he thinks. Leo is approached by a trenchcoat-clad cow, Moopheus, 
who shows him the ugly truth about agribusiness, complete with a send-up of 
the "stop-motion" camerawork immortalized by the Matrix. The mix of humor, pop 
culture references, and an important message clearly resonates with a wide swath 
of the web using public. more about The Meatrix

Saddam and Bin Laden videos and cartoons

Can you change the world through video? Check out the San Diego Independent Media Center and the Independent Media Center You can check out  IMC videographers have provided video coverage in a number of ways: the IMC NEWSREAL which provides a monthly compilation of video activism from around the world; the IMC VIDEO CHANNEL which provides innovative sampling of video streaming from various IMC sites; and finally numerous IMC FEATURE VIDEO PROJECTS which provide groundbreaking street reportage and analysis via satellitecast television programming and subsequent video distribution.

This flash movie, End of the World,  is very funny and is all about the dangers of nuclear proliferation and international tensions and rivalries ...wake up and realize we are destroying the planet. It does include some mature language (cursing and the f-word)

Looking for GayTV and videos online? Check out WayOutWestTV. wayoutwest.tv is a media-rich entertainment site that brings all-original programming, straight from the heart of Vancouver, B.C.'s independent filmmaking community, to the internet. Digital filmmakers, actors, writers, musicians, DJ's, and other artists have come together to create live-action comedic and dramatic web series'. The site includes some cool streaming shows - West of Denman, the Pimp & Ho series,  Westend Werewolf, Spoken Word, The Lost Girls and the odd Supa 8 page. There are also videos of various gay events.

Some say political consultants and advisors will do anything to spike the approval numbers just a hair or more. But how far will they will go? Check out this intercepted phone conference file and be afraid. Be very afraid.

Which way do you stand on the US involvement in Iraq? Check out Dave Nold's short DV video - Flag Decal -  in defense of those who do not support the invasion Iraq, but who feel it is their duty as Americans to exercise their first Amendment rights as well as to fight to defend other basic civil liberties that are being threatened or revoked. Hosted at the Triggerstreet web site.

WOMAN by WOMAN: New Hope for the Villages of India documents the story of progressive change for woman in some of the least developed rural villages of India. Vivid images portray the humanity of the people, the beauty of the countryside, as well as the poignant toll of centuries of poverty. more

Are you confused about what is happening in California regarding the recall of Gray Davis and the governors race? Check out this Gorilla Marketing campaign using Arnold Schwartzeneger as its target. Created by Oddcast, it is funny and creative and promotes the company's new realistic character technology. 

The North Koreans don't really like the USA or President Bush very much - you might want to check out this North Korean anti-American propaganda video called "Fucking USA" This North Korean TV music video is quite shocking and may even be very 
upsetting to some.  If you want to see the lighter side of the North Koreans, click on the very funny and interesting 'North Korean Physical Education Dance Video and  PE Video Two.' And yet another video from North Korea called 'North Korean High School Girls.' In this one, the girls are all marching in line while going to school and singing a military propaganda song which you may not soon forget!  As an extra attraction, we have also included a short, but very bizarre North Korean propaganda clip called 'Kim Jong Il Video' . In this short video, three 'Genius Kids' sing a song called 'Kim Jong Il's Roses' in a recent celebration of his birthday. Watch MO KIN sing along with her 'classmates' in "Grapes of Love" 

This political music video (Act of War) was submitted by Nir Nakav, the drummer of a "blackmetal" band called Salem (from Israel). He created this short movie to accompany one of the songs off of their latest album Collective Demise. This song about terrorism and political violence is pretty hardcore but the video is very well done with excellent editing and imagery.

Beauty Kit for Little Girls is a series of four disturbing flash movies about the lengths women often will go to make ourselves look good. WARNING -Not for the squeamish, easily offended or for children.

Is there a way to stop all the violence in the world? Is there a possibility that peace may actually replace war, terrorism and hate? Check out this short video . Love might be the answer...if not, maybe gratuitous sex...Download and watch.

Do you have an opinion about what is happening in Iraq? Check out the OneWorld TV site and share some opinions offered by video and filmmakers from throughout the world. This page offers a collection of clips that have been posted on OneWorld TV. The situation in Iraq is constantly evolving - you can create, produce and upload your own video segment to the site and add it to the collection. Just click on one of the green boxes to open a clip, then click on 'add a clip here' - it's as easy as that. You can also view and participate in exchanging ideas and films about HIV/AIDS, GM Food, Climate Change, Israel and Palestine, War on Terrorism, Sustainable Development

Adbuster.Org, home of the Culture Jammers, is one of our favorite sites for railing against consumerism and mindless TV ads. Check out the finalists and the winners in the first AB Direct Action Contest - as they say "From consumer monsters to patriotic puppets to residential reality TV, each Direct Action entry twists the norm and drops a mind bomb into consumer consciousness.". Adbusters is a very intriguing web site and print magazine that tries to battle against the persuasive evils of advertising and consumerism. Blending politics and creativity together, they have developed numerous campaigns designed to open the eyes of the easily seduced. In addition to our pick of the week video, "PowerLung" they also have a nice selection of other "uncommercials" as well as spoof ads. Part of their manifesto is ...Our aim is to topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century. We believe culture jamming can be to our era what civil rights was to the '60s, what feminism was to the '70s, what environmental activism was to the '80s. It will alter the way we live and think."

What is art? What is copyright? What images should be protected and which shouldn't. These issues, and many others, are discussed at the Illegal Art Website. "The Illegal Art Exhibit will celebrate what is rapidly becoming the "degenerate art" of a corporate age: art and ideas on the legal fringes of intellectual property. Some of the pieces in the show have eluded lawyers; others have had to appear in court. Loaded with gray areas, intellectual property law inevitably has a silencing effect, discouraging the creation of new works. Should artists be allowed to use copyrighted materials? Where do the First Amendment and "intellectual property" law collide? What is art's future if the current laws are allowed to stand? "

They have some great and outrageous videos that use "found" imagery. This includes "Black Thunder" a series of three commercials parodying political advertising and the classic Todd Haynes film - "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story". With Barbie dolls as the principal actors, Superstar portrays the life of Karen Carpenter and her battle with anorexia. 

You can go straight to the videos or you can check out the entire website. They have a great tongue-in-cheek website licensing agreement....

Here's a great little clip lifted from Saturday Night Live - check it out as Robert DeNiro helps explain the United States policy on apprehending terrorists. Turn the audio up to get all the jokes.

Check out this short Read My Lips video (5 megs - Quicktime) from the European site SVT.SE.  It is an interesting explanation of the growing friendship between George Bush and Tony Blair as they move forward with the war on Iraq. It may explain a few things...By the way, for more fun "Read My Lips" videos featuring other world leaders, click here.

Get political and show your opinion. Check out this short documentary at  http://brain-terminal.com/articles/video/peace-protest.html and see how people in New York are showing their opinions about the upcoming war in Iraq.

If you are looking for something a bit different, a bit more political and more socially/politically involving, check out  BEyONdTV.  BEyONdTV TV rips down the barriers between Entertainment and Social Justice.  Beyondtv.org is an open publishing site for on-line video, audio, text news, positive projects, underground events; a  source of low-cost digital/internet video technical knowledge and a distribution network for a wide variety of films for screenings and inspiring club visuals both on-line, and via CD-Rom and VHS.

Looking for a little humor and political insight into the world around you? Want to be educated about the foibles of the Bush administration?  Take some time to check out the animations featured on Mark Fiore's web site. Mark Fiore is a political cartoonist and lives in San Francisco, the Promised Land of satirists. His work appears in print and on the web and is seen by millions, possibly even scrillions. Formerly the staff political cartoonist for the San Jose Mercury News, Fiore has now branched out into animated political cartoons. Catch'em is Mark's take on the recent remote annihilation of Al Queda terrorists by a Predator missile.

Are you an activist? Into changing the world? Check out the Phone Bashing web site - these guys hate cell phones and the people who yak on them in public spaces. They began by dressing up inside of a stolen mobile phone suit, and then grabbing phones from people using them. And then they recorded the thefts on tape. Check it out... 

Remember the sixties? Wavy Gravy and Country Joe? Checkout the Nobody for President web site for a visit back to those hollowed times. This is sponsored by NobodyforPresident.org

Do you care about the world around you? Are you an activist? Check out the Media That Matters Film Festival presented by MediaRights.org, a not-for-profit media arts and activist organization, was founded in July 2000 to help media makers, educators, nonprofits, and activists use documentaries to encourage action and inspire dialogue on contemporary social issues. The organization's interactive Web site is organized around 15 social issues (racial justice, environmental issues, economic justice, etc.) and contains a collection of over 4,500 social issue documentaries. The site also provides an extensive database of over 850,000 nonprofits in the U.S., a list of funding and other resources, and original articles about successful outreach campaigns. There are numerous cool and thought provoking videos on this site. 

Get Political - check out Morons.Org - we're thinkers and armchair philosophers. We want to be free to think and reason. We want to be free to live our lives and make decisions as we see fit. We are tired of the interference we get from a variety of sources. We are angry at them for trying to block us from being happy because they cannot attain happiness for themselves.

Want to really piss off WalMart and other big retail chains? Check out the Re-Code.com satire site and watch the video. You can learn how to do your own re-coding of pricing bar code labels. "Re-Code.com is built on two unique concepts known as Preshopping and Postshopping. Preshopping refers to visiting the Re-code.com website first finding a store in your area with prices that you want to pay. Many of our codes are from generic items which could easily be used to re-code brand name items. At stores which rely heavily on the barcode for your bill total, printed bar code stickers from this site could be used to relabel and re-code expensive products with cheaper prices"

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