-
watch a festival
FESTIVAL NEWS
Youth Power/Youth Media
You may have noticed that many Media That Matters films are produced by young people (some as young as 12!). MTM is about celebrating diverse, independent voices that are usually left out of mainstream, corporate media. As young people are by far the largest consumers of media (from TV to video games and everything in between), then arguably supporting and distributing youth-produced media is the best way to subvert the mainstream media paradigm, turning consumers into producers and reversing the stream of information. Here at Arts Engine, we believe that it is vital to promote youth media while avoiding marginalization. There are so many film festivals with a "youth track" or a "special youth screening." While there is a value in youth-specific outlets, we prefer to see "youth media" as "independent media" and to integrate and validate media made by talented young people. Our festival jury clearly agrees with this approach, having given the Jury Award for two years in a row to films made by young people (Slip of the Tongue, Battleground Minnesota). Youth media is about youth empowerment, and we are excited to see an explosion of youth activism growing in tandem with the growth of the youth media field. As a recent article in The Guardian, "Ignore Youth at Your Peril," explains: While young people's political actions are easy to disparage, they are increasingly hard to dismiss, not just in the US but globally. For whatever else these youngsters may have learned in class, they clearly know enough to bring governments to the negotiating table and wrest important concessions from them when they get there. The article provides a concise overview of various youth struggles around the globe and concludes that young people from France to Chile to the United States are activated and are making real change. While some young people pick up picket signs and others pick up cameras, all are entitled to have their voices heard and taken seriously. Watch MTM films by and about youth. Read "Ignore Youth at Your Peril" by Gary Younge. Join the Global Youth Action Network!Published on June 15, 2006
DONATE
Join Arts Engine’s Fundraising Campaign and help us get the Media That Matters™ collection into schools and community centers, both in the U.S. and around the world!
RSS Feed