Garrin advocates the use of video as an activist and community tool and a means for people to represent themselves. These three pieces examine the Tompkins Square riots, police harassment, and the use of home video equipment to record a truly democratic local news.
“Once ‘Big Brother’ was the state watching the people, now the people can begin watching the state.”
—Paul Garrin
| # | Title | Artists | Run Time | Year | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Free Society | Paul Garrin | 00:04:00 | 1988 | United States |
| 2 |  |
Man with a Video Camera | Paul Garrin | 00:06:03 | 1988 | United States |
| 3 |  |
Reverse Big Brother | Paul Garrin | 00:01:00 | 1990 | United States |
Free Society is a short experimental music video that juxtaposes images of police harrassment in the U.S. with images of the military quelling revolutionary opposition. Includes comments from televangelist Jerry Falwell.
This title is also available on Paul Garrin Videoworks: Volume 1.
After an all-night session of editing Free Society, Garrin headed home with video-8 camera in-hand, only to happen upon the Tompkins Square riots. As police tried to enforce a curfew aimed at removing homeless people from the park, Garrin began gathering footage of cops beating up protesters. He was then attacked by police himself, as the camera continued to roll. The footage was subsequently incorporated into Free Society, in which the military myth of "protect and serve" is dismantled by first-hand experience.
This title is also available on Paul Garrin Videoworks: Volume 1.
This alternative commercial promotes the aggressive democratic use of home video equipment to record local news of community activism and other events that don’t make the headlines for political reasons. This video urges citizens to break the state’s control of information and reclaim their power.
Music by Elliot Sharp.
This title is also available on Paul Garrin Videoworks: Volume 1.