We're so excited to be part of this special trivia night at the Hideout, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Sneak Previews, the legendary TV show that paired newspaper critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert to talk (and argue) about the movies. October 15, 7:30pm! https://loom.ly/IjsJPVQ

Throughout Media Burn’s recordings of performance art, few performers stand out as much as the untouchable Gurlene and Gurlette Hussey (Randy Esslinger and Doug Stapleton). Their drag is, in Gurlene’s words, 'Hairy, horny, tattooed, shameless, saucy, mischievous.” Read more: https://loom.ly/g40Hb1I

RIP Ryno

Last week, CBS announced that it would be canceling The Late Show, the ratings leader by a large margin. Its host, Stephen Colbert, had used his platform to criticize CBS’s “big fat bribe.” Like so many other famous Chicagoans, Colbert shows up in Media Burn’s archive: https://loom.ly/WjJM5oY

Last month we lost P. Adams Sitney, unquestionably the most important and influential scholar of avant-garde film. Here is a remarkable interview with him, recorded in 1974 just after the publication of "Visionary Film," on what makes avant-garde films unique.

ACT UP Goes Shopping! Judith Binder follows ACT UP activists to the Sherman Oaks Galleria, where they pass out pamphlets about safe sex and HIV/AIDS, and condoms, until security kicks them out. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UteQ...

While my grandfather suffered from being incarcerated without charges or evidence after Pearl Harbor, I hope to honor him by telling his story so that the courts will exercise their duty to check the Trump Administration’s overreach in their deportation zealotry.

Read this moving and infuriating blog post from Daniel Mayeda about the US government's shameful history of employing the Alien Enemies Act against immigrants and minorities, including his own family.

“People stop me on the street and say, ‘Jesus Christ, I read your book, Working, and I’ll never talk to a telephone operator that same way. I’ll never treat a waitress the same way, or look at a truck driver the same way. You’ve changed the way I think.’”--Studs Terkel. More: https://loom.ly/5b2_nhY

An amazing early 1970s sketch from Second City, starring Joe Flaherty as William F. Buckley and John Belushi as Truman Capote. Shot by Anda Korsts. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwD4...

The day is finally here! We are launching the brand new mediaburn.org, which will make it easier for you to find new videos and learn about this history of independent media production. Please take a look and let us know what you think! We welcome your input and your eagle eye.

RIP George Wendt

We're pleased to be co-presenting a screening in partnership with The West Ridge Artists Group and FORA (Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America) of videos produced by activist filmmaker Mirko Popadic. At FORA, 6435 N California in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood.

RIP Michael Miner. Chicago was so much richer and more interesting thanks to him.

RIP Michael Miner. Chicago was so much richer and more interesting thanks to him.

Happy May Day from Studs Terkel, via @mediaburn.bsky.social

Next Monday, May 5! Join director Louise Denver and scholar Dr. Ciara Chambers for a virtual screening/discussion of the rediscovered masterpiece "Streets of Ulster." Monday, May 5 5pm CST (6pm EST/3pm PST/11pm BST)

Thurs! Free virtual screening: "Women of Northside Fight Back," with director Christine Noschese and scholar @tanyagoldman.bsky.social. When an expanding paper box company threatened to destroy homes in Brooklyn, residents discovered that you CAN fight city hall. Register: loom.ly/ww4BjGY

Here's a video of Roger Ebert reading Mike Royko's hilarious account of watching, and absolutely hating, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

4/17: The Radical Art of the Sandin Image Processor at Gene Siskel Film Center. Screening/discussion with Dan Sandin, Lee Blalock, Jon Satrom, and James Connolly. Try out the Sandin Image Processor! In partnership with Conversations at the Edge and Video Data Bank. mediaburn.org/events/4-17-...

We had a great time hosting THREE tours as part of #SCMS25!

24 April at 7pm ET/4pm PT — @mediaburn.bsky.social will be hosting a virtual screening + discussion of WOMEN OF THE NORTHSIDE FIGHT BACK (1975)—about community activism in Brooklyn—with the documentary's co-director Christine Noschese; I'm moderating. Join us! 🙌 www.eventbrite.com/e/women-of-n...

Hey everybody, meet Eniarc, the homemade robot from Chicago Ridge.

"Mr. Computer" explains email and how you can "talk" over the computer in 1982.

Harold Pinter on fascists: "ANYONE who reads is a communist as far as you're concerned.... [In a fascist society] people who read or people who dare to bring a couple of sandwiches to children... means that something's wrong, that he's questioning, he's giving too much..."

Check out this very charming conversation with teen/tween mall rats with the tallest hair you've ever seen, talking about how much they love the arcade and taco bell and ALLLLL the cute guys. From the Southdale Center Mall, just outside of Minneapolis, in December 1991.

Thursday March 13: join Media Burn for a free virtual screening/celebration of video portraitist Joan Logue, moderated by Helena Shaskevich. It will include videos from the '70s - 2010s, including an extremely rare presentation of some of Logue's earliest work. www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-ta...

A very young Stephen Colbert (aka third-year resident "Dr. Steven Sims") stars in the educational film "Mentor: Friends in Residency." www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYe-...

The legendary Holly Woodlawn performing "I'm Tired" from Blazing Saddles!!! From Judith Binder's recording of Woodlawn's cabaret act in 1995 - which is a delight, start to finish! www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgFo...

Adult: "Is it a good thing to tell on people?" Kid: "That depends. If you're tellin' on the mafia, that's bad." Join us for a free virtual screening/celebration of Community TV Network, who has put video cameras in the hands of the people for more than 50 years. www.eventbrite.com/e/community-...

Media Burn board member Ben Kolak and his team at Truth & Documentary are documenting the impact of Trump's policies on immigrants and refugees in Chicago. This is a scene from their work in progress, filmed last week. mediaburn.org/video/good-v...

Media Burn welcomes new board members! @cratebeats.bsky.social is a tenure-track assistant prof. at U of Florida’s College of Journalism & Communications. @danielmmayeda.bsky.social recently retired as Associate Director of Documentary Film Legal Clinic at UCLA Law School. More: loom.ly/45Slf5o

It’s been almost 50 years since TVTV “looked at the Oscars,” but the spirit of guerrilla television still haunts the Academy Awards. Check out our blog to learn about Media Burn's connections to this year's Academy Awards: loom.ly/x5mW5vA

Time is ticking to digitize your videotapes before they are no longer playable! In this AARP interview, Media Burn's danerdman.bsky.social explains why. Head over to Media Burn's website for resources on how to do it yourself or to learn how we can help you! www.aarp.org/home-family/...

Thursday! Free virtual screening/discussion of Nina Sobell's BrainWave drawings, moderated by art historian Cristina Albu. Since 1973, Sobell has created iterations of this project that syncs and visualizes participants' brain waves. Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-ta...

Striking footage from Nina Sobell's "Electro-Encephalographic EEG: Video Telemetry Environment" installation at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston from 1975. If you're in NYC, go see Nina present at the Emily Harvey foundation tomorrow, Dec. 13 at 7pm! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezHR...

We strongly believe that video is the most powerful tool we have for holding those in power accountable and for understanding the world around us. We need your help to preserve a thoughtful, nuanced, and diverse record of society. Please donate today. mailchi.mp/mediaburn/he...

Curator David Ross of the Long Beach Museum of Art demonstrates the exciting new art form called "video art," in a 1974 KNBC news report about this strange new trend. www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9aM...

Fantastic interview with Stephanie Coleman, director of Having a Ball!, screening this Sunday at the Siskel as part of the Black Harvest Film Festival! www.prideindex.com/stephanie-co...

We are thrilled and honored to be part of an illustrious cohort of colleagues in Newcity's Film 50 2024! Honorees include Media Burn's executive director, Sara Chapman, and board member, Bob Hercules. www.newcityfilm.com/2024/11/05/f...

Gorgeous imagery created by Phil Morton and Guenther Tetz as part of the 2nd Electronic Visualization Event in 1976.

"It's called VIDEO ART! Artists have always been thought of as the sort who marched to the beat of a different drum. But look out America! There’s a new breed of cat prowling the museum circuit!” 1980 TV news report on "boob tube art," w/appearances from Gary Hill, Nancy Cain, Susan Milano, & more

A lovely moment in "Having a Ball," Steph Coleman's documentary on the Chicago ballroom scene and the House of Avant Garde. Screening this Sunday, Nov 17 at the Siskel! “It’s helped me to understand that, hey, I’m gay, I’m a Black man, and it helps me to express myself, not be ashamed of myself.”

Nov 17: Having a Ball! With the House of Avant Garde – Media Burn's newly uncovered 1992 document of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ history – to screen at the Gene Siskel Center's Black Harvest Film Festival, with director Stephanie Coleman & performer Aaron Pierre Brown! More: mediaburn.org/blog/havinga...

Join us on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 6pm CT (4pm PT/7pm ET) for a free online screening of Bill Morrison’s new short film Incident, followed by a q&a with Morrison (Decasia, Dawson City: Frozen Time) and human rights activist Jamie Kalven (The Invisible Institute). Register for free: loom.ly/Zfkkr04