Inside the revival of 70s chic and memories of '68, a thin flavour of revolution slides over the tongue and glazes the eye. Representation of resistance seems to come down to the afros, platforms and super baaad mamas and papas living their lives to soulful soundtracks. Somewhere in the debris of collective memory is the reality of the late 60s - one that was packed full with international social uprisings, one in which the Black Liberation movements became a political threat to US government security (let them tell it).

One way of diluting the power of the Black Liberation movements was through media propaganda. Much of mainstream media depicted the likes of the Black Panthers and Malcolm X as terrorists and hoodlums. Activists counter-attacked these negative images through creating their own propaganda; printing newsletters, writing books, and documenting voices and actions of activists on film. This sort of media activism ensured that some true history of international resistance is preserved - so it can be used as a reference point for present day radicals.

Lack of finances and obviously lack of government support made guerrilla warfare the most effective means of disseminating alternative information. These tactics included both grassroots media activism as well as mainstream media infiltration. The mainstream media guerrilla tactics included setting up press conferences and platforms at political events and protests. Here a spokes-person would be appointed to talk to all and any press. Usually this person would be well practised in getting their message across in spite of hegemonic journalistic barbs.

But we can see from New York Newsreel documentaries, the likes of Summer of 1968 and No Game, which documented student protests against the war in Vietnam and the draft resistance: no matter how good you were, it was hard to fight against the final editor's cut. From these documentaries however, you can get a clear picture of what worked, how it worked and how it didn't work. Makers would, in co-ordination with organisers, film the marches as they were happening and allow the leaders full reign to speak for themselves, setting the agenda and contextualising actions. If you follow mainstream media instead, actions of resistance seemed random and chaotic. In reality these demonstrations were usually part of carefully thought out and painstakingly discussed - hours and hours of meetings and more meetings - strategies.

The Black Panthers were vilified by mainstream media, as most of us now know; depicted as criminals rather than what they were; a nationally organised political party with a ten point party platform. The Panthers set up community networks and distributed their newsletters throughout the community. They also worked with activist filmmakers, producing documentaries about the essence of what the Panthers were about, as May Day Panther (Newsreel, 1969) makes visible. This film was made at a Panther rally, calling for the release of Black Panther Minister of Defence Huey P. Newton. This documentary not only allows the leaders to speak, but we also get a visual taste of Panthers tactics and strategies.

In Bobby Seale (Newsreel, 1969) most of the film is an interview with Bobby Seale who was then incarcerated for his political activities. He describes the conditions inside and how he had been (mis)treated as a political prisoner. He also contextualises the efforts of the Panthers in the face of police brutality as well as the growing instances of international uprisings. This invaluable archive brings home the clichˇ that the more things change - as in the occurrence of police brutality in both, the US and Britain - the more things seem to remain the same. However, underneath this seemingly hopeless irony is a passion and faith that people do have the power to create alternatives realities.

Without this kind of visual documentation of the struggles, the 60s and 70s would remain in the TV/Hollywood saturated popular consciousness an empty icon of frozen fist and natural hair. Without libraries and distributors to archive them, they would more than likely be lost in the dusty closet of memory. Fortunately, filmmakers like the New York Newsreel Collective were also distributors of the work they produced. This ensured that the work would always be available for dissemination. This footage is still accessible to educators, community workers as well as popular media. In this way the work of guerrilla filmmakers has ensured that grassroots activism can infiltrate mainstream media methods of dissemination.

Similar work continues to take place, but often in isolated situations. It is important when using video, film and new media to also create systematic archives. Through examining some historical tactics of media activism we can begin to negotiate, within the realms of post millennium technology, how can we use the 'new' as well as the old media, to continue to work for social change.

Jamika Ajalon [ajalon68@hotmail.com]