About Media (1977) and Decent Men (1977/2013)
87 Lafayette St,
New York, NY 10013
Tickets available here. $16 / $8 DCTV members
Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) and DCTV co-present a special evening with Anthony Ramos, a significant but under recognized figure in video art history, who has produced a varied body of work ranging from confrontational direct-camera performance to provocative essayistic compositions using appropriated material as a satirical counterpoint. In these two interrelated videos, Ramos stages powerful mass media critiques to examine media representations of “truth.”
In 1967, Ramos served an eighteen-month prison sentence for his refusal to register for the Vietnam War draft, an act of conscientious objection with far-reaching resonance throughout the art that followed. On the occasion of Jimmy Carter’s 1977 declaration of amnesty for so-called “draft dodgers,” Ramos produced two major works drawing from his personal experience and the glib disconnect of political showboating. About Media (1977) documents, and deconstructs, Ramos's aired television interview by New York news reporter Gabe Pressman, revealing the construction of mainstream media's slick, obscuring veneer. Decent Men (1977/2013) is built around Ramos's powerful recounting of his prison stay, intercut with vintage cartoons that feature grotesque racial stereotypes alluding to America's long history of racial disenfranchisement through aggressive carceral strategies. Ramos began the work in 1977, but left it unfinished for nearly four decades, until he returned to EAI to finish his edit in 2013.
Part of Nor Was This All By Any Means: A Career-Spanning Series with Anthony Ramos
Founded in 1972, DCTV has grown into one of the leading documentary production and film education centers in the country. A community of and for documentary filmmakers, DCTV is a unique space where screenings, discussions, youth media, continuing education programs, and filmmaking resources exist side by side with award-winning productions. In September 2022, DCTV opened a documentary cinema where filmmakers and film lovers can come together in appreciation of nonfiction film. Housed in DCTV's beloved landmarked building in Chinatown, New York City, Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film will feature first run, curated, repertory, masterclasses, family programs and more.
Jake Perlin is a film programmer, distributor (Film Desk) and book publisher (Film Desk Books). He is the Creative Director of Cinema Conservancy, a New York based non-profit which supports production and preservation, and serves as Archivist and Curator for the St. Clair Bourne/Bourne Family collection.
