>>REVIEW
PIRATE RADIO USA
Movies that Matter Mini-Festival
DIRECTED BY: Jeff Pearson
Thursday, March 15
University of Calgary, 8 p.m. (MFH 162)
How many people in 1990 saw Pump Up the Volume and thought "man, having my own radio show would be awesome"? Probably a lot. But how many people know that there are real DJs out there doing that exact thing everyday and struggling to have their voices heard while battling the Federal Communications Commission and National Association of Broadcasting for a spot on the local dial.
For most, activism equals a Zodiac chasing an oil tanker or paint being thrown on fur. The pervasiveness of this stereotypical view that activism is fuelled by radicals and anarchists makes it interesting to see the people involved in the active pursuit of getting "microcasting" declared a legal form of communication. Pirate Radio USA is an enlightening peek at a group that has been fighting for years to do something that years ago was commonplace – being on the airwaves.
This debut feature film from writer/director Jeff Pearson and producer/music director Mary Jones, (a.k.a. DJ Him and DJ Her) uses a combination of news footage, soundbites, their own digital camera filming and their own model making to create a fun mix of visuals that keep their audience entertained throughout the film. There are still some serious and touching moments, but for the most part the filmmakers have taken an irreverent and humorous approach to showing viewers the underground radio scene and in doing so, have captured the essence and spirit of pirate radio.
Audiences get a quick history lesson regarding the birth of radio and the laws that now govern it, a peek at building transmitters and placing antennas, but, most importantly, an inside look at why it is so important to these microcasters to be able to speak their minds from their homemade studios. Some have a strong message of "fight the power" and "stick it to the man," while others just want to provide a service to those in areas that aren’t serviced by the mega stations of the world. Either way, they all want the same thing – freedom to be heard.
While a film about pirate radio made by pirate radio broadcasters isn’t exactly unbiased, audiences can’t help but sit up and take notice of a unique group that is now moving off the dial and onto the mouse. As long as there are people trying to control what you can hear, there will be people fighting for your right to hear it. |
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