Dilemmas + Decisions presents real-life issues related to democracy and freedom as experienced and conceived by high school-aged media groups from across the nation.
Students with the Downtown Community Television Center in New York chose to explore the relationship between violence and power using the medium of hip-hop.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION After you watch this video essay, we encourage you to engage others in a discussion using one or more of the questions included in the Viewer’s Guide. Download the pdf document by clicking on the icon on the top right side of this page.
Video Essay: Hip-Hop and Violence
Students ask residents of their housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York about the relationship between violence and hip-hop music. However, the project takes an unplanned turn when one of the young filmmakers witnesses the accidental shooting death of an unarmed friend by a police officer. From that point, their film chronicles the grief, anger and incomprehension of the victim’s family, friends and community. The student, a DJ, turns to hip-hop as a way to deal with his anger and grief.
Launch the Video DCTV Video Essay Running time: 5 minutes, 47 seconds
File size: 5.14Mb
Behind-the-Scenes
Students from PRO-TV, a program at the Downtown Community Television Center in New York that gives at-risk youth the opportunity to receive media arts training and create documentary films, introduce themselves and discuss their initial thoughts about the issue covered in the project.
Launch the Video DCTV Profile Running time: 3 minutes, 10 seconds
File size: 2.72Mb
Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV): New York, NY
Founded in 1972 by independent documentary producers, Jon Alpert and Keiko Tsuno, DCTV believes that expanding public access to the electronic media arts invigorates our democracy and helps to create a more open society. They pursue their mission by offering hundreds of free or low-cost production courses and by making broadcast-quality production equipment affordable to community producers.
