Video as a Weapon, Extension, Mirror, Catalyst, and Virus: Transnational Metaphors and Concepts in Video Movements in the 1970s and 1980s

Abstract

This article explores metaphors used in video movements of the 1970s and 1980s to refer to the medium of video. It traces both local adaptions and the transnational traveling of concepts and media practices between the Black Panther Party, French and Austrian video groups, West German media centers and US video activists. The metaphors weapon, extension, mirror, catalyst, and virus indicate various understandings of the functions of the medium of video which differ with regard to questions of agency and reception and are linked to the specific political struggles of the actors.