Visual Voices TV Series
of any or all of the 12 half-hour long
VISUAL VOICES shows.
Click here for detailed show descriptions.
Show Overview
Each show of this series is produced collaboratively by members of the Arts and Media Task Force of the (Foundation for Ethics and Meaning) and Co-Sponsored by We, The World.
VISUAL VOICES recognizes the impact of media and the arts as transmitters of cultural values and norms. We feature people who are using their artistic, writing, public speaking and media skills to create a peaceful, caring, just and sustainable world. Wherever possible we intend to engage and inform our audience using humor, entertainment and inspiration.Please contact us for more information about airing VISUAL VOICES on TV stations in your city. The series has featured Ossie Davis, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!), Michael Moore, Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich, Danny Schechter (Globalvision and Mediachannel.org), Reverend Billy (and the Church of Stop Shopping), Andrew Kimbrell, Greg Palast (The Best Democracy Money Can Buy), Gore Vidal, Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Wayne Dyer (Wisdom of the Ages.), Michael Brownstein (World On Fire), Karl Grossman,John Cavanagh, Missy Galore, Chief Oren Lyons, Billionaires for Bush, Ohms Media, A Better World, New Realities, EnviroVideo, and many others.
Vision
We seek to raise the awareness of those who produce, distribute and/or appreciate the arts and media about the impact they have on society at large.
Our vision is to increase the role of media and the arts as transmitters of cultural values that encourage a spirit of caring/activism and mutual recognition/connection. We challenge the dominance of material self-interest that marginalizes these important cultural values.
The producers of VISUAL VOICES TV Series are looking for people who would like to:
- Broadcast the show in your area
- Raise funds for the show
- Purchase DVD or VHS Recordings of any or all 12 shows.
Click here for detailed show descriptions.
of One or More of the 12 VISUAL VOICES TV Shows
(1/2 hour each)
Click here for detailed show descriptions.
The cost of $35 per show includes shipping and handling.
You may pay online or by check. When paying online, send an email with the information below to Visual Voices.
If mailing a check, please include this information
- Which Show # you want
- DVD or VHS
- Name
- Email Address
- Organization
- Street Address
- City
- State or Province
- Country
- Website (optional)
- Other contact or descriptive information
(If you have any questions about your payment, you may contact PayPal at 888 221-1161)
You can also send a check for $35 for each show recording payable to We, The World in U.S. currency to the address below.
We, The World
211 East 43rd St. Suite 710
New York, NY 10017
USA
Watch VISUAL VOICES on the DISH Satellite Network
Live in New York City
Or Live on the Web around the World!
ON THE DISH NETWORK -
VISUAL VOICES airs on the DISH Network Channel 9415 - Free Speech TV
Free Speech TV is available in over 17 million U.S. homes 24 hours a day on the DISH Network Channel 9415 and part-time on 108 community access cable stations in 28 states!
LENGTH: Half Hour Show
Please check the Free Speech TV Schedule to confirm broadcast times.
IN MANHATTAN -
Shows air once a month on Manhattan Neighborhood NetworkIN BROOKLYN -
Watch VISUAL VOICES from anywhere in the world live on the web!!! http://www.mnn.org (Select Channel 34). Or if you or friends of yours live in Manhattan, check it out live. Here are the details.DATE: 3rd Tuesday of every month in the following time slot
TIME: 7:30PM Eastern Time in the USA
CHANNEL: Time Warner Cable Manhattan Channel 34, RCN Cable Manhattan Channel 107
SIMULTANEOUS WEBCAST: http://www.mnn.org (Note: Click on Channel 34 to see it)
LENGTH: Half Hour Show
Shows air once a week on Brooklyn Community Access TV
Watch VISUAL VOICES from anywhere in the world live on the web!!! http://www.brooklynx.org/bcat/watch_bcat.asp Select Channel 34/67). Or if you or friends of yours live in Brooklyn, check it out live. Here are the details.DATE: Series airs every Wednesday at the following time, show #1 aired on Wednesday April 7, 2004
TIME: 5:30PM Eastern Time in the USA
CHANNEL: Time Warner Cable Brooklyn Channel 34, Cablevision Brooklyn Channel 67
SIMULTANEOUS WEBCAST: http://www.brooklynx.org/bcat/watch_bcat.asp (Click on Channel 34/67 to see it)
LENGTH: Half Hour Show
(Note: Please check the BCAT Program guide on the website to confirm the Visual Voices broadcast schedule)
Once you've seen it, please send us your comments!
Click here to order recordings
of any or all of the 12 half-hour long shows
Show #1 features:
Michael Moore (Filmmaker, producer of Bowling for Columbine)
Michael gives a powerful and hilarious commentary on the militarization of the major media, Bush, and the Iraq War.
Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
The mission of Reverend Billy (Bill Talen) is to use thought provoking and humorous street theatre and performance art to make the public aware of how our consumer choices impact people and our planet.
Sulak Sivaraksa (Buddhist Scholar, author, Seeds of Peace), Faye Feller (Season for Nonviolence Task Force)
Sulak describes the Buddhist way of nonviolence. Faye discusses promoting nonviolence with youth.
Urban Visionaries Film Festival
Participants describe how they made the move from life on the street to making a difference in the world.
Plus cameo appearances by several puppet members of the Unemployed Philosophers Guild.
Show #2 features:
Greg Palast
BBC Correspondent Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, reflects on the absurdities of U.S. military policies.
The Flute Player
We take you behind the scenes of The Flute Player - a compelling film at The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival about a survivor of the Khmer Rouge.
Zero Boy
The human voice becomes a unique instrument for social commentary with performance artist Joel Farrell (Zero Boy) at the Deep Dish Cabaret in lower Manhattan.
Wayne Dyer
The spotlight is on television that can make a positive difference. Here is an excerpt from Mitchell Rabin's show A Better World, featuring the profound words of Wayne Dyer, author of The Erroneous Zones and Wisdom of the Ages.
Show #3 features:
Ossie Davis
Actor and activist Ossie Davis speaks out about media power and consumer activism strategies to defend what people love.
Cynthia McKinney
Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney raises her voice about bias in the corporate media and the importance of alternative media.
Gore Vidal
Renowned author and public figure Gore Vidal voices his concern that the legacy of our founding fathers is being shattered by the policies of the current administration.
Marshall Rosenberg
The importance of positive voices in the media is illustrated in this excerpt from Alan Steinfeld's TV show, New Realities. Here Paula Gloria speaks with Marshall Rosenberg, the creator of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). He discusses NVC consciousness, comparing other cultures to the consciousness of moralistic judgments common in our culture; and how NVC can be used to resolve conflicts and bring harmony to relationships.
Show #4 features:
Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich,who proposed legislation for a Cabinet level Department of Peace, integrates spirit and politics in his view of American potential.
Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping: Voices take many forms. Performance artist Reverend Billy, a creation of Bill Talen, performs his unique brand of political theatre with the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir - which, in times of war, becomes the Stop Bombing Gospel Choir! Here, Reverend Billy takes his congregation to the World Trade Center Site to deliver a tribute to those who would turn their grief into a cry for peace.
Focus on Independent media making a difference:
- Divided We Stand a documentary by producer Trish Dalton of the Ohms Media Collective. Trish brings us the voices of 2 Americans for whom being in Iraq during the conflict has very different significance: a photojournalist and a soldier.
Clean Elections What could democracy look like? Independent Producer Matt Edge presents the voices of those who think taking money out of elections is imperative.
Show #5 Features:
- Amy Goodman - Award winning journalist and host of Democracy Now! on the Pacifica Radio Network and
- Danny Schechter - Executive Editor of Mediachannel.org, Co-Founder and Executive Producer of Globalvision, author of Embedded: Weapons of MassDeception and The More You Watch, The Less You Know
- Rick Ulfik Director of InterConnectCollaborative Media Program of We, The World; Co-Chair, Foundation for Ethics and Meaning, Co-Producer of VISUAL VOICES
Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception exposes the dangers of genetically engineered foods that bio-tech companies want to keep hidden from the public.
Terminating the Death Penalty: Inspired by the off-Broadway play The Exonerated, producer and lawyer Bonnie Greenball sat down with Bar Association member Ronald Tabak who advocates for a moratorium of the death penalty.
Please let us know if you have any outlets for airing and distributing VISUAL VOICES . And please let us know if you watched the show and have any comments you'd like to share. Thank you!
Show #6 features:
Ralph Nader - At the American Spirit, Values And Power Conference convened by the New York Open Center and the Continuing Education & Public Programs of CUNY Graduate Center, Ralph Nader, author of Cutting Corporate Welfare voices his concerns about corporate crime, influence on government trade policies, and the WTO.
Focus on independent media making a difference:
- Beyond Good and Evil - Independent producers Miguel Picker and Chyng Sun examine how the simplification of "good versus evil" in our culture, combined with violence in the media, affects our children.
- Signals from the Empire City -The voice of progressive filmmaker Mary Jane Sullivan evokes a compelling portrait of New York in an ode to the place of miracles and nightmares, the global city that asks us to become a force of one in all our diversity. (Note: There will be a screening of the film at Chicago City Limits in NYC at 6pm, Monday November 24th at 1105 First Avenue, between 60th and 61st Streets in Manhattan.)
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Same Difference is a play based on interviews following the 9-11 tragedy with Jews, Christians and Muslims that celebrates their similarities and differences.
Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich - Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich voices his vision for a new America after the recent Democratic Debate in New Hampshire. In this extended interview Kucinich lays out his plan to get out of Iraq, and discusses military spending, monopolies in the media, the WTO, and his alternative energy plan.
Focus on independent media making a difference:
- EnviroVideo Close-Up - A positive voice in Independent Media is illustrated by EnviroVideo which for over ten years has been producing environmental and social justice programs for television. Here, Karl Grossman interviews public interest attorney, activist and author Andrew Kimbrell about genetically modified foods. Kimbrell was named by Utne Reader as one of the world's 100 leading visionaries².
- The Last Poets - A highlight of the year for alternative media was the Shmio Awards where The Last Poets were presented with the Creative Resistance Lifetime Achievement Award.
Joya Comeaux And James Mallku's Spiritual Journey - Joya Comeaux, author of "Ave Maria a Journey of Rememberance", and James Mallku Arevalo, author of "Inca Initiation Path", lead us on a spiritual journey through some of the world's most sacred sites including Teotihuacan (tay-oh-tee-wah-KON) Mexico and Machu Picchu (mah-chu-pee-chu) Peru.
Focus on independent media making a difference:
- EnviroVideo Close-Up "Blowing In The Offshore Wind" For over ten years EnviroVideo has been a positive voice in Independent Media producing environmental and social justice programs for television. Here, Karl Grossman interviews Kathleen Whitley, Co-Director of Citizens Energy Alliance and Scott Cullen of the Long Island Offshore Wind Energy Initiative about harvesting offshore wind power for electricity.
- Water Water Festival - In March 2003 as world leaders attended the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto Japan, Missy Galore and other performance artists at the Water Water Festival in New York City came together to build community, share information, and foster positive action by giving voice to humanity's strained relationship with this most precious, life sustaining element.
Electronic Voting Machines
Investigative Reporter Lynn Landes together with Ohio and New Jersey Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and Rush Holt address the dangers to our democracy posed by electronic voting machines with legislation and alternative solutions.
Media, Profit and the Public Interest
The voice of media in the public interest is addressed at this Forum on the FCC and Media regulation sponsored by the Nation Magazine, The Economist and WNYC New York Public Radio.
Focus on independent media making a difference:
- Alternatives to Economic Globalization -EnviroVideo Close-Up For over ten years EnviroVideo (http://www.envirovideo.com) has been a positive voice in Independent Media producing environmental and social justice programs for television. At the Bioneers conference, Karl Grossman interviews John Cavanagh, director of the Institute for Policy Studies, and co-author of 22 books on the global economy, who speaks on the alternatives to economic globalization.
- KidCast For Peace - The voices and ideas of young people on how to build a more peaceful world are featured in this segment of KidCast For Peace by Peter Rosen of V.A.R.I.O.U.S. Media (http://www.creativity.net)
Greg Palast
Greg Palast, investigative reporter for the BBC and author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, examines the revolving door between corporate board rooms and the highest offices of our Federal Government.
Focus on independent media making a difference:
- Chief Oren Lyons: "Value Change For Survival" - For over ten years EnviroVideo (http://www.envirovideo.com) has been a positive voice in Independent Media producing environmental and social justice programs for television. Here, EnviroVideo's Karl Grossman interviews Oren Lyons, Councilmember of the Onondaga Nation and Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, who discusses his vision of value change for survival and looks toward the future.
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Lori Hiris - Visual Voices is proud to offer this thought provoking and imaginative look at recent scandals in the world of finance created by award winning independent filmmaker and animation artist, Lori Hiris.
At this event sponsored by the Nation Institute and the Society for Ethical Culture, renowned author and elder statesman Gore Vidal voices his concern about the current administration's policies of pre-emptive war and the weakening of constitutional rights in this country through the Patriot Act.
Focus on independent media making a difference:
- Just Food: EnviroVideo ( http://www.envirovideo.com) has been a positive voice in Independent Media for over ten years . In this EnviroVideo Close-Up, Ruth Katz, Executive Director of Just Food explains how a group of New Yorkers are developing a just and sustainable food system through Community Supported Agriculture and City Farms programs.
- Billionaires For Bush: The musical political satire group Billionaires For Bush voice their "support" for the current administtration whose policies insure that their wealth will be kept intact at the expense of the working class and the poor. Visual Voices takes an inside look at a Billionaires' social gathering where the priviledged class celebrate their good fortune.
March For Women's Lives Washington DC April 25, 2004
At the largest rally in U.S. history prominent activists including Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, Gloria Steinem, Ashley Judd, Carole King and Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speak out on the current threat to women's rights and reproductive freedoms.
A Conversation with His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation and the inspiration behind numerous charitable organizations. At a gathering in Santa Monica California, the Master shares his wisdom on inner peace, service and the promotion of human values.
Focus on independent media making a difference:
- Documentary Filmmaker Ricardo Lobo - For almost two decades, Ricardo Lobo has been capturing the beauty of the world and its people in his films. In this interview, Jerry Spivak talks with him about his films and his philosophy.
- WE is a Consciousness, a Campaign, and a Collaboration of people, organizations and social change movements from around the world.
- WE Consciousness: WE promotes making a shift from "I" to "WE" in our individual actions and attitudes and in our societal priorities and policies.
- WE Campaign: WE is an ongoing Awareness and Action Campaign; four WE Action Campaigns per year with culminating Global Public Events every 3 months. WE will Inspire, Inform and Involve millions of people through WE.net in solutions to:
- Ensure basic human needs and well being worldwide
- Restore healthy eco-systems and environmental stewardship
- Create a culture of peace and nonviolence - from individuals to nation-states.
- WE Collaboration - The WE Network, WE.net, provides a vehicle for connection, interaction and opportunity for unprecedented cooperation between people, organizations and movements. Utilizing advanced technology and intuitive web design, Partners of WE consisting of thousands of organizations and a mass movement of people create an ever-expanding social change network essential for a world that works for all.
Imagine 4 times a year, groups like MoveOn, Greenpeace and Amnesty International coordinating their action campaigns with hundreds of other global organizations, thousands of smaller groups and millions of people around the world, shifting societal consciousness and creating political will.
We, The World has developed the Strategic Alliances and has the team to achieve that level of global collaboration and effectiveness. In 2004, We, The World launched 11 Days of Global Unity which now annually has more than 700 associated events in over 60 countries. WE Campaign is based on the successful model of 11 Days of Global Unity Campaign.
- WE Consciousness: WE promotes making a shift from "I" to "WE" in our individual actions and attitudes and in our societal priorities and policies.
- People are looking for ways to come together locally and globally that can create real change because they can sense the danger we're in as a civilization. Scientists around the world have concluded that unless extraordinary measures are taken now, Global Climate Change and the Mass Extinction of Species (as many as 70-100 per day) will become irreversible with devastating consequences even in the wealthiest countries.
More and more people realize that our elected officials, our corporate CEOs, our mainstream media, and others in power are not sufficiently addressing environmental destruction, the mass extinction of species, escalating militarism and violence, the expanding epidemic of poverty, and the destruction of indigenous peoples worldwide (some of whom are the last remaining examples of cultures that have lived in sustainable harmony with nature for many millennia).
Even if somehow the huge obstacles were to disappear allowing emergency funding for the Kyoto/Copenhagen Accords, the U.N. goal to cut poverty in 1/2 by 2015 and other major initiatives, the underlying reasons for this rush towards global collapse will still be there.
Beyond emergency measures, what's needed is a major cultural shift, including a shift in consciousness and societal priorities, especially in the wealthiest countries. This is a shift away from what We, The World Advisory Board member Riane Eisler calls Domination Culture (and it's impending collapse) and toward Partnership Culture.
This is a moment when great change is possible. But don't imagine that the change, the shift to peace, sustainability and transformation, is just going to happen on its own. The major changes brought about by social movements throughout history have not happened as a result of a few people with vision like Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. Tremendous organizing was needed, and everyone's involvement counted."Unless we see our vote [in the U.S.] as part of a commitment to involve ourselves consistently and unrelentingly in the political process, our vote is wasted. This is because the forces that have led us to this economic, military, and political precipice exert such awesome power over the mechanics of Washington that no single candidate or group of legislators, whatever their intentions, can possibly go up against them unless armed with an irrepressible public mandate."
To make the shift happen, we need "an irrepressible public mandate". And for that we need a major public awareness-raising and mobilization program that benefits from what some people call "conscious" or "sacred" activism. Social researcher Paul Ray estimates that there are 50-60 million people in the USA and 80-90 million in Western Europe who are what he calls Cultural Creatives who would love to see such a shift happen. But they don't know that there are so many others with their values.
Eugene Jarecki, filmmaker who produced the acclaimed documentary Why We Fight
We, The World has begun to help make the Cultural Creatives visible to each other so they can begin to act collectively! But to fully implement this, via the WE campaign, we need full participation at this stage by those, like you, who share these values. Together, you and WE have the potential to galvanize tens of millions of new people. Please join us!
- Individual Partners
- Share WE.net with your network on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or your email list
- Create your own project, program or event in your school, community, or village for WE
- Share your actions and ideas on the WE Forum blog
- Set up a WE Student Action Group or Local WE Group
- Volunteer for WE
- Donate to WE
- Get involved with projects/actions of WE Partner organizations
- Organization, Coalition and Campaign Partners
- Post WE.net and the WE logo on your website
- Mention your participation with WE in your outreach emails, newsletters and other promotion
- List your upcoming programs and events on the Global Unity Calendar as part of the WE Campaign
- Create events and other programs specifically for a WE Action Campaign and list them on the Global Unity Calendar
- Co-sponsor and co-organize WE Global Events and other programs with We, The World
- Resource Partners
- Provide funding for "Now Is The Time For WE" Video (now in production) and WE Campaign
- Provide media outlets: broadcast (TV, radio, satellite), print publications, website articles/ads
- Provide other in-kind donations of products or services: video production, design services, printing, promotion services, server capacity, venues, outreach to major constituencies, volunteer Services, etc.
- Comprehensive: WE addresses not just one major issue but all issues of global concern.
- Inclusive: WE not only partners with organizations and coalitions, WE also partners with other campaigns and movements.
- Values including awareness of our interconnection, interdependence and understanding of our common goals are reflected in the WE campaign; these values are fundamental to all movements for social change.
- WE not only promotes other groups' efforts, WE also produces events and programs through four action campaigns per year.
- WE.net provides an essential network for social change agents to meet, interact and collaborate.
- We, The World started WE. We, The World is a 501c3 non-profit organization, founded in 1998 and headquartered in New York City, whose mission is to maximize social change until we have a world that works for all.
- Meet the WE Team
- Report from 2011:
The date is October 3, 2011. There have been 3 Global Initiatives as part of the "WE" campaign so far this year. They focused on Women & Equality (January through March), Ecosystems (April through June) and Unity and Peace (July through September)..
Together, these 3-month Campaigns have already succeeded in involving more people in an ongoing way than Live Aid, Live Earth or other similar global events. Results have varied regionally. In some areas political and legislative action was taken to allocate funds for greatly reducing poverty, ending social injustice or restoring damaged eco-systems. In other areas, it was about expanding non-military approaches to ending ethnic and border conflicts. Some regions had transformative cultural and educational public activities.
Participation in "WE" has taken place locally in thousands of towns and cities around the world. Organizers usually began by engaging and educating the public about important local issues related to the current Global Campaign theme. Then the focus would turn to generating local and regional political support to make crucial changes in legislation, business or government practices, diplomatic treaties, ecological improvements, education or whatever was most important in the region.
The participating local organizations were connected to others outside their area through the Network, www.WE.net, including an internationally accessible Calendar. Simultaneous high visibility Hub Events on each continent provided a means of rallying excitement and large scale consciousness-raising. As more recognizable leaders and celebrities participated in the Hub Events, mainstream media coverage increased substantially leading to even more ongoing participation around the world.
The creator of "WE" was a relatively small non-profit with the ambitious name of "We, The World". As a result of its persistent organizing efforts and strong supporters such as Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall and Deepak Chopra, these Global Initiatives generated an unusual degree of collaboration between large organizations and coalitions including Amnesty International, Greenpeace, the Clinton Global Initiative, MoveOn, the International Council of Churches, the International Trade Union Confederation, four Years. Go., the Global Commons movement, the Evolutionary Leaders movement and many other large and small groups.
Though still new in everyone's minds, this approach appears to be overcoming the political logjams of the past in which special interests used their power and influence to maintain the status quo at the expense of the common good. Now, in many areas around the world, politicians have started to point to "an irrepressible public movement" when no longer giving in to these power brokers and special interests.
Around the world people are beginning to notice that something unique is happening. Now, instead of the predominance of political partisanship and conflict covered in the media, we are seeing a growing theme of people in different parts of the world coming together to solve their problems. There seems to be a new activism fueled by awareness of common goals. Even the most cynical commentators admit that we could be entering a new global era of collective public involvement.
