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The rather obvious bit of symbolism has something to do with violence and all that. And tonight we're having a workshop workshop on violence and. We're going to present work in progress to make. Who is here as an artist in residence under a Rockefeller Foundation grant. The first thing I should say is that this is being simulcast on both Channel 2 and Channel 44. And for those of you who have two television sets in my house I'd suggest you traipse off now get your second TV set. Bring it down and put it alongside. Your first TV set. Meanwhile we'll talk briefly about what a simulcasts is and why it's interesting to watch two channels rather than just one. A lot of people are confused about simulcast and they seem to think that somehow or rather what goes on on one channel has no relevance to what goes on in another channel. And indeed if you're sitting at home in the audience you may often feel that way though it's often not true and sometimes it is even despite the best is on. But what is going on here in our simulcast is an attempt on channel 2.
To present a body of work which is designed for very specific purpose and on Channel 44 supplementary input of information both visual and audio that you can choose to watch or not watch it according to your choice. You can choose what to look at. By simply looking from channel to channel 44 from one set to the other side. But we can choose for you the sound that you will listen to and consequently you're going to have to place yourself rather close to the TV sets and you're going to have to ride your own audio up and down and this way you become one of the participants in the great experiment as well as those of us who were sitting here in the studio. For a variety of reasons which will probably become obvious to you as we say with this. We in the studio tonight have laughingly referred to this as TV's X code show that is if you have children at home
and there are certain vital aspects of life that you don't want them to see in the kind of intensity that they may see here. And the kinds of relationships that we may portray here it would suggest you toggle them off the bed. But Tuesday two of two and do stay tuned to 44 and do ride your audio up and down and you can even experiment by putting one television set on top of the other or flipping from two to 44. My suggestion is that if there seems to be no relevance between what's going on in to 1:44 that maybe you look at your dial and make sure you're perhaps not to Channel 4 or 5. Anyway let me rest repeat for the last time that if you do have children you don't want to see this. Send them to bed. There are a lot of young people here in the audience tonight whom you may see on the television set. They are here with the gracious consent of their parents on the show.
That. This.
Is one that can be hard. It is a safeguard against any. Of. Our turns which is increasingly vulnerable due to the advances that have been made by the Soviet Union since the year 1967 when the Sentinel program was first. It is a safeguard also. I. Mean. Less than massive magnitude what. This program also does not do something is what should be clearly understood.
It does not provide. That. So what. The. Purpose of our defense system. But. I. Figure. Out what our evaluation
is of any talks that we are having by that time or maybe having. I. Might. Examine what progress has been made in the development. Of change and this is what I. Got.
To. It. All out there can be the boss. You listen and you talk to me what language you speak. I live it I don't I live in I don't I live in I don't why don't you listen to me.
Why don't you answer me why did you help me. I listen I'm talking to you. I don't understand you. I don't want to understand you I'm telling you something. Who are you. Who do you think you are. I can't stand it much more. Nobody is listening nobody is listening. Betting against violence doesn't eliminate violence. They have been saying that it does for 10000 years. It's a lie. We reject it. I've been trying to tell you violence seems like God of man's nature. It's a way to reach an understanding between words and the body. That is between symbolic acts. And relax. Symbolic violence and real violence talking about constitutional rights. What about the right of people violence. At the dawn of our present era. We find that the instincts which made us the mightiest predator in history of the earth have driven us into a position where there is no natural enemy left to annihilate except ourselves.
The rule of nature is firm adapt or perish. I've got all kinds. Of parents psycho social evolutionary step is in the making. We've been forced into it. This step if taken amounts to nothing more than adaptation. It means learning to cooperate should the step not be taken we will perish. Ban the Bomb types. Peaceniks hippies flower children and the pacifists represent the first masterings of the psycho social movement away from the heritage of the past. The juncture is as crucial as one reached when a man emerged with a larger brain and a better weapon and better his killer ape parents into extinction. All we do is talk. I want to put my body where my words are. Words don't work. Maybe they never had.
Maybe they never will. Little. Did. We. Get.
The. Oh we. Got. To be.
Well and as I. Said I'm not. For them
violence is the digestive act of our inability to communicate. Violence is hard to communicate. Violence is just digestive act of our inability to communicate. Violence is the digestive activity and ability to communicate. Violence is the digestive act of our inability to communicate. Violence is the digestive ability to communicate. This is just a matter of the day to mitigate. Violence and the digestive action or inability to communicate violence that is just to mitigate violence or an act of violence. The objective is to get the violence to just do the act of our inability to communicate. I mean. This is just a fact of our inability to communicate. But just to bad do you communicate. Why is just the
right ability to communicate violent acts of violence is that it just I don't do that. You know I can't I can't. It looks. To. Me. Violence is just asked about in an attempt to communicate. Violence is not just a matter of our inability to communicate. Violence is the detective of time ability to communicate. Violence is that just a matter of our inability to communicate. Violence is just his act of violence and.
It's. Lucky yes. No one is listening. No one is listening. No one
is listening. The question raised by that is can mean a can man communicate to man in any meaningful way can man communicate to man. We're trying to involve people in TV land. By the old corny and now revered way of getting people to phone in. You can phone the station. You can talk to people who are here at our lighting our phones already to converse with you about anything related to this program. And you can call them complain moan and groan or praise or comment by calling for an on one five six hundred four nine one five six hundred. There's another way that you can participate in this program and that is if you believe that man can communicate you can dial a number and vote yes if you believe that man cannot communicate in any meaningful way. You can dial a number and vote no. If you'll be patient I have the numbers there someplace. To vote
yes that man can communicate you can dial 4 9 2 7 2 4 6 4 9 2 7 2 4 6. If you'd like to know that man cannot communicate. You can dial 3 5 6 7 7 8 6 3 5 6 7 7 8 6 1 if you want to talk and just shoot the breeze. Call 4:9 1 7 six hundred five six hundred 4 9 1 5 6 4 9 1 5 600. I wonder if anyone here in the audience is interested in having anything to say. If I raise the question Can man communicate. I can see out there. Dwyer lady when you wait just a minute till we get to like you please. Stand up please. Would you identify yourself. I'm Virginia. I'm from Bread and Roses in Boston right on.
Communication isn't the problem and your whole show has been talking about violence and communication it's very romantic it's very painful it's very poignant but it really isn't the issue. The issue is power relationships. Who has it and doesn't. And people who don't know oppressed use violent means to get what they need. And I think you're really missing the point. All right. We'll get back to you. Anyone else have anything to say about man's inability to communicate. Sir sir. We have a microphone down here. I'll just say that after hostilities have begun it's to be possible to carry on any kind of dialogue. You know soldiers go to Vietnam to find out. Do you think you're about to kill or be killed situation. If dialogue is to take place and resolutions are to be achieved it has to be done before this situation devolves into some barbaric hostility and that can be achieved if we paid more
attention to the semantics difficulties semantical difficulties too to our problems and misunderstanding each other. And to our basic lack of faith in the intelligibility and humanity of each other. Thank you. Is there another one sir. I think part of communication between people is one is very much more easy to take place when both people know some facts and argue from facts with respect to the situation in the United States and so-called silent majority which I consider to be death. It helps when the people who are saying kill the communists in Vietnam know why we're in Vietnam and when the president of the United States lies to the American public on television but by
lying to them as to how the war started. I think it would be you know it's very hard to communicate that way. When you have the government lying to you. Let me just for clarification. When you when you dial to vote yes or no don't expect an answer. All you've got is a busy signal but busy signal indicates that your vote has been tallied. You can then hold up and hang up and let someone else dial and vote for it. If you want to vote regarding a vote again try Let's go on to the next the next of Lancken this program and we'll proceed to more from the studio audience. Or are you. I'm right here. This thing. What do you expect to hear. I expect to see. What do you expect to see.
What is it that you're granting your answers to. I don't like winter games. I'm not going to get in a chiclet. I know what it is. In both fairness. How much for me to get later. Nice to see you. I still think you're nice but I think you have a fall. Just because I didn't vote for Gregory. He's going to run it on you know that's a long time to wait four more years.
But we wait so long for so many things. Think how long I've waited for you longer than four years. It's going to be longer yet still isn't it. We'll see. What was your mother's thought. Well maybe I should ask you what was your father's side. Which one. More and more and meet him there but say. Then I don't know. You know it doesn't make much difference. Have flown the coop. Bless my little borough and my park in Chicago and it doesn't make much difference but the other the other fellow's back. But I had nothing to lose that much to lose. But you would get and I've already said I had something to lose. So they you just you've just put me in but you just put me one down. You know it's not your fault.
I mean that's that's part of no inheritance. I mean my heredity follows me comes with me. I don't wear it. So do I work the other way around. It. Was my inheritance dream. I'm quite. Green. Green is really wrong. You come back around to that again. I don't know. You know I don't. I've I've given up that other thing that's not relevant to what I want or what I want to do anymore. I'm outside it in the same way that you've left the borough in the Park in Chicago. I left. I left whatever my equivalent to the same thing was you know I ponts sir and I've made a little nest in those little green world and that's fine.
But but how are you going to take care. Must I go out and do domestic work. No. No. You know will go away and we'll do our own thing somewhere else. You know me too. I don't know you at all. Oh yes you do. You wouldn't be lying here gabbing. What would you rather than Dabic. Careful in. The.
Do you feel do you feel you know what I mean shopping. And you feel like there's something you know right there. It's just my you know tension is a tension I feel. Or is it a big coming of one. And you're asking a very big question. You think the world would change to think that living your life as our own backyard
better discover your own backyard in a new light. No sunlight on your walls. You make life more bearable. You ask leading questions but bearable. That's what I just said. What about our children. Well what about I'll have to bear them. You know I'm willing to bear. All of. This I'm the male species. Isn't there anything to drink around here and refresh.
And you think that it would be nice to become a volunteer in service to America. You know you make me smile. It's not I'm not supposed to smile when she's supposed to smile. I mean it's just something like you know why don't you do that. You're making you so smart. That's not. I mean that's not really what we're talking about you're saying are you wanting to make some kind of commitment once you lay yourself down to somebody else. And I'm through with laying myself down for somebody else. I blame myself for that one me here because you know because if we're together and you know we agree to it we make it together and we do. So it is all very nice between us then nothing else. You know those things are not part of us and not part of our world and so we just say you know the
hell with you and our Dick Gregory for president. I. I knew. And Richard Nixon and the whole thing. No that's not our that's not our CNN anymore. I will do it as long as we feel we have to in our lives and when we can get out we'll get out and just couldn't figure out what to wear to what to the world is as big you know now a hundred years from now it's going to be very small in our lifetime a hundred years from now. So what you're saying is not any question you really want to do. You want to believe that but I think that you know as your mother. And.
Me. To. Be.
On. I. See.
It for. It. Is holy calling just to talk on the phone on one 5 600 calling also to voter tabulation as to whether a man can or cannot communicate tabulation now. Yes you can. Seven hundred and five six seven eight ten. No I cannot read. No. As for you cannot communicate. Well there's a call here. And what I'd like to take that relates to the the man has been talking briefly with Nick here
and it relates briefly to the question raised by the last segment that we saw that is is the family somehow the social unit which will stop violence in Ireland. Who is this calling please Akshay. Akshay and I understand you have some rather persuasive arguments about violence in the family. Well the family I mean I see it as no hope. None of the five marriages you know goes to court. One out of two I think in California one out of every three I think ends in divorce. We have the highest per capita murder rate in the world and 70 percent of it is one member of a family killing another you know alternate history all the great drama Shakespeare topically somebody who has always been wondering you know be careful of people in the family in your studio watching. Well that was a question raised by a young lady here. And that is
she argued that violence had nothing to do with the romantic concepts that she saw portrayed here but had more to do with power blocks and their differences. Do you think that in terms of your. I'd say the whole history of drama doesn't bear it out. You know the whole country has population explosion in the family that you talk about power the family has it all. The exception is an act of aggression you know and you're reading a figures about all of this have you any ideas why it is that families are so prone to violence to one another. Because it's mere propinquity. I don't know it seems very get to know people the more you want to go especially you know how the audience is. I'm curious as to why they packed in the studio with them because of the cynical attitude of a married man. Don't watch. OK. Thanks very much for your call. Let me raise the question again that was raised in the second and the second as
the. And the question raised is is a family. Is the structure the family the major. Prevent or violence in our society. Mr. Grady said no. The number to call for yes it is 4 9 2 7 2 4 6. And if you want to vote no against family structure being nonviolent vote 3 5 6 7 7 8 6 yes 4 9 2 7 2 4 6 No. 3 5 6 7 7 8 6 and again if you just want to call to gripe complain or observe call for an on 1 5 600 If you call for yes or no. Just wait for a busy signal then hang up your voters register. I will hear some phones beeping as opposed to the experiment that was done at Emerson College last evening. We didn't. We think last night we were doing something with which was done by a graduate student which was a thing about black versus white
and the same thing with the violence. I did see the sink that I saw last night. Maybe this is because I was working in the control room last night as opposed to not working in the shore of the Civic. I don't know what this is going to have any effect on it or not we're not looking black death. We're not finding life either. We are we not victims of reality reality one that don't you know reality is the bull that we all live in the real of them and then everything seems so simple. Good question. So Thumper would fall apart anderen. But instead everything gets bigger and bigger. No wait he did. The way he did scarcely anything be impossible for you waiting only lucky the lunar landing. The bird quickly will have a president in orbit. Moon Lunar very good bye bye. Go and get a good grip on the common good the like to. Every little bit helps. All I know is what I like. I don't like
no know not make love not big. Yeah. All.
Day it's a very interesting thing I'm truly surprised at the reaction the audience is getting towards violence towards the effect that is coming across. There is a definite similarity between the two but us right although there is a lack of I think it is fantastic. Now it's coming across OK. I want to thank you for calling. Thank you. Thank you. Much.
For that matter first. I don't know I guess it makes me wonder since sex is such an important thing in any relationship. The world is so violent and there can really be that much stronger your love and relationships that are basis of sexual. Well I hope you're right. Are you enjoying the program. Good good. Or. Are. You going to compete to be a competitor. He's not going to help the human race.
Well maybe that's exactly what they're doing maybe they're getting out of the human race because they are no longer a help. Maybe you guys are putting on the right show. It is. Well thank you for your opinion. I think what we're doing is registering it here. I sure hope so. I hope you guys caught it. Basically what it is I do because I really don't have a lot of intellect they can contribute to society and are deliberately it. How do you feel. What's the relation of this to violence. By the way do you feel that the violence that turning away violence is there. Is it bad or worse. But they're also turning away from the competitive spirit that puts one notch above the today. There's two ways. You had to add a different light. So.
The. Choice since. This.
You like the program as far as you can understand what it feels like when you know it. Guess what we may be going back shortly to reaction from the audience get some of the ideas about it too. Maybe that'll will be more meaningful to you. Right. Well thank you for calling. I mean
I still don't feel that was out of guilt in any way because we killed off a lot of the Japanese guys. I don't think they would have been hampered by that. They would not have given for three months to help build up you better believe it. Do you think the Japanese are more violent than Americans. Basically yes. I think the Russians the Russians are probably right in the offing. I think the Russians pretty much as we they are fighting on a technological advance stage heavy birthers I really think there's going to be very much you get points for our affairs our civil wars couple of beside the bed and we're falling further down south going head like that and there is a definite benefit from being violent.
You feel like it's an outgrowth of a competitive economy. But it is the outgrowth of a competitive society. Definitely it's not to be feared. I think it's to be encouraged properly. Do you think this program is showing this. No I do not. And that's one reason I call. All right. Well thank you all. And many people yes. And I want to thank you. It. Was. Not that hard to concentrate difficult to correlate the two pictures program at the same time is like sitting down in a master controlled studio trying to
watch two separate things. You've got to sit and constantly try and say well does this have any relation this channel to have any relation to channel 44. The sound I can see in many instances where it correlates the video portion does not always it's getting it's getting to be more so now but it doesn't seem to come together and join and become something which is meaningful you can understand what I'm saying. Yeah I don't think I'm gonna have a greater interest in not making more movies. You know when they said a war shorts we got even more interest in making movies and then we made on Psycho. Now we're making another movie. We didn't have to learn how to make the falls and things because we played army before we sort of like to act out. What we see on TV and things falling and they're getting killed. We sort of like the idea of all the blood all over us and a lot of people in the beginning of the season wore
shorts got. Angry in things because we had to put all the blood on a ride home and things all bloody and our mothers went wild got mad but actually the whole thing was really a lot of fun. And I'm not questioning any of the basic concepts or throwing around these words like communication and understanding and violence. And it's really you know how would you have it presented in a more classical context. Probably yeah. Well this of course is it is part of it this is an experiment.
You get a method of presenting a subject that you feel is too fragmented. Yes I think communication requires effort and control yes. And it's very chaotic. But you you don't you don't care for the poor. No it's a very violent. Like I like to keep the. Castro and fellow dictators they do not know that they may imprison body parts they do not even pretend
that they may destroy it but they cannot eliminate the determination to be free. Welcome back a matter of. Fact or rather an old white man's land. A rumor spread that a policeman had beaten up an old negro woman in a dispute that followed the arrest. That was the start of four days and nights are driving movie burning and shooting.
Rampaging mobs of negroes running wild through a 50 square mile area screaming their defiance and outnumbered squads of bullying by Friday. Barker out to help when I got. On my way. I will be along with them. I don't know nothing. I know I don't agree with you and I don't. And I think we like that will be OK. Bye bye bye.
Bye bye. Either way. We like to think that violence is in the eye of the beholder. Man has no nature but his own history is as American as cherry pie. We don't seem to understand that words stand for these words mean other things. Our culture is changing so fast words can't get the fabric of our lives together like they used to. Technology has completely changed the role of life of man to man in the past 40 years. Man
has no nature but his own history since 1945 we have spent on national defense. Fifteen hundred billion dollars. Since nineteen hundred ninety million people have been killed in wars. 200000 people die by car accidents by the year 2000 there will be 100 million more Americans. The nuclear bomb is unfortunately not the most spectacular way man has progressed to kill other men. Chemical and biological warfare is being researched in the United States at the cost of three hundred and fifty million dollars this year. From 1963 to March 1969 we dropped 4 million tons of napalm in Vietnam. We have nearly three million five hundred thousand men in uniform somewhere in the world. Their pay takes up half the armed forces budget. Why don't you listen to me. We are moving too fast. I'd like to help myself somehow. I'd like to help others but not as a means working for the government.
I just don't feel this government has anything to do with me. I'm going to go ahead and do what they want to do. I don't I don't want anything to do. With fellow citizens let no one down. But I still believe in a studio that's going to reach an awful lot of people.
I think it's an irresponsible state and if you ask you why don't you know when you're ready. One of the technical glitches allows them to play. That might very well be true right. Yeah but. So it's not really appropriate to have a violent show but I just started it because quite frankly channel just rubs me the way here. I get very innovative. However you don't take the proper precautionary. Well guess what. Thank you. Well I'm glad. It. Is.
Essential to me. They make my blood. You have definitely made up your mind I just hope you'll keep it a little bit open in order to see possibly that this program might bring you good. Well I think you're right. Are we on the. No no we are
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Series
Rockefeller Artists in Television
Episode
Violence Sonata
Producing Organization
WGBH Educational Foundation
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/15-37vmd64n
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/15-37vmd64n).
Description
Description
Dub from master, channel 1 of 2, ends abruptly (not complete) Contains clip used in NTW website project
Date
1970-00-00
Topics
Fine Arts
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
01:01:41
Credits
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
Production Unit: New Television Workshop
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: 31734 (WGBH Barcode)
Format: U-matic
Generation: Copy: Access
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
Citations
Chicago: “Rockefeller Artists in Television; Violence Sonata,” 1970-00-00, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 29, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-37vmd64n.
MLA: “Rockefeller Artists in Television; Violence Sonata.” 1970-00-00. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 29, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-37vmd64n>.
APA: Rockefeller Artists in Television; Violence Sonata. Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-37vmd64n