Film Festival Reviews

Tribeca Film Festival Review: “Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project” Is An Eye-Opening Documentary About How Fake News Manipulates The Public


 

Marion Stokes secretly recorded television 24 hours a day for 30 years from 1975 until her death in 2012. For Marion, taping was a form of activism to seek the truth, and she believed that a comprehensive archive of the media would be invaluable for future generations. Her visionary and maddening project nearly tore her family apart, but now her 70,000 VHS tapes are being digitized and they’ll be searchable online.

I absolutely loved this documentary because a woman who had always understood the power of the media’s influence was dedicated to revealing how it manipulates our thinking to make unbiased decisions concerning social and political issues. Living in an era where we are becoming more and more reliant on social media for news, this story forces you to see how your everyday opinions about important issues may not be your own.

Marion Stokes, a former librarian and television producer in Philadelphia, began recording the news in 1977 and didn’t stop until her death. She was fascinated with the way the media not only omitted important information from stories but how they would change over time, affecting how the public viewed important issues. Marion was motivated by freedom, especially the freedom to form one’s own opinion. She was aware of the power television held and how strongly it influenced people’s lives and beliefs. It was important to her that others have open conversations regarding social issues and put aside race, class or education status in order to create positive changes.

Marion’s life revolved around the news and she was sure to have many machines recording on different televisions at once. Most of the coverage was political or about wars and she became absolutely obsessed with the Iran Crisis that took place in 1979. She was described by her staff as a hoarder because she never threw anything out. In addition, she had other homes full of furniture and hundreds of thousands of books. Having a difficult childhood created a very secluded life where she was described as controlling, private and didn’t trust many people. Somehow, she did manage to meet a “soul mate” who also cared about social issues and he dedicated his life to her. Upon her death, her son donated all of her VHS tapes to the Internet Archive where they made all of the information available to the public.

This story is beautifully told, inspiring, and is a constant reminder that everything we hear is not always the whole truth. It also makes you aware that everyone deserves to tell their own stories and not be dismissed because of social or economic status.

 

“Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project” recently premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival

 

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Malika Harris

Malika is a Writer from NYC who loves movies and talking about them.