Roots of Reality: News and Docs

MTV Flow: Decade 1989 on Reagan

“We wanted Ronald Reagan, and we got him.” Linda Ellerbee’s closing comment sums up the this segment from the MTV documentary Decade, in which various celebrity "witnesses” are interviewed about the 1980s. 




MTV Flow: Decade 1989 Haring and AIDS clip

In this segment of Decade, Keith Haring discusses his decision to be open about his AIDS diagnosis. Also included are sound bites from novelist William Gibson and actor/playwright Eric Bogosian. The clip ends with the number of deaths in 1989 from AIDS. 




MTV Documentary: Racism: Points of View

This clip from MTV's 1991 documentary special, Racism: Points of View, comes from a segment that considers the causes of racism. It begins with Ice-T and Perry Farrell performing a cover of Sly & the Family Stone's "Don't Call Me N***** Whitey," which they did that summer on the first Lollapalooza tour. After that David Byrne states that he needs to recognize that he is racist and try to do something about it. This is followed by material describing how hip-hop artists like Public Enemy educate white people about race and issues facing Black Americans.




MTV Documentary: Racism: Points of View

This clip from Racism: Points of View cuts back and forth between Wanted, a metal band whose members are black, and Vinnie Cappa, a white rapper from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY. Wanted describes how they encounter resistance to their choice of music from friends, family, and the industry. Cappa and friends discuss Bensonhurst's racist reputation. The segment illustrates how MTV featured everyday people, not established stars or performers, as subjects in documentaries. 




MTV Flow: Like We Care promo from MTV’s Most Wanted

Promos for Like We Care played off the combination of famous people and "normal" people who would be featured in the show, as well as how it would tackle "stuff you care about" such as getting into college, racism, animal rights, and dating. 




MTV Flow: Stereotypes Suck: Says Real People

This promo features two young women on the streets of New York who talk about how MTV can help debunk stereotypes. The promo is an example of how MTV increasingly turned to "real people" in order to comment upon social issues. This promo is a precursor to the reality television programs that would become important spaces where issues like race and sexuality would be turned into television entertainment.




MTV Flow: Band Life, Sex & Death on Like We Care

This segment from the episode of Like We Care that aired the day after The Real World’s premiere on May 21, 1992 features a band, Life, Sex & Death. The band talks about the importance of remain true to themselves and gauging success in ways other than number of records sold. At a moment when MTV is still focused on music and engaged in a symbiotic relationship with the music industry, it shows how promoting artists could be consistent with MTV’s emerging focus on identity and self-expression, in or out of the entertainment industry.




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Welcome to the home of video clips for What was MTV?

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