In YouthLAB, we discussed the meaning of revolution, social change and the role new networks and participatory media might play as we “dream of a better day!” Democratizing the media, rather than commercializing it is our goal. The lyrics were collectively written in one intense day and the piece is performed wonderfully by YouthLAB member, Ameenah Muhammad. Below it is the original Gil Scott Heron piece which we all really love and which gave us the inspiration of this work.

In 1976 when Gil Scott Heron wrote this spoken-word tour-de-force, the political radicalism, counter-cultural and civil rights movements of the sixties were morphing into a new wave of patriotism, consumerism and political apathy. Television and radio stations, centralized and profit-driven were fanning the flames of escapism. Controlled by only a handful of corporate media giants, it is easy to see why Heron believed in the 20th century that being plugged in meant being tuned out —identified with citizen passivity and political disengagement. Today, however, we envision technological networks as potentially non-commodified sites of vibrant imagination that tool free expression and dissent rather than manufacture political indifference and compliance.

Gil Scott Heron wrote and performed this in the mid seventies at a time before the internet, youtube consumer video and participatory culture existed. We had an interpretive discussion that began with this basic question:
What does Heron mean when he says the revolution will not be televised and would he say the same thing today as he did in the 1970s?
This is a genuine question that concerned the entire group but contained ambiguity. There are possible differences in interpretation depending on what each student brings to the discussion based on their own perceptions and experiences.

Our rules for discussion:

1) You must cite the line of the text to back up your opinions and arguments.
2) Everyone must contribute, no one should monopolize.
3) Must be an active and deep listener.

Some of the clarifying subquestions we discussed.

What was happening in the 1970s - what was the political context of the times?
Who is Heron referencing and why?
What does Heron mean by revolution?
Is Heron saying that the revolution will not be televised because TV would censor it? What does he mean when he says the revolution will not be televised?
What is Heron saying about the act of watching television in the first stanza?

Our discussion became more energized the more we talked. We began to think that Heron would have a different opinion now that YouTube exists.

We decided to Remix his poem for our generation.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
thinner, because the revolution will not be televised, Brother.

There will be no pictures of you and Willie May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.

Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally gets down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no highlights on the eleven o’clock
news and no pictures of hairy armed women
liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back after a message
bbout a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.

THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED
BY YOUTHLAB CHICAGO

The Revolution Will Be Televised
It will be brought to you by me and
Brought to me by you
It will show pictures of what needs to be seen and
Some things that don’t.
It will be broadcast without distortion.
It will be broadcast through the cables of consciousness and brought to you by the Camcorder of the Commons
It will be brought to you by TBS: Thoroughly Broken Silence

The Revolution Will Be Televised
You will be able to create your own news
You will be able to carry it in your pocket and
View it with out commercial interruption
You will be able to download it without being subpoenaed by the R I A A
You will be able to capture brutality on a cell phone and set it free on YouTube

The Revolution Will Be Televised
But it will not give pop culture a new home
It will not give Anna Nicole paternity tests
It will not give you seizures from pocket monsters
It will not result in nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach or diarrhea
The revolution will contain a solution but not in the purchase of 409
The revolution will not be censored
It will not give into the man
It will deliver a boot into the crotch of oppression
It will not be anorexic
The revolution will be fat and happy

The Revolution Will Be Televised
It will put a microscope on Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzalez and Scooter Libby.
The revolution will not plead the fifth
The revolution will be televised by hackers broadcasting from their mom’s basements
The revolution will not be controlled by septuagenarians
The Revolution Will Be Televised
The Revolution Will Be Televised
The Revolution Will Be You-Tube-sized
The Revolution Will Be Televised …..by Me

What is a Brighter Day? What does that look like in your community?

Working in teams of 3-4, they collectively wrote the poem as an exquisite corpse. First we brainstormed ideas on the board.

What annoys you in the mass media - what ideas/stereotypes?

Dreaming of a better day - what does that look like in your community?

What would Gil Scott Heron say toda? Would the revolution be televised? How?