I went back and viewed the very first ever episode of AltNews. I was hoping to gain some incite to the origins of the show and what students were interested in back then. They had several segments in the show like; nothing being done about the AIDS epidemic, rival bagel carts, and an experiment testing the trustworthiness of students and faculty on campus with a wallet. The episode reminded me of 90’s television which is the style they were going for. The students were looking to expose truths and make a few people laugh in the process which they effectively accomplished in this first episode. The artists used VHS cameras to record and produce this episode which is apparent in the quality, but adds to the authenticity to the episode and places it in time. Green screen effects were heavily used and adds to the 90’s aesthetic and nostalgia. It makes me think of the transition from 90’s television to the early 2000’s. In the 90’s people were experimenting with this style and making wacky shows, but in the early 2000’s those same stations became less relaxed and forced the shows to become more of what modern television is today. With that we lost a great deal of artistic expression and freedom with experimentation. The show encapsulates what life was like in Carbondale, Illinois in the 90’s. The art shows us that these student’s were mimicking what they themselves saw on television at the time. Just how students are influenced by the vast expanse of media they consume now. I find myself pulling inspiration from films and music that I consume and it finds a way into my work. Being born in 1997 I was unable to experience as much of the 90’s as I would have liked to, but watching reruns and experiencing it through my older brother, born in 1991, I have a good recollection of what it was like. The episode was extremely successful for the time. They nailed the aesthetic of the 90’s while producing entertaining and thoughtful segments directed towards students. A downfall of the episode was the lack of well rehearsed scripted segments. You could tell some hosts and actors were reading lines instead of speaking directly into the camera. This was the only thing that took me out of the episode. Overall I enjoyed seeing what life was like in Carbondale back then and seeing the beginnings of the student run Alt News organization.

Keith Knight used a slide show to talk about his past work and the impact his work has had on society. He started his career as a cartoon artist. He used real life events he experienced and injustices he has views on as inspiration for his work. Keith mostly focuses his work on minority groups to influence change in the world. The slide show gave us the audience a chance to view his comics and understand his position on major topics still relevant today even though they were written ten to fifteen years ago. I was confused as to why he spent so much time talking about his comics and not the show. That is, until he revealed that in the pitch for his show “Woke”, he used his years of comics as material for the show. He said that he tossed the portfolio of his work up into the air and let it slam down onto the table. This got the attention of the producers and he said that his book was filled with enough material for the first ten seasons. This was a bold move that could have ended poorly, but the producers respected it and picked up his show. Keith mentioned that he still gets nervous for pitches and to combat that likes to pump himself up in the care before he goes into the meeting. He said that the producers like to display their achievements on the walls of the office building and that can be intimidating. So, Keith lines up all of his awards on his dashboard before his goes in. This helps remind him that he is good enough to be there and people admire his work enough to recognize it with awards. I found this helpful as a beginning artist to know that even successful people still have doubts about their own work. While talking about his comic strip experience he said the writing is the hardest part. He said the art work is less important and only compliments the message he is trying to convey. This only reinforces focusing on writing skills for myself. It inspires me to careful craft the message before creating the artwork. Writing is what I struggle with the most because I am the least experienced in that area of film making. I have no problem making good looking films, but some of them lack substance and story. I am taking CP-451 Writing the Short Film this semester and seeing Keith Knights work has only inspired me to focus more on creating a well crafted message. One story that Keith told us was about a comic that he believes was one of his most influential. He created a comic strip commenting on the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy put in place by the military. He received numerous letters from active military members saying how they agreed with him or that the comic changed their mind on the subject. I find it interesting that such a small thing as a comic strip can resonate with so many people. It makes me think of how films can change people’s perspectives and ways of thinking.