This Time, the Election Will Not Be Stolen
Ian Inaba is staging a revolution, and he damn sure wants it televised.
His idea is to have videographers monitor voter polling sites during the upcoming mid-term elections and in greater numbers during the 2008 presidential election. Their purpose: bypass the mainstream media and provide real-time, online media coverage of any problems that arise at voting sites.
His plan for action is what he works on when not promoting his new documentary film, "American Blackout," which looks at the disenfranchisement of the Black vote in America and voting irregularities in the 2000 and 2004 national elections. The film also traces what journalist Greg Palast calls the "political lynching" of Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., for openly questioning the Bush administration's policies involving Iraq and 9/11.
"American Blackout" received a Special Jury Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. The San Francisco Chronicle called it "as much an indictment of liberal apathy as of conservative dirty dealing." Film Journal International called it a "paid advertisement for Cynthia McKinney."
Inaba, 35, is a journalist for the Guerrilla News Network. He directed the music videos for "Mosh" by Eminem and "Time and Time Again" by Chronic Future. Inaba also contributed to GNN's book "True Lies," about black box voting. The former investment banker is now creating his own grassroots, citizen journalism from his home base in Berkeley.
Inaba spoke with WireTap by phone about his "comfortable" life during San Francisco's technology "bubble," his life-changing decision to pursue alternative journalism, making music videos and his frustration with the Democratic Party.
WireTap: I know you're busy, because we've been playing phone tag for about three weeks now. What have you been up to?
Ian Inaba: I finally got a good night's sleep last night. I've been in Ohio doing the Video the Vote campaign, and I was also screening '[American] Blackout.' My film has been utilized in GOTV efforts for black youth and youth in general. The League of Young Voters and SEIU were screening the film, we had about 100 people in both Cincinnati and Columbus. It was a good mix of college kids and union workers.
WT: What kind of response do you get to your film from that crowd?
II: It's been largely supportive, especially with the minority youth audience. We had 300 black youth in Chicago last week and it was amazing. I usually sit out in the hallway during screenings, and I'll see kids walk out to use the bathroom, and I'm always thinking, "What are you doing?" [Laughs]. But I have 16-year-old kids talking to each other, yelling, saying this film is made for us, this is our history, trying to inspire each other. I don't even have to say anything but just watch them organize on their own. When I made the film, I wanted to unite communities -- African-American working class voters and youth voters -- and I wanted them to organize.
WT: During these debates at screenings, is it typically folks of color in the audience or do you see White folks as well?
II: At the last one there was literally one white kid and one Latino, and the rest were all blacks. One young white youth stood up and said, "I thought I was aware and being political, but this film makes me feel like I have been duped and my eyes have been opened. I will dedicate my life to being aware and hope that others will do the same." His sentiment is what came about in me when I started making the film. When you meet someone like [former U.S. Representative] Cynthia McKinney at the heart of the issue, going places that others won't go, informing others that many don't have the courage to go. She imposed that in me, and I want to do the same in others.
WT: At discussions following film screenings, do people ever discuss people of color that are members of the Republican Party and how to appeal to those voters?
II: Only 10 percent of blacks are Republicans. They care about how much taxes they pay. And the religious community against abortion; they get swayed by those hooks. The discussion is more focused on how the Dems take us for granted and don't give a fuck about us. Why should we give these people our vote? But there's no better alterative. What we say is find representation, someone who represents you. [Black voters] need to choose their leadership and participate and affect the people who are their representatives. And gather up your common political power and make a political stand. The black vote does matter and does change elections.
WT: Do you mind if I ask what your ethnic background is, and what your upbringing was like?
II: My dad is Japanese and my mom is Scotch-Irish-Norwegian. My dad's family is from Hawaii, so I've spent time there, but I was born in San Francisco and grew up in Berkeley and went to Berkeley High. I went to the University of Pennsylvania at the Wharton School [of business], which had more conservative kids than the ones I grew up with. I worked at an investment bank in San Francisco during the internet boom, and then network securities and then in the [Silicon] valley. Life was very comfortable, and things were good. I was working with Check Point [Technologies Software Ltd.], a billion-dollar Israeli software company. The CEO was 28. They hired me because I was 26. I learned so much from them. But it became very corporate. A founder told me I was too smart to be there and said, 'You need to have your own thing.' I said I didn't want to be processing and making other people really wealthy. That wasn't the life I wanted, to be the middle-man advisor. So I got back in touch with some high school and college friends that were in [the Guerilla News Network]. I became an independent consultant and started a company. GNN was being started at the same time. We commissioned them to make our first video right when the bubble burst. We said screw this, let's go on our own and do online content and video. We did not found GNN, but we helped form it. It was a major turning point for me. It changed everything. All my suits got obviated. I was like, 'Hey, I can wear clothes like I'm in high school again.' [Laughs]. You enter an activist world. It had benefits and drawbacks. You no longer are living in a corporate, consumer environment. I went full-on into it. I'm still getting used to it.
WT: Did you get any flack from activist folks in the beginning? Did anyone call you out?
II: At first, [activists] were like, "You can help us write a business plan." But then I started doing creative stuff and directing videos. It was more flack from the other side, corporate guys saying "Oh, you're a documentary filmmaker now," and meanwhile they work for The Carlyle Group [a D.C.-based global private equity investment firm]. But they see my stuff and know it's quality, not just 'kids trying to fuck with the system' kind of thing. Many are appreciative. I have followed some of the most hardcore activists around the country and covered voting machines, uranium and 9/11, following around these people. If they weren't doing this, nobody would be. Bev Harris [executive director of Black Box Voting Inc., an advocacy group opposed to certain electronic voting methods] started a movement with electronic voting machines in 2002 and 2003. I was following her at the same time as McKinney. Many call them conspiracy theorists and jokingly say 'black helicopter women' because they think CIA helicopters are flying all around, spying on people or something. I was in San Mateo once because I got a tip about a voting box situation. Nothing came up, but if I didn't go out there, no one would have done it. When people really believe something is true, they want to get it out there. It's a thankless job. But if we inspire a discussion even on YouTube for 100,000 people, that's really something.
WT: Your film, "American Blackout," definitely does not hide your own activist subjectivity. Have people criticized you for the lack of objectivity in the film?
II: People might say, "Aren't you being overtly political or partisan? Do you have an agenda?" It's almost like the new McCarthyism, like being partisan is crippling, like you're not allowed to take a side. With "American Blackout," how can you talk about voter disenfranchisement -- where one party benefits more from this phenomenon, and has been proven to have connections to those tactics -- and still look balanced? Because it's a two-party system in this country, people are so quick to discount ideas as partisan, but it controls and defines what is allowed to be the political discussion in this country. In order to get grants to do this type of work, they have to be 501 C3, which is nonpartisan money. But when it became clear that [American Blackout] can be seen as more favorable to Dems, the foundations got scared and pulled away funding, after the film was done and we still had bills. We were trying to do youth outreach and create discussion guides and funding got pulled. It happened in conjunction with McKinney having episode with police officer on capital hill.
WT: Can you describe that incident?
II: On March 29, there was an alleged scuffle with a cop when she wanted to enter the capital building to vote without her ID. A cop allegedly grabbed her and then let her go, and a day later filed assault charges. They were able to say 'here's crazy Cynthia again.' And when you hit a cop, you're gonna lose half of your base. We had been on the road with standing ovations all over the country and then that happened.
WT: And yet McKinney is the central focus of your film. Do you have any regrets about making that choice?
II: Some people have said you made the right movie but with the wrong leading lady. But the reason I made the movie was because of her. She held a hearing on voting in Florida, and nobody else did. The people who make the loudest noise are targeted for it, but they are the reason things come up in the first place. She is asking the questions everyone else wants to ask. The Dems have said, "Step away from her." They are not about exposing the truth, they're about regaining power.
WT: So why exactly did you make "American Blackout"?
II: We were writing a book called 'True Lies' in 2003. I had to research electronic voting machines, McKinney, anthrax and other stories we felt the mainstream press wasn't covering. McKinney was fascinating to me. As I followed her and Bev Harris, McKinney said none of these issues matter unless we have a fair vote. When I asked Bev, "Why do you do this," she was dumpster diving for documents. She's a white woman married to a black man, and she said, "I want to make sure my kids' votes count." Those two women's ideas held very strong for me. When you see a pattern, and the same excuses, it's not by chance. It's a tactic, and it discourages voters.
WT: You mentioned to me in an email prior to this interview that Endtheblackout.org and VideotheVote.org are two grassroots voting efforts that are direct results of your film. Can you elaborate on this?
II: These sites are a call to action. Corporate videographers were the only ones who captured [the election in] Florida. They showed images on TV of people waiting in lines, in the rain. People were saying hey, isn't this great that all these people showed up to vote, and I thought no, this isn't great, people waiting in the rain at midnight is not great. They were not looking at how many voting booths there were and why there were more in some places and not others. People had self-organized to document [voting] in 2004, and I wanted an organized program in 2008. We need to provide guidelines and structure so people don't fuck it up by causing trouble and making it worse. We want to provide same-day footage and provide an alternative narrative in real time, accurately. We'll dispatch videographers all over the country and have lawyers available for election protection. We found there is a big desire out there to do this. We'll do it in November and again in 2008. We have hundreds of video volunteers nationwide.
WT: Shifting gears a little bit, can you talk about your work making music videos? You made Eminem's "Mosh" and also filmed a video for the Nine Inch Nails song "The Hand That Feeds" that Trent Reznor rejected. How do your videos connect to a project like "American Blackout"?
II: I like doing videos, when I have good music to work with. They are shorter projects that don't take three years to complete. And I get to use my imagination and move on it. I think it's a good vehicle to expose young people to issues. More people saw that Eminem video than will ever see any move I will ever make. Everyone remembers that video, and it feels good. We hit it at the right time. I knew I wanted to make a voting video, and he could get it out as widely as anybody. After Nine Inch Nails, it left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a corporate environment, and I should have known better. I poured myself back into "[American] Blackout. Then Showtime pulled the deal from table at the last minute because of McKinney. At the end of the day, we're still subjected to corporate censorship. There are still are gatekeepers everywhere. That's why YouTube is so great.
WT: Yeah, but even YouTube is corporate now.
II: Yeah, but they are still letting the liberal stuff go, even though they're owned by Google. Always pay attention to infrastructure. Right now, I'm begging groups like Move On to help get the word out, but it shouldn't be that way. I contacted AlterNet months ago about this story, and it's only just running now. Rupert Murdoch doesn't beg anybody to get his word out. Even in the progressive movement there are gatekeepers. Why has "Blackout" been out since January and there's been no coverage? You see how much more organized they are on the other side. You think people would want to have their shit together, but it's too fragmented and disjointed.
More Resources for Action:
If you have a video camera, visit Video the Vote website, for more information on how to help assure fair and safe elections.
If you have a cell phone, visit the Ruckus Society's website to sign up for text message alerts, if (and only if) your help is needed on November 7.
Gary Moskowitz is a frequent contributor to WireTap and a former beat reporter for the Los Angeles Times' community news papers. He plays trumpet and drums for Kimby.
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