Urban Unrest

23 June 2006 | Recommendations | Ernesto Aguilar

Alternative Press Review is one of those publications that simply defies description. It helped define a genre for which magazines like Utne Reader profit handsomely from, though one could persuasively argue that it has often been inconsistent, whiny and tends to be a vehicle of its editors (whose all-male crew most certainly make liberal use of getting the last word in a debate). Whatever you may think, APR brings an astounding mix of stuff, and its site is well worth checking out.

I wanted to focus my comments on this quarter’s issue, but would highly encourage you to check out its back issues. This month’s edition features some fabulous articles worth commenting on.

“Mbanna Kantako: Human Rights Radio Warrior” is an exhaustive chat with the pirate radio pioneer. “I used to call myself the deprogramming director, cause that’s what we’re doing; we’re trying to deprogram ourselves and our people,” Kantako says. “They’re still demanding of our people that they answer to bells and whistles and liars, and we try to tell them that we don’t got to.” A very powerful read.

Also featured is an interview with John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down : The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. For those who’ve had questions about the nature of education, Gatto, an award-winning New York teacher before he quit in disgust, reveals a sharp analysis. From school bells to standardized tests, Gatto theorizes that compulsory education is aimed at social control.

But perhaps the most provocative article is Jennifer Whitney’s “Make Media Make Real Trouble: What’s Wrong (and Right) With Indymedia,” a deconstruction of the Independent Media Center phenomenon and critique of its failures as a community resource. Originally published in LiP magazine, Whitney does an imperfect job of reviewing Indymedia, but it’s a great start.

Couple the fantastic articles with a comprehensive review of the alternative and radical press, and it’s easy to see why APR is in a class of its own.

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