Eyes on the Prize

This particular episode of the series dealt with The Black Panther Party and the riot at Attica prison. What struck me most were the layers of direct address and the differences between "then" and "now". In the archival footage from the past, people directly addressed their audience, not realizing that that film would be used years later for the documentary. In the "present day" interviews, the interviewees looked back on this footage and added new information to it, directly addressing their audience. One could say that the people speaking in the archival footage were both aware and unaware of their spectators. They knew they were speaking to people in their time, but, unbeknownst to them, a new breed of spectators would watch them again. The "present-day"interviewees gave a new voice to Fred Hampton and the Attica inmates, justifying their causes.