The Spaces Between Grassroots Documentary ... - Ezra Winton

short, there is a clear and urgent need for sustained research into documentary
distribution and exhibition practices outside of the commercial market.
My research interests lie with the alternative spaces outside of commercial spaces
and in order to discuss and interrogate them, certain language parameters must be
established. At the heart of this inquiry is a discussion that addresses the residue of an ill-
conceived dichotomy between oft-labeled ‘alternative media’ and ‘mainstream media.’ I
would like to put forward a line of thinking for disentanglement whereby this perceived
binary is re-conceived as a continuum with points of reference differentiated by disparate
processes, goals and results. Media practices that are primarily concerned with the
commercial – that is to say, with elements associated with increasing profit margins by
delivering audiences to advertisers, distribution outlets, exhibition spaces and ancillary
markets – I am describing as commercially-oriented practices and spaces. The
commercial signifier is similar to the cultural moniker ‘mainstream’, but implies a
fundamental ideological difference with regard to economic orientation, rather than
simply delineating an accepted (and even celebrated) cultural dominance that the word
‘mainstream’ can narrowly denote.
Community-oriented media practices are concerned with engendering social
participation, facilitating and/or producing the stories of marginalized and oppressed
populations, and creating both discursive and physical spaces where such
‘counternarratives’ (Bhabha, 1994) can be shared and debated in an accessible, inclusive
and responsive environment. Through activities carried out in these spaces outside of
commercial/mainstream spaces, counterpublics are formed that ultimately contribute to
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