[Five Day Bicycle Race raw #9]

This video contains raw footage shot for "Five Day Bicycle Race," a project comprised of live in-studio commentary and taped edited coverage of the 1976 Democratic National Convention in New York City. Produced by independent videomakers calling themselves The Image Union (including many members of TVTV and Videofreex), it aired on Manhattan Cable for three hours per night for five days during the convention. In this tape, we watch as the videomakers interview people at the Blarney Stone Bar in Midtown Manhattan about the DNC, which was occurring that week at nearby Madison Square Garden. The goal of the interviews was to show that regular people felt that mainstream media coverage of the event was inadequate, but the bar patrons seemed to be only interested in either watching the MLB All-Star game on TV or drinking.

00:00Copy video clip URL This video begins with a static and a blue screen.

00:22Copy video clip URL Cut to audio. Church bells sound loudly in the background.

00:50Copy video clip URL Cut to footage from inside the Blarney Stone Bar. We watch as the videomaker tries to interview a number of people about the Democratic National Convention. The videomaker speaks with numerous uninterested bar patrons about politics and baseball. Both the image and sound quality are poor throughout the tape.

06:04Copy video clip URL Two older men debate over the possible winners of the election. This lasts for several minutes.

10:50Copy video clip URL An older man talks about his being a lifelong Democrat and his apathy towards politics. Footage of baseball player Mark Fidrych is seen on the television. The videomaker goes on to talk to another older man about his thoughts on politics and the next election. This lasts for several minutes.

14:19Copy video clip URL The videomaker continues to speak with other people at the bar. One man talks about his disdain for most politicians and his apathy towards the voting process. This lasts for several minutes.

19:04Copy video clip URL Cut to taped off TV footage from an episode of “All In The Family.” The sound is poor. This lasts for the remainder of the tape.

24:34Copy video clip URL Tape ends.