Welfare TV

00:02Copy video clip URL Color bars. 

00:57Copy video clip URL A clip from the TV show Dragnet, from the 1967 episode “The Prophet.” Sgt. Joe Friday delivers a lengthy monologue to a suspect about the use of drugs and about the naiveté and laziness of youth. An argument about conformity between Friday and the suspect. “They’re not asking to be left alone. They’re asking for a handout! If they really believe what you say they believe, they’d do something about it besides panhandle in the streets and use narcotics to escape reality. A lot of people have started with an idea and they made it work, but not by begging or stealing or standing in line to get paid for not working. The Amish did it in Pennsylvania. They built self-supporting communities. The Mormons did it in Utah. They built a city. The Jews did it in Israel and they built a nation. But they were willing to work for it.

9:47Copy video clip URL Shaky footage of two members of TVTV talking about the episode of Dragnet, which is ending. The suspect’s sentencing is announced.

13:12Copy video clip URL An empty dining room table shot with a fisheye lens. TV noise in the background. Five members of TVTV sit down at the table and prepare to eat. The camera continues to record as they serve themselves, eat, and chat. 

28:35Copy video clip URL Cut to footage of two people taking a drink on a TV screen. Difficult to see. Man comes in front of the camera and explains that this is a demo tape for the program “Free Lunch.” He explains that the program is a casual lunch interview. He says that this lunch is with Jay Brown, a Dodge Auto Dealer. Brief pause. The man comes back in front of the screen and repeats the information. 

32:00Copy video clip URL Cut back to the group eating at the dinner table. 

34:02Copy video clip URL Tape ends.