Peter Gabriel- Witness
When I met Peter Gabriel at the Womad Festival back in 2001 he rounded a corner wearing a loose windbreaker and was carrying a small video camera. We shook hands and the entire time he kept filming me. It was very disconcerting and more than a little odd. But it kept me honest- it is a true document of our first meeting.
After a moment I looked at the camera and then at him and said, "Do you have permission to do that?" He didn't laugh, but instead asked if I was going to stop him.
That was my introduction to Peter Gabriel.
In addition to all his great music, Gabriel is known for pushing the envelope of technology- both music and film. Look at those videos from 20+ years ago, they are amazing today. He is also known for being a human rights advocate. He has combined both of those passions to promote the idea that the camera tells the truth and can (and has been) be used to help prevent human rights violations.
He can say it much better than I can, so watch this 14 minute long presentation if you care at all about telling the truth.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/peter_gabriel_fights_injustice_with_video.html
PeterH
2 comments:
peter-
thank you for sharing this... i have always admired peter gabriel, went to the human rights tour in la in like 1988?, liked him more even knowing your connection with him, but this was amazing. was just reading about him, and am embarrassed to not know that he was a founder of genesis!!
d
peter, hey this is MD Neely, i was a student of yours at columbia in 2001-ish. i've been meaning to contact you and see how things are going. i see you're at flashpoint now. i actually have a friend going there it's his first semester, his name is collin welch. he said he was accidentally in your screenwriting class for the first day and absolutely loved it. please email me at md.neely@ciy.com.
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