Film and Photo League, Newsreel, and Direct Effect In the United States, the idea of the camera serving as a weapon in the struggle for social change dates at least to 1930, when a group of leftist photographers, filmmakers and critics formed the Workers Film and Photo League with the goal of documenting the social and economic impact of the Depression. Food shortages, labor disputes, protests and unemployment marches were filmed, and the resulting works were used as grassroot tools, political education and support for a progressive working-class movement. Thirty-seven years later, in the turbulent period of the late sixties, Newsreel was founded in New York by a group of filmmakers, artists and activists who sought to provide an alternative to mainstream media coverage of current issues ranging from the war in Vietnam and protests in the U.S. to racial injustice. Valuing fast, topical coverage, disseminated to the widest possible audience, the still active Newsreel's production and distribution was directed towards community-based political activism. Direct Effect, the ongoing project of the production and distribution company Direct Impact, has recently funded a series of alternative, socially conscious public service announcements. Filmmakers, artists and musicians ranging from James Herbert, Jem Cohen, Michael Stipe, KRS-One and Natalie Merchant have expanded the parameters of the thirty-second and one-minute format to include examination of issues such as interracial romance, recycling, abortion rights and sexual harassment. --Kathy Geritz