Coma Response #49 w/ Black Britannia

This documentary about the lives of black people in 1970s Britain looks back on a time of tension, exactly like the one we are currently witnessing. In 1978, a US television company commissioned the production of a film about the lives of black people in Britain at the time. The film that was made, beautifully directed by David Koff, documented the severe racism and repression black people were facing, both in the street and from the state, and predicted uprisings and rebellions. But its message was deemed to be dangerous and the film was banned.

Coma Response #46 w/ The Business of Colonialism

After the numerous injustices to people of color around the world in recent months we decided, as part of our Response series, to speak out against these wrongdoings, with the intention to educate others and raise awareness about important debates that are part of our society. "This continent is collapsing," says Croatian philosopher Srecko Horvat at the start of Europe's Forbidden Colony, a two-part documentary series coming to Al Jazeera English. In the first episode, The Business of Colonisation, Horvat finds evidence that the colonial methods of extraction and democratic suppression that European nations once applied to much of the Middle East and Africa are now being practiced in Europe itself. "It's a new multinational colonialism," Wikileaks founder Julian Assange states.

Coma Response #45 w/ Injustice

After the numerous injustices to people of color around the world in recent months we decided, as part of our Response series, to speak out against these wrongdoings, with the intention to educate others and raise awareness about important debates that are part of our society. Injustice is a documentary feature film that follows the struggles for justice by the families of people that have died in police custody. Between 1969 and 1999 over one thousand people died in police custody in England. Not one police officer has ever been convicted for any of these deaths. Injustice depicts how Brian Douglas, Joy Gardner, Shiji Lapite, and Ibrahima Sey met violent deaths at the hands of the police and documents a five-year period when their families came together to fight for the truth.

Coma Response #43 w/ 97% Owned

When money drives almost all activity on the planet, it’s essential that we understand it. Yet simple questions often get overlooked – questions like: where does the money come from? Who creates it? Who decides how it gets used? And what does that mean for the millions of ordinary people who suffer when money and finance break down? As the world's top billionaires earn as much wealth as the poorest 3.8 billion people, Apple's stock market value passed 2 trillion and billionaires are getting richer during the Covid-19 crisis, on Friday the 21st of August we will live-stream "97% Owned", a documentary that reveals how money is at the root of our current social and economic crisis.

Coma Response 42 w/ Tracey Chapman - Fugees

A double bill of live performances, by some politically and socially active musicians. First up, is multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist Tracey Chapman who, in 1988, performed live at Oakland Coliseum Arena in California. Next, will be an American hip-hop group that rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of hip hop, soul, and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, and Pras Michel. Deriving their name from a shortening of the word "refugees", Jean and Michel are Haitian while Hill is American.

Coma Response #41 w/ Detroit 1967 Riots

Detroit exploded as the pent of the anger of the African American residents burst into flames after the police raided an after-hours nightclub. The American promise hadn't made it to everyone and the Johnson administration was so tapped out trying to fight its war on poverty while conducting a shooting war in Vietnam that there were no more resources to throw at the problems confronting the US. All they could do was shoot some looters, jail some more, and wait for the paroxysm of anger to dissipate so the tanks and soldiers could redeploy. A missed opportunity of grave consequences, which still echoes nowadays.

Coma Response #39 w/ Greed

As humans, it is in our blood and part of our human nature the desire to ask for more. We always want more. No matter how much you have, or what you have, we always ask for more. This is true for money, power, our workplace, our athletic achievements, and even with our partner. This documentary focuses on the old mortal sin, Greed, and its self-indulgence leading. According to some psychologists, people like to have a lot of stuff because it makes them feel like they will be living forever. But what are the ramifications of this excessive consumption of resources? Understand how our constant desire for more is actually ruining our planet.

Coma Response #37 w/ The Battle for Brixton

A fast-moving film that reveals the full emotional and political impact of a milestone in recent British history, which could help understand and take on board the current social unrests that we are witnessing, in order to make a positive change for the future. April 1981: unprecedented violence erupts on South London streets, as thousands of local residents fight a pitched battle with the capital's police in a racially motivated conflict that would shock Thatcher's Britain to the core. Compelling first-hand accounts from rioters, looters, police officers and bystanders caught in the mêlée piece together 48 extraordinary hours that pushed tension in Brixton beyond the bursting point.

Coma Response #36 w/ How the rich get richer

Exploding real estate prices, zero interest rate, and a rising stock market – the rich are getting richer. What danger lies in wait for average citizens?

For years, the world’s central banks have been pursuing a policy of cheap money. The first and foremost is the ECB (European Central Bank), which buys bad stocks and bonds to save banks, tries to fuel economic growth, and props up states that are in debt. But what relieves state budgets to the tune of hundreds of billions annoys savers: interest rates are close to zero.

The fiscal policies of the central banks are causing an uncontrolled global deluge of money. Experts are warning of new bubbles. In real estate, for example: it’s not just in German cities that prices are shooting up. In London, a one-bed apartment can easily cost more than a million Euros. More and more money is moving away from the real economy and into the speculative field. Highly complex financial bets are taking place in the global casino - gambling without checks and balances.

The winners are set from the start: in Germany and around the world, the rich just get richer. Professor Max Otte says: "This flood of money has caused a dangerous redistribution. Those who have, get more." But with low-interest rates, any money in savings accounts just melts away. Those with debts can be happy. But big companies that want to swallow up others are also happy: they can borrow cheap money for their acquisitions. Coupled with the liberalization of the financial markets, money deals have become detached from the real economy. But it’s not just the banks that need a constant source of new, cheap money today. So do states. They need it to keep a grip on their mountains of debt. It’s a kind of snowball system. What happens to our money? Is a new crisis looming?

Coma Response #35 w/ Breadline Kids

People who are currently unable to afford food and other essentials – and those who are going to fall into this situation as the economic crisis continues to unfold – need an urgent boost to social security so they have enough to stay afloat. A part of Dispatches collection, Breadline Kids asks daring questions about food poverty in the UK, asking children what it's like to live when the cupboards are bare, and what desperate measures parents go to feed their kids.

Coma Response #34 w/ Pink Floyd

On Saturday the 11th of July 2020 we live-streamed on our Facebook channel, The Wall by Pink Floyd, a 1982 ground-breaking musical film directed by Alan Parker, based on the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. It touches on sex, mental isolation, drug use, war, fascism, nuclear disarmament, the agony of warfare, childhood feelings of abandonment, the hero's deep unease about women, and the lifestyle of a rock star at the end of his rope.

Coma Response #33 w/ Documenting Hate: Charlottesville

Documenting Hate: Charlottesville, a documentary on the mainstreaming of white-supremacy groups, just shy of the 2-years anniversary of their rally in Charlottesville VA. The one-hour film begins in 2017, with reporter A.C. Thompson covering the violence that erupted during the "Unite the Right" march -- footage that's presented in raw, at-times-disturbing fashion, including video of the car that plowed into the crowd, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. The cameras also capture vicious attacks on counter-protesters, while the local police are shown largely standing idly by.

Coma Response #32 w/ The Clash

The Clash forever changed and influenced not only punk rock but also new wave as well as the grunge and alternative rock spheres. Beginning as punk pioneers in the original wave of British punk rock of the mid to late 1970s, the band showed a willingness to experiment that ushered in the new wave and alternative rock eras. And as is true with any punk rockers worth their salt, The Clash overtly and explosively commented on a number of socio-political issues. On March 8, 1980, the band performed at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. The concert is The Clash at the height of their powers.

Coma Response #31 w/ Can You Feel It? [Part III]

Part 3 of an excellent 3 part series detailing the roots and rise of dance music from the inception of the 4 to the floor beat to the commercialisation of the genre which has led to the god-like status of today's top DJs.

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Coma Response #30 w/ The Knife

For our 30th live-stream since the European breakout of the pandemic, we will be streaming Silent Shout: An Audio-Visual Experience, a concert film by Swedish band The Knife, taken from April 12, 2006 concert at the Trädgår'n, Gothenburg - Sweden, in their 2006 Silent Shout tour.