Ep 20. Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
- June 15, 2020
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project is the 20th episode of the 21st season of the award-winning documentary series Independent Lens. The episode explores the life and work of Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia-based activist, librarian, and media pioneer who recorded and archived television news programs for over 30 years.
Driven by a deep conviction that people needed to understand the world around them through the lens of the media, Stokes began recording news shows in 1979, long before the advent of cable TV and the internet made it easy to access 24-hour news channels. Over the years, she amassed a collection of over 70,000 VHS tapes, capturing everything from commercials to talk shows to breaking news events.
For Stokes, the archive was not just a personal project: it was a way to hold the media accountable, to expose its biases and omissions, and to confront the power structures that shape our understanding of the world. In this sense, Recorder is not just a tribute to a remarkable woman, but a meditation on the role of media in a democratic society.
Directed by Matt Wolf, this episode combines archival footage, interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, and scenes of contemporary artists and scholars grappling with the meaning and significance of Stokes' work. Along the way, the episode touches on issues of race, class, gender, and power, exploring how Stokes' perspective as a black woman shaped her insistence on recording history as it happened.
While Recorder raises complex questions about the ethics and politics of media, it does not shy away from Stokes' own contradictions and complexities. She was a fiercely independent spirit who sometimes alienated those closest to her, a visionary who sometimes struggled to articulate her ideas clearly, and a passionate advocate for the truth who sometimes blurred the lines between what was real and what was not.
Yet perhaps it is precisely because of these contradictions that Stokes' legacy continues to resonate today. As the episode concludes, we are reminded of the power of individuals to shape history, and the importance of remembering the pioneers who have gone before us. Despite the many challenges she faced, Stokes was a true revolutionary, and Recorder is a worthy tribute to her vision and her courage.
