Burnt Out Squat 1974
Burnt Out Squat 1974
The black-and-white video concerns a burnt out squat in North London and the members protecting it. A poster reads in the intro: “Please do not adjust your sense of reality. Normal service will be resumed shortly. This house is still occupied. We invite our friends and neighbours to help us self-help rehabilitate this place. All offers gratefully received.” Thanks! Reg + Jeff + Nicky. We see a man with a microphone walking into the burnt out house, showing the damage left by a fire. He gestures towards the fire hazards: the polystyrene in the wall, the lack of fire escapes between the neighbouring houses. However, most of the damage to the house is surface-level rather than structural as he points out how the glass of the windows can be repaired, as can the roof. At 12.35, the video changes to observe the road, in which we see a burnt down car and a bulldozer heaping trash into a truck. An argument breaks out between people on the streets.