Synopsis

The video examines how activists in the early 1990s strategised to procure media attention for direct action with various talking head interviews with campaigners. One young person explains they are looking to “use the media, rather than letting the media use them.” The video features tongue-in-cheek sections including quiz-like questionnaires and satirical one-liners, particularly one young man who mentions that news channels expect the activists to clap like “seals” for the camera, hence the video’s title. A central theme that emerges is the growing importance of video – for individuals to record the action themselves and create their own narrative beyond the narratives of heritage media companies.