Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

Hoarder or Archivist – What’s Your Opinion?

This is the story of Philadelphia native, Marion Stokes. Her experiences as a former librarian and social justice activist during the civil rights movement era contributed to her mistrust of the media and its relationship to the government. The advent of video cassette recorders in the 1970’s sparked an idea which appealed to her eccentric proclivity for hoarding information in various formats including books, magazines, newspapers, and later, computer technology. She decided to videotape television programs, 24/7, to ensure that footage of current events, important and mundane alike, wouldn’t be lost to future generations. Her primary concern was the spread of misinformation and the ability of the media to create a distorted version of history. Stokes would record television programming around the clock from 1979 up until her death in 2012. Stoke’s story, albeit bizarre, stands as motivation for those who care about preserving the accurate portrayal of historical events and are concerned about the increasing prevalence of mis and disinformation. This film is available on Kanopy.