DO TRY: SOME ALTERNATIVE PIE
By Hannah Newport
In this age of information (or is it the year of the Rabbit? I forget which) we are inundated with junk. A vast sea of messages and sub-messages. Contrary to Rupert Murdoch’s vision though, our media is not completely conformist. Popping up in the most unexpected places all around the world are little hubs of activism, where a voice outside the mainstream can be found. Mexico, Scotland, Germany, New Zealand… a great many regions of our lovely planet are home to what some like to call these “infoshops”.
So, you’re in New Zealand’s fine city of Wellington, wandering along Cuba. Past the bucket fountain, past the pile of what you really hope is a wet fake-fur hat (shudder), and past the funny man on the corner with his fiddle. Ahead looms a fork in the mall. Well, more of a barely-noticed alley off the side, really. Go on - take the path less travelled!
So, you turned off the beaten track. Welcome to the Left Bank; home to Wellington’s cheapest satay, several small Asian clothes outlets and Oblong, a volunteer-run activist Internet café. Wander yourself on inside, and you might be in for a pleasant surprise. The ever-metamorphing Freedom Shop currently calls Oblong home, and does so with an exciting array of alternative media.
The Freedom Shop started out as a tiny punk-orientated anarchist bookshop on the upper end of Cuba St. It was run by a small collective of a few dedicated souls. Not too much has changed since then really but, with two new locations , some say the atmosphere has become welcoming to a wider audience. The shop has expanded in stock and collective size, however the central ideals remain the same.
A recently re-written Kaupapa of the Freedom Shop emphasises the aim to spread radical information and support DIY anarchist culture, and says “We are fighting for a world free of oppression and coercion. We believe in acting in a manner consistent with our ideals. Therefore, the collective and the shop must be free of domination and discrimination, including but not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, physical violence and harassment of any kind.”
The shop is unashamedly an anarchist infocentre, and certainly has an outstanding collection of anarchist literature, but some would also say that it’s about so much more than that: seek and you will find a book on veganism, organic gardening, anti-consumer culture, animal rights, anti-racism, parenting, sexuality, fair trade indigenous rights, feminism, anti-war, how to create your own zine…
Really what the Freedom Shop is, more than anything else, is choice. It’s a place to find information that you wouldn’t find in mainstream outlets.
With the lease for the space coming up for renewal in January 2007, the shape and flavour of the shop in 2007 and beyond lies in question, but there is no doubt that it’s not about to disappear into the stratosphere. Collective members of both The Freedom Shop and Oblong are always plotting and scheming. Plans are brewing to bring something brighter, shinier and more revolutionary than ever to the people of Wellington! And Wellington is not alone in this exciting wave of uber-awesome infoshops. Revolutionary folk in Auckland have been running Cherry Bomb Comics, to provide a place for people to stories and ideas which step outside the status quo, particularly feminist media. Dunedin too joined the bandwagon in 2003, when Black Star Books was born, as an anarchist bookshop and infocentre.
The phenomenon is worldwide. With the help of a little website, some more brief web searching and even old fashioned talking to people, it soon became apparent that countless countries play host to sparkling alternatives like the Freedom Shop. Melbourne, for example, is home to Barricade Books, Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse is resident in Baltimore, while Infoshop Assata can be found in The Netherlands. In Mexico, the San Christo Bal. And so on. Whether you’re in Argentina or Birmingham, the idea infoshops that represent is one of solidarity: Don’t hate the media, become the media! We don’t have to mindlessly swallow the “news” without challenging its inherent bias. Like, why is that soldier called a patriotic hero, and that one a barbaric terrorist? And why are they really killing each other in the first place?
Everywhere, people are becoming aware of how mainstream bias subconsciously conditions our perceptions. Sure, every source of information has its bias (spoken like a true post-modernist!). But only with a range of information can we really hope to escape a pre-fabricated opinion. Places like the Freedom Shop offer an alternative, to counter-balance the often patronising, and rarely challenging lullaby that is our western media.
LEARN MORE:
Wikipedia entry on the Freedom Shop
Outfoxed DVD – a look at Murdoch’s media (available to borrow free from the JF library, email info@justfocus.org.nz for how to sign up)
Alternative internet news www.indymedia.org or www.indymedia.org.nz (for local)
Directory of some international infoshops
TAKE ACTION:
Visit The Freedom Shop and Oblong:
Shop 204B, Left Bank, Cuba Mall
Wellington
Ph (04) 3847980
Visit Cherry Bomb Comics:
41 New North Road, Eden Terrace, Auckland
Phone: (09) 374-4504
Visit Black Star Books
24 Stafford St, Dunedin
Make your own zine or pamphlet
Challenge your local or national newspaper to print a story about an issue you care about
