Their successful intrusion in a weather programme on Czech television, where amongst the usual weather scenes they were able to infiltrate the image of an atomic bomb explosion, was spread massively over internet in 2007. This intervention was talked about all over Europe barely 24 hours afterwards and which they themselves called "Media Reality". They were reported by the television channel and the state prosecutor accused the six artists of generating panic and propagating false information, for which they faced up to three years in prison. In March 2008, the judge threw out the case considering it a question not so much of "public disorder", but rather "public entertainment".
|
Intro. The Ztohoven collective. Planning the "Violated Subconscious" operation. |
"Violated Subconscious": two attacks on advertisement in the Prague subway. |
|
The Ztohoven collective: identity games and collective dynamics. |
The first Ztohoven's action: the heart of president Havel (first president after the communist era). The strength of the collective and the advantages of acting within a media environment. |
|
The "Media Reality" action: a nuclear blast at the heart of TV. |
The reaction of Czech National Television, the trial, learning a surreal lesson. |
|
"Media Reality", an amazing 45 minutes long documentary about the Media Reality action with previously unpublished images and interviews to Czech TV executives, journalists, theoreticians, common people and of course Ztohoven members. The movie gives a great insight on legal, social and economical issues about the power of media and how it can be exposed. |
