miguel soares

5′28”
2003
audio:  Time Zones,  by Negativland, from Escape from Noise, 1987

This animation was released on DVD: Negativland, Our Favorite Things, Ed. Other Cinema, San Francisco, 2007.

In 1994 I made a video for Negativland’s “Crosley Bendix discusses the copyright act” (The letter U and the Numeral Two, 1992).
This video was made without their notice. This was the first video work I ever presented.
By October 2002, Alexandre Estrela (artist and friend living in New York) meets Mark Hosler from Negativland during a presentation of some of their videos at the Anthology Film Archives in New York, and tells him about my old video.
Mark asks me to send the video.
A month later Negativland invites me to make a video from any audio work of my choice. I choose Time Zones.
Time Zones is about time and size, United States versus Soviet Union, the cold war, the use of media as a vehicle
for psychological warfare and the use of computers to control the “imperfections” of men.

transcription of Time Zones

The Autonomous Commie Republic, which is part of the Russian
Federation, is situated in the far northwest of Europe, and spreads up to
the Arctic part of the Ural Mountains. It’s crossed by 9 northern
parallels. Ten fair-sized European states could be placed on its
territory. Besides indigenous residents (that is, the Commie people), there
are also Russians, Ukranians, Nenetzes, Tchubashis, and Tartars.
And now, let’s go back into history a little bit. (CLICK)

A boy lying on skins behind our backs was turning the knobs of a
small transistor radio.
(”…..making efforts to use radios as vehicles of a
psychological warfare. And subversive….”)
And the tent was suddenly filled with an announcer’s voice speaking Commie.
(Jam….Jam…Jam…Jam..)
Then, with music from Moscow, followed by English and French speech.
(”The recording was made at the Moscow Theater of Musical Miniatures.”)
Now, back to modern times.

<BEEP>
YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE. AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL
TIME BUREAU, COMMENCING AT TWENTY-THREE (23) HOURS, FIFTY-NINE (59)
MINUTES, SIXTY (60) SECONDS UTC, AN EXTRA SECOND WILL BE INSERTED INTO THE
NVS TIME SCALE. THIS ADJUSTMENT IS REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN INTERNATIONALLY
COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME AS BROADCAST FROM THESE STATIONS, IN CLOSE
AGREEMENT WITH UT1, OR ASTRONOMICAL TIME.

(”WA6ODB….with…a question….”)

“and, uh …”
“Do you know how many time zones there are in the Soviet Union?”
“and about power …”
“d’you kn–”
“we got so much power now …”
“Do you know how many time zones there are in the Soviet Union?”
“we got so much power now, that it’s ridiculous.”
“d’you kn– do you know how many time zones there are in the Soviet Union?”
“power, and all that, that’s power, we got so much power, that it’s
ridiculous.”
“We have–”
“power, power, power, power, power, power now, it’s ridiculous. We
got so much power now …”
“Do you know how many time zones there are in the Soviet Union?”
“It’s not even funny.”
“D’you–”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Do you know how many–”
“It’s not even funny.”
“D’you kn–”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Do you know how many–”
“That’s, that’s ridiculous.”
“Do you know how many time–”
“That’s ridiculous. It’s not even funny.”
“D’you–”
“It’s not even funny.”
“D–”
“It’s not even funny.”
“Do you know how many time zones there are in the Soviet Union?”
“It’s not even funny. How many time zones?”
“Yeah. We have, we have four in this country, right?” (Hello?)
“How many time zones?”
“Yeah.” (Hello? Yes.)
“1, 2, 3 …”
“Four in this country, right?” (Hello? Yes.)
“Uh, yessir.”
“Mm hm.” (I need language assistance)
“Uh, four … 1, 2, 3 … yessir.”
“Right.” (O.K., we’re
calling from a radio
station for Radio
Moscow)
“1, 2, 3 … yessir.”
“Mm hm.”
“Uh, four … time zones?” (And we want to speak
to Mr. C. Eliot
Friday.)
“Yeah. We have four in this country, right?”
“Uh, nosir.”
“We have, we have–”
“Uh, yessir.”
“Mm hm.”
“And, uh …”
“Do you know how many time zones they have?”
“Uh, yessir. Uh, four … uh, nosir. I never really studied that up.”
“Eleven.”
“Eleven. It’s not even funny.”
“Eleven.”
“Eleven. That’s, that’s ridiculous.”
“Eleven.”
“Eleven. Well, that’s what we can do. We can go anywhere, because
we live here, we–”
“Yeah, but–”
“–anywhere else.”
“But, not only, not only the right of free travel, I’m saying…eleven.”
“Eleven. 1, 2, 3 … yessir.” (Hello?)
“Mm hm. Eleven.”
“Eleven.”
“That’s how big they are.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Eleven.” (What happened to my call?)
“That’s how big they are.” (I keep on telling you…)
“Yeah. Yeah. I, I can believe that, I’m a firm believer in that.”
“Alright.”
“1, 2, 3 … uh, four … yessir. 1, 2 … yessir. Yessir.”
“Mm hm.” (I need…Radio Moscow, 215 2101)
“The Soviet Union’s the whole half side of the world.”
(And I need language
assistance.)
“Yeah.”
“And we’re just a little, one little tenth of the globe.”
“Yeah.”
“They, uh, when you talk about fightin’, we’re a country that, uh,
we’re a firm believer on pride, and it’s called help thy neighbor,
do not kill, do not, you know, steal, cheat, lie from everybody.
That’s why we have to have computers, because man, nobody is
perfect. You know.”
“Mm hm.”
“It’s not even funny.”
“D’you–”
“and about power, man, nobody is perfect. You know.”
“So what is your point?”
“Nobody is perfect. You know.”
“So what is your point, Glen?”
“There’s, there’s, there’s two things you don’t talk about, one’s
politics, the other one’s religion.
“D’you–”
“The reason you don’t talk about ‘em is because they combine in
each other. You know what I’m saying?”
“Do you know how many time zones there are in the Soviet Union?”
“You know what I’m saying?”
“Don’t you kid yourself. Thanks, Glen, for the uh… well, just
thanks for the, the good thoughts.”

THIS CONCLUDES OUR TRANSMISSION TO OCEANIA. HOWEVER, LISTENERS IN
EAST ASIA MAY CONTINUE LISTENING ON THE FOLLOWING SHORTWAVE FREQUENCIES:
6110, 7230, 9565, 9760, 15160, AND 15425 KILOHERTZ.

<CLICK><CLICK<CLICK>
Separate them <CLICK>
Damned if I know<CLICK>
Here it comes<CLICK>
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end
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