The Degrassi Kids Rap On Rights (found Degrassi/UNICEF video co-production; 1989): Difference between revisions
(Moved availability information added in the last edit to the summary section to the availibity section. Added reference link for the Youtube premiere to the sentence that mentions it in the availability section. Since the video in question does not premiere until 11/4/2022, the status of this media is not yet completely "found". Until it does premiere, the status here is going to be changed to "partially found" on the account of the excerpt currently on the page from the 2005 documentary.) |
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|imagecaption=A still from the video that inexplicably appeared in an Instagram post by Retrokid promoting a line of ''Degrassi'' merch. Amanda Stepto, narrator of the video, is wearing a UNICEF shirt in the center | |imagecaption=A still from the video that inexplicably appeared in an Instagram post by Retrokid promoting a line of ''Degrassi'' merch. Amanda Stepto, narrator of the video, is wearing a UNICEF shirt in the center | ||
|status=<span style="color: | |status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span> | ||
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'''''The Degrassi Kids Rap on Rights''''' is | '''''The Degrassi Kids Rap on Rights''''' is a ten-minute video produced by Playing With Time Inc, in co-operation with UNICEF, in 1989, coinciding with the November 20th, 1989 ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is a tie-in to the Canadian teen drama television series ''Degrassi High'', which had begun airing on CBC following ''Degrassi Junior High''. | ||
The video is presented by Amanda Stepto, who played Spike, the teenage mother of Emma Nelson (who would become a central character in later installments). While rapping is mentioned in the title, it bookends the video, which largely concentrates on ''Degrassi'' actors of varying nationalities recounting their childhood experiences in wars and natural disasters, with screen time also given to other issues such as drugs, and children's rights in general. | The video is presented by Amanda Stepto, who played Spike, the teenage mother of Emma Nelson (who would become a central character in later installments). While rapping is mentioned in the title, it bookends the video, which largely concentrates on ''Degrassi'' actors of varying nationalities recounting their childhood experiences in wars and natural disasters, with screen time also given to other issues such as drugs, and children's rights in general. | ||
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A brief excerpt, featuring character BLT (Dayo Ade) rapping about being the "number one dude on Degrassi", is seen in ''The Degrassi Story'' documentary, that aired on CTV in 2005 and was hosted by long-running Degrassi actor Stefan Brogren. In 2022, two stills from the video inexplicably surfaced; the first in the July section of a 2022 calendar sold by Degrassi Tour (a business run by actor Pat Mastroianni), and the second in an Instagram post by Toronto-based company Retrokid promoting a Degrassi merch collab (fifth image in the referenced link).<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Cim30csgEgd/?hl=en</ref> | A brief excerpt, featuring character BLT (Dayo Ade) rapping about being the "number one dude on Degrassi", is seen in ''The Degrassi Story'' documentary, that aired on CTV in 2005 and was hosted by long-running Degrassi actor Stefan Brogren. In 2022, two stills from the video inexplicably surfaced; the first in the July section of a 2022 calendar sold by Degrassi Tour (a business run by actor Pat Mastroianni), and the second in an Instagram post by Toronto-based company Retrokid promoting a Degrassi merch collab (fifth image in the referenced link).<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Cim30csgEgd/?hl=en</ref> | ||
On November | On November 2nd, 2022, a member of the Degrassi Preservation Server on Discord received screen-recorded footage of the full video from a contact, which was later posted on YouTube as a premiere <ref>[https://youtu.be/avhVzZ4JhUo Link to the screen-recorded premiere Youtube video] Retrieved 2 Nov '22</ref>. | ||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||
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|description1 =The video (screen-recorded). | |description1 =The video (screen-recorded). | ||
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{{Video|perrow = | {{Video|perrow =1 | ||
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|id1 =k5aOwx8m7hI | |id1 =k5aOwx8m7hI | ||
Revision as of 21:06, 3 November 2022
A still from the video that inexplicably appeared in an Instagram post by Retrokid promoting a line of Degrassi merch. Amanda Stepto, narrator of the video, is wearing a UNICEF shirt in the center
Status: Partially Found
The Degrassi Kids Rap on Rights is a ten-minute video produced by Playing With Time Inc, in co-operation with UNICEF, in 1989, coinciding with the November 20th, 1989 ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is a tie-in to the Canadian teen drama television series Degrassi High, which had begun airing on CBC following Degrassi Junior High.
The video is presented by Amanda Stepto, who played Spike, the teenage mother of Emma Nelson (who would become a central character in later installments). While rapping is mentioned in the title, it bookends the video, which largely concentrates on Degrassi actors of varying nationalities recounting their childhood experiences in wars and natural disasters, with screen time also given to other issues such as drugs, and children's rights in general.
The video was distributed to schools throughout Ontario and nationwide. While the video was confirmed to exist physically in an Ontario university library, very little evidence of it existed online aside from passing mentions found in an official Degrassi book and in newspaper archives.
Background
Degrassi is a long-running Canadian teen drama franchise that primarily focuses on an ensemble cast of middle to high schoolers confronting various coming-of-age issues. It has gone through several iterations since 1979, two of them including Degrassi Junior High (1987-89) and Degrassi High (1989-91), which aired to large numbers on the CBC and kickstarted the franchise's success and notoriety.
In 1989, UNICEF director of communications Srinka Wallia approached the Degrassi producers, hoping that one of its actors could become an ambassador for UNICEF's Ontario branch. However, she was offered the entire cast (which comprised a repertory company) instead. The Degrassi cast appeared at public events, helped promote literacy, and did televised PSAs.
Content
The video, which runs for ten minutes, takes place in the Degrassi High cafeteria and allegedly consists of multi-ethnic extras from the cast speaking about their experiences in their home countries. It was narrated by Amanda Stepto, who played the spiky-haired teen mother Christine "Spike" Nelson.
Availability
The existence of the video was mentioned in a Playing With Time newsletter, and in the book The Official 411: Degrassi Generations, written by Kathryn Ellis and released in 2005. However, despite the video allegedly being distributed to Canadian schools, the video has never been uploaded online, or available physically, except for one copy at the Queens University Documents Library in Kingston, Ontario.[1]
A brief excerpt, featuring character BLT (Dayo Ade) rapping about being the "number one dude on Degrassi", is seen in The Degrassi Story documentary, that aired on CTV in 2005 and was hosted by long-running Degrassi actor Stefan Brogren. In 2022, two stills from the video inexplicably surfaced; the first in the July section of a 2022 calendar sold by Degrassi Tour (a business run by actor Pat Mastroianni), and the second in an Instagram post by Toronto-based company Retrokid promoting a Degrassi merch collab (fifth image in the referenced link).[2]
On November 2nd, 2022, a member of the Degrassi Preservation Server on Discord received screen-recorded footage of the full video from a contact, which was later posted on YouTube as a premiere [3].
Gallery
Page 141 of The Official 411: Degrassi Generations. The Rap On Rights video is mentioned here.
October 31, 1990 Toronto Star article. On the far right paragraph, it claims that Amanda Stepto, who played Christine "Spike" Nelson, was the narrator of the video.
A still from the video, which appeared in a 2022 calendar by Degrassi Tour (run by Pat Mastroianni, who played Joey Jeremiah).
An image of a Playing With Time newsletter from 1989. The Rap On Rights video is discussed under the section of the same name.
