After the parties, it’s time to get down to business for the 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival. And part of that is tackling big subjects in documentary form. PUBLIC ACCESS aims to recapture a large chunk of a breakthrough in public expression via a look at the good, the bad, and the pornographic that would make up the experiment in public access television in New York City from its advent in 1971 until the 1990s.
Directed by David Shadrack Smith it starts at the beginnings of public access television where clearly noone quite knew what they were doing. That lead to some breakthroughs and a clear alternative to national broadcast television. Some of it was quite weird. Some of it was a lot more tuned in and cutting edge than what was being put out by the networks. It was a place where performers at CBGB’s like Blondie could drop in, hang out at TV Party, and do a set. Things that you were not getting from networks that were still broadcasting shows like The Beverly Hillbillies.
One thing that’s clear is that the proponents of Public Access television fervently believed in the idea a lot more than the cable companies did. It was kind of a necessary evil for them which they tolerated as long as the complaints were minimal. Most of the original shows were an odd mix of young people, eccentrics, and out and out cranks. At least until the pornographers found out that they could make money, particularly the infamous Midnight Blue, and it also proved to be an outlet for homosexuality coming out of the closet.
That’s where the majority of the film is set. And where battles were fought, notably in the 1980s, that battled over the First Amendment all the way up to the Supreme Court. Certainly there’s a point to be made that this is cutting edge, cable would make billions off of sex and nudity in time, but also lewd and maybe distasteful. The Supreme Court, I think rightly, came down that the Cable Companies’ attempts to reign it in were heavy-handed and overbroad reflecting much more than a minimal intrusion. Which is the dissidence because I think we can all agree that some of what is shown is distasteful.
The other major thrust is that public access television was an alternative, and probably lifesaving, source of information dueing the rise of AIDs in the 1980s. When the Reagan White House and network television were scrupulously avoiding any mention of the “gay plague”, public access television was getting the word out and frankly was years ahead of the powers that be that left behind thousands to die. This is probably the most important and triumphal part of PUBLIC ACCESS.
The problem is that there’s a lot here that doesn’t revolve around personal expression, capitalism, and activism and which just clutters up the picture. Sure Squirt TV is important as a prelude to Wayne’s World and the dangers of child celebrity, but all it does is dilute the message of the film. Throw in another half dozen tangents, and we’re left with a muddle of half-thoughts. And, heck, the direct line between public access television and how it applies to YouTube is entirely skipped over. How can you not explore that obvious line of relevance?
Frankly, public access television as a whole is just too broad of an idea for a 107 minute documentary to cover in any detail. To the film’s credit, it hints at the big themes and ideas of the movement, but it’s so busy trying to cover everything that lots of important things are underserved. This feels like it should be a Ken Burns mini-series, but the graphic nature probably would prohibit PBS from airing it. So, instead were left with a muddled greatest hits package. It’s a greatest hits package with some highlights, but it’s an example why the deep cuts albums are generally more loved.
The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival runs from April 16, 2026 until May 30, 2026. -PUBLIC ACCESS will play two more times; Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 12:45 pm at the Oriental Theatre and Thursday, April 23m 2026 at 9:45 pm at the Downer Theatre. Tickets to PUBLIC ACCESS and other upcoming films can be purchased at MKEFILM.ORG.
