A new documentary, "This Is Buzz," is revisiting MTV's early foray into youth culture and political commentary with the show "MTV Buzz," arguing that the program was a prophetic precursor to today's fragmented digital media landscape. Co-creator Mark Pellington premiered the film this summer, tracing the show's journey from an obscure experiment to what he and others see as a cultural time capsule.

"This Is Buzz" explores how the show, which aired in 1990, tackled topics such as voting rights, safe sex, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while also launching the career of RuPaul. Pellington, along with co-creator Jon Klein, aimed to create a program that was subversive and loud, distinct from typical pop culture television.

"MTV thought they were going to get a nice little pop culture television show," Pellington, 64, told The Post. "And we gave them something, as they said, that was ‘weird, depressing, and expensive.’"

The show's distinctive style utilized a global network of reporters equipped with camcorders, blending interviews with cultural figures, artists, and ordinary people. Its fast-paced, almost dystopian presentation, achieved through techniques like bleaching and burning film, is seen by Pellington as an early prototype for platforms like TikTok. The aesthetic, described as ominous and Orwellian, anticipated the visual language of outlets such as Vice and Wired Magazine.

"Buzz" began with an episode titled "The Future," featuring figures like Dennis Hopper, Malcolm McLaren, and William S. Burroughs. Pellington described the pilot as a "manifesto" that set the show's tone and visual style, a direction MTV executives initially deemed "too weird." The show's slogan, Pellington noted, became, "We invented the future. Sorry!"

Later episodes featured diverse content, from war zones and Indian slums to rural Texas beauty pageants. The program addressed emerging concerns like greenhouse gases and included interviews with individuals impacted by conflict, such as an Israeli soldier who became a pacifist after losing an arm in the Israel-Lebanon-Palestine conflict. It also introduced television audiences to RuPaul, nearly 20 years before "RuPaul's Drag Race" premiered, serving as the show's host and spokesmodel, embodying the theme "Everybody Is Different. Everybody Is the Same."

Despite its innovative approach, MTV canceled "Buzz" after 13 episodes. However, the experience propelled Pellington into a successful career directing music videos for artists like U2, Bruce Springsteen, and Pearl Jam, including the award-winning video for Springsteen's "Jeremy" in 1992. He later directed films such as "The Mothman Prophecies" and has upcoming projects including a TV series remake of his 1999 thriller "Arlington Road" and a horror film titled "Night Flirt."

Pellington continues to view "MTV Buzz" as both a nostalgic touchstone and a prescient reflection of how news and art are consumed today, reiterating his belief that "We invented the future."