Grandma has a video camera

This is the name of a new documentary on the role of home video in  the life of Brazilian immigrants living in the US. Here’s what Brazzil Magazine has to say about it:   Grandma Has a Video Camera is a one-hour documentary about the use of home video by a family of Brazilian immigrants, chronicling ...

This is the name of a new documentary on the role of home video in  the life of Brazilian immigrants living in the US. Here's what Brazzil Magazine has to say about it

This is the name of a new documentary on the role of home video in  the life of Brazilian immigrants living in the US. Here’s what Brazzil Magazine has to say about it

 Grandma Has a Video Camera is a one-hour documentary about the use of home video by a family of Brazilian immigrants, chronicling their lives in the United States for over 20 years.

….Modern technology, from jet aircraft and the telephone to the Internet and cable television, has helped to shorten the distance between one’s country of origin and the new land. And for grandma Elda, the video camera does that job just as well.

For her, videotape is a substitute for family albums, TV entertainment, and writing letters to those back home. She has kept family ties strong by sending videotapes to those still in Brazil.

Grandma Has a Video Camera explores the parallel stories of the family’s immigration, and how the video camera registers their lives. These video diaries examine issues of identity, social dynamics within immigrant families and their community, the conditions of transnationality and the conflicts of loyalty to a single country.

Evgeny Morozov is a fellow at the Open Society Institute and sits on the board of OSI's Information Program. He writes the Net Effect blog on ForeignPolicy.com
Tag: Media

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