2.The Social Life of a Private Technology: The Career of VHS as a Transitional Medium. Krzysztof Swirek
Today VHS tapes are for some technologic trash, for others an object of nostalgia. But thanks to its swift success (and nearly as fast vanishing), this medium is also a symbol of a certain time. This is especially true in Eastern Europe, where its rise and decline were concurrent with social transformation — a passage from “actual” socialism to “fresh” capitalism. This lecture presents a short history of VHS as a “vanishing medium,” a new form of entertainment, a type of business, and a tool for recording and personal remembrance. It presents selected aspects of the history, aesthetics, and meaning of VHS as a medium of “social transition,” a sign of transformation taking place on various levels of daily life.
Today VHS tapes are for some technologic trash, for others an object of nostalgia. But thanks to its swift success (and nearly as fast vanishing), this medium is also a symbol of a certain time. This is especially true in Eastern Europe, where its rise and decline were concurrent with social transformation — a passage from “actual” socialism to “fresh” capitalism. This lecture presents a short history of VHS as a “vanishing medium,” a new form of entertainment, a type of business, and a tool for recording and personal remembrance. It presents selected aspects of the history, aesthetics, and meaning of VHS as a medium of “social transition,” a sign of transformation taking place on various levels of daily life.