Open Collections

VHS 2.0 : amateur archiving on the internet and the nostalgic reclamation of retro media

University of British Columbia

The archiving of retro media on the internet has become one of the more prolific examples of amateur archiving in recent years. Using various case studies, I argue for a new understanding of how this orphaned and obsolete media preserves important nostalgic and cultural histories. Not only this, but the preservation of niche film and television programming deserves recognition for the intricate and complex work of amateur archivists, in the aims of validating their work and viewing the sharing of this material as more than simple file sharing. Often providing the only means by which to access material, these archival sites preserve history through its media output, and I provide a glimpse into the motivations and machinations of their inner workings. In need of protection from legal prosecution, and lacking a clear understanding of their place amongst contemporary media in the mainstream, I argue for a nostalgic reclamation of this material, that can co-exist alongside other media with little to no harm.

Text

2012-04-12

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/41976

Film Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/