Textures of Fascination: Archives, Vids, and Vernacular Historiography

Abstract

What does the analysis of vids reveal about histories, memories, and practices of watching television? This chapter compares contrasting theoretical understandings of collections and archives to contextualize the archival work done by vidders and watched by vids’ audiences. Videotape-era vids (then called ‘songtapes’) bear traces of their archival origins as selective use of clips, and the wear evident on the copies strongly indicate a viewer’s favourite moments, telling a story of practices of re-viewing, interpretation, and memorialization of texts. These archival traces are visible on the vids themselves and chronicle the unofficial distribution networks of videotape and the returning to favourite scenes that cause wear on the tape itself. These personal historiographies are presented in the content and texture of a vid.