Portraits of televised memory: Lithuanians on television (1966-1978)

Abstract

This paper aims to introduce the reader to Lithuanian televised memory as reconstructed in the first free international Lithuanian long-lasting media project, the Lithuanians on Television program. This program was shown every Sunday evening at 8:30 P.M. from April 25th 1966 onwards to 1978-1979, when it had to shut down due to financial pressure. Lithuanians on Television told visual stories of Lithuanians living in Chicago and elsewhere. In this paper we will explore what the surviving Lithuanian-American visual stories are able tell us about the factors at work in Lithuanian communities and about the important questions raised therein. We will take a look at the personality and archive of Anatolijus Šlutas, the creator of Lithuanians on Television. The paper presents the problematics of the visual sources and the main influences on the creation of the program. It discusses the contents of the program, and analyzes its goals and the results achieved. It singles out the aims and objectives of the program, as well as their implementation. The paper fastens on the most delicate cultural problems of the Lithuanian community as found in these broadcasts. The cultural bonds of the program and the Lithuanian community are presented, as well as the legacy of the broadcasts, which left clear footprints in the lives of Lithuanian immigrants.