Michael Holman Family Home Movie #18: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This film is from a collection of home movies filmed by the family of Michael Holman, an important figure in the history of hip hop. It consists of a single reel of 8mm silent acetate film with color (a), an original plastic film reel (b), and an original plastic cover (c).

The film begins with a series of shots taken as the cameraperson arrives at the airport of an unidentified destination. The first shot is taken from the plane's window as it lands and the next few are of people exiting a Canadian Pacific Airlines plane and of people looking for their luggage. The next series of shots depicts a large gathering of people in an unidentified location. The presence of Cinzano advertisements indicates that it could be Italy. The film ends with multiple shots of people in a large convention hall participating in a Baha'i Faith event.

An original white plastic film reel (b) with a brief content note and an original blue plastic film container (c) with Technicolor markings also accompany the film.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1968
• Created by: Pauline Thompson Wood, American, born 1901
• Owned by: Michael Holman, American, born 1955
• Type: silent films
• Type: home movies
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: Super 8
• Medium: acetate film and plastic
• Dimensions: Duration: 3 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 50 Feet
• Place depicted: Italy, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Travel
• Topic: Worship services
• Object number: 2016.31.3.18.1abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Michael Holman Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.