Michael Holman Family Home Movie #2: 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 cardboard film box (c).

The film begins with a wide shot of members of the Holman family with their French friends posing in front a train station, most likely in Paris. The family members include, Linda Holman wearing a red shirt and dark blue skirt and Pauline Thompson Wood wearing a beige shirt, a blue skirt and holding a red purse. Next there are multiple shots of a public military display and ceremony. Numerous French flags are displayed and various military personnel stand at attention. Later, people in civilian clothes are honored and given an unidentified object. Next, there are multiple shots of various street scenes around the city and a parade. A US Army bus can briefly be seen driving in the parade. This is followed by a family portrait shot of Linda Holman wearing a white dress with Michael Holman wearing a light blue sweater and white shirt standing with French family friends. Finally, the film concludes with another shot of the parade from a different angle.

The standard yellow Kodak 8mm film box (c) that accompanies the film has mailing addresses for processing film in Europe handwritten onto it.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1956-1957
• Created by: Pauline Thompson Wood, American, born 1901
• Subject of: Lt. Thomas Holman, American, born 1926
• Subject of: Linda Holman, American, born 1953
• Subject of: Michael Holman, American, born 1955
• Owned by: Michael Holman, American, born 1955
• Type: silent films
• Type: home movies
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: 8mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film, plastic and cardboard
• Dimensions: Duration: 3 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 50 Feet
• Place depicted: Paris, Île-de-France, France, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Travel
• Object number: 2016.31.3.2.1abc
• 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.