Private pleasures : watching videos in post-Soviet Cuba

This article traces circuits of distribution and consumption of videocassette recorders (VCRs) and videocassettes in Cuba, which until April 2008 were not available for retail sale, and were usually sourced through black market or informal means. Based upon ethnographic research conducted in 2003/4 with VCR owners and an operator of an informal videocassette rental business, the article argues that understanding the role of video in contemporary Cuba requires a consideration of both the political and economic implications of being a video consumer and the material properties of VCRs as consumer goods. In the context of post-Soviet Cuba, VCRs and videocassettes exemplify the importance of informal practices and economies, and call attention to increased tensions surrounding consumption that have developed since the economic crisis of the 1990s.