Explore the oral and visual history of the culture, society, and identity of the Caribbean people, by the Caribbean people, with Caribbean Studies in Video: The Banyan Archive. This collection features 2,200+ streaming videos of music, dance, interviews, cultural programming, and more that has been housed in the Banyan Archives in Trinidad & Tobago for decades.
Founded in 1974 in Trinidad & Tobago, Banyan Productions was the first television producer of innovative and entertaining programs for, about, and by the Caribbean people and culture. Banyan’s mission was to provide the Caribbean people with the means to tell their stories to one another without influence from the outside world. Now, for the first time, those stories are available on the Alexander Street video platform.
With a mixture of history, entertainment, and social commentary, Banyan has produced a film library covering documentary, drama, music, dance, and much more, spanning decades.
Previously inaccessible in streaming format, this collection features more than 2,200 videos of edited programs along with unedited footage that will enhance study across a host of disciplines and subjects, including:
The content is filled with interviews and programs supporting learning and research across many disciplines including:
At long last, the voices of a post-independence Caribbean can be heard among the video records of the world, demanding attention in their own right, and inviting appreciation for the region's richness and stunning complexity.
Christopher Laird The Banyan Archive