This book originated in the Department of Media and Culture of the University of Amsterdam. As a group of media scholars with a special interest in intercultural exchanges related to transnational media culture, we discovered that the concept of the family had not been very elaborately analyzed in this respect. Although both the Western nuclear family and the non-Western extended family is under pressure (from internal struggles and divorces and from external causes like migration that tear families apart), no extended study has related the concept of the family in an intercultural perspective to media use and media theory. This striking absence in intercultural media theory led to the idea of writing this book.

From the beginning, we also had the idea of relating these theoretical notions to certain media practices. We were therefore very happy that the center for migration and image culture, Imagine IC (Imagine Identity and Culture) in Amsterdam was immediately interested in collaborating with us on this theme. Imagine IC has programmed a set of screenings, talks, audiovisual assignments, etc., to complement the “Shooting the Family” project. The book and the events present a dialogue between media theory and practice that discusses intercultural values related to family matters.