The Pathé less traveled

The British Pathé news company recently made available on YouTube 85,000 news clips enjoyed by American and British audiences for more than five decades. What was once news has now become history; Asian audiences can track the transformation of their countries across the 20th century, from traditional Japanese festivals in the 1930s to the Hong Kong nightlife of the 1960s. Here are some favorites (collected as a playlist here):

Singapore in the 1960s was being promoted as a shopping heaven for tourists

An American commentator bemusedly notes how Japan in the 1950s likes to keep cool in a heat wave. 

This raw footage shows some swaggering U.S. generals gathering before the declaration of independence of the Philippines, capped by a stirring speech.

Thai boxing is described in 1961 as being like “old French

savate, where a kick in time saves the count of nine!”

There are also some mysteries left in the miles of unused footage collected. British Pathé thinks this footage of a stirring dance from South or Southeast Asia, suggesting Malaysia, India or Indonesia as top candidates. If anyone knows this dance, then British Pathé asks you leave a comment under the video.

These videos show how the Internet has helped art and historical records break free from national vaults to become part of the world’s heritage. The Pathé news company thought only of describing an unfamiliar part of the world to its Western viewers. A few decades later it’s become a way for the descendants of the people Pathé filmed to see how their countries looked way back when. If you want to explore more, then go to the channel’s main page, click on the magnifying glass and search for your country’s name.

Benjamin Grubbs, Head of News & Education Content Partnerships, Asia Pacific, YouTube, recently watched What Would Jim Lehrer Do? A Report from VidCon