Screenshots have generated new forms of storytelling, from Twitter fan fiction to desktop film

Screenshots are as banal as they are ubiquitous. Nowadays, virtually all computer and digital mobile devices can generate a screenshot with a quick pair of key presses.

Maybe that’s why they have remained largely underappreciated as a creative practice.

Yet, a closer look at the screenshot tells us interesting stories about not only how media transforms over time, but also how even the humblest technical operation may give rise to sophisticated cultural forms.

What began as a simple way to document electronic images has evolved into a form of expression of its own.