Screenshot Culture: From 1959 Pin-Up to Legal Evidence and Memetic Creativity

The article explores the cultural significance of the screenshot, tracing its history from a 1959 Polaroid of a George Petty pin-up on a MIT CAD screen to its current role as a ubiquitous tool for communication, archiving, and creativity. The term 'screenshot' was first attested in 1983, coined by game culture journalist Bill Kunkel. Italian jurisprudence (Cassation Court, Section V, sentence no. 8736 of 22/02/2018) recognizes screenshots as full legal evidence. The phenomenon of 'no context screenshots' is linked to early 20th-century avant-garde practices and amateur creativity, as noted by Valentina Tanni. Platforms like Snapchat notify users of captures, while some companies view screenshots as copyright violations. The article argues that the screenshot is a form of 'virtual witnessing' (Steven Shapin, 1984), capturing an instant rather than cloning content, and its future may extend to video screen recording.