Audiences have always had an appetite for ethnic and cultural stories, as evidenced by the success of films such as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Bend It Like Beckham," said David B. Wertheimer, executive director of the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California. The center is a consortium funded by Hollywood studios and leading technology companies that looks at how technology is changing the entertainment landscape.

 

What's different about video-sharing technology is that it allows culture and ethnicity to be shared in smaller, more flexible, more immediate ways than traditional films can. And while the power can be abused because of a lack of censorship, when used earnestly, it offers viewers a totally new type of entertainment, Wertheimer said.

 

"When I watch (Gambito's) stuff, I don't just see her Filipino family, I see my family. And yet, by seeing the sameness, we are able to appreciate the differences," he said.