Ryan Gosling Brings the Kenergy, Or Barbie’s Night Out at the Oscars
Courtney Brannon Donoghue / University of North Texas
Courtney Brannon Donoghue considers gender (and race) at the Oscars through the lens of Barbie’s Oscar “snubs.”
Read moreThe “Beautiful Weirdness” of NBA League Pass
Branden Buehler / Seton Hall University
Branden Buehler considers the kitsch and local specificity of NBA League Pass in-arena feeds.
Read moreApproaching Distribution Studies
Rahul Mukherjee / University of Pennsylvania
Rahul Mukherjee reviews some recent trends in media distribution studies.
Read moreTikTok Broadway: Towards a New (Digital) Canon of Musical Theatre
Trevor Boffone / University of Houston
Trevor Boffone examines the use of TikTok by musical theatre fans to illustrate the digital afterlives of popular Broadway shows.
Read moreOscars 2024: And the Award for Best Publicity Stunt Goes to…
Lauren Steimer / University of South Carolina
Dr. Lauren Steimer explores how the 2024 Oscars video tribute to stunt work functions primarily as a promotional segment.
Read moreStranded in Osaka: Storytelling through TikTok
Trevor Boffone / University of Houston
Trevor Boffone recounts a harrowing experience traveling back from Japan with a cohort of high school students. Dr. Boffone became a viral news story through the storytelling affordances of TikTok. He reflects upon these affordances, positioning the platform as a site of agency and self-determination.
Read moreExporting local nostalgia – Polish past for global audiences
Sylwia Szostak / SWPS University
Dr. Sylwia Szostak examines Netflix’s “nostalgia strategy” in a recent Polish film, Mr. Car and the Knights Templar, arguing that global distribution results in the delocalization of Netflix’s “local productions.”
Read moreSam Reich’s Dropout: Ethical Collaboration and Engaging Fandom Toward Niche Streaming Survival
Charlotte Howell / Boston University
Charlotte Howell looks at Dropout CEO Sam Reich’s public approach to operations which emphasizes collaboration both on-screen and with a devoted, niche fanbase. Reich has been developing a unique media executive persona fitting for a niche streaming service based in the fundamental collaborative form of improv comedy.
Read moreMapping Situated Practice from an Insider’s Perspective
Josephine Coleman / Brunel University
Josephine Coleman uses her research experience to reflect on participant observation from an insider’s perspective.
Read moreOver*Flow: Martha Stewart’s Star Persona and the 21st-Century Influencer
Emma Ginsberg / Georgetown University
Emma Ginsberg details the development of Martha Stewart’s enduring star image and contemporary influencer persona, which centers around whiteness, privilege, and affluence.
Read moreOver*Flow: Trans Joy and Body Horror in Emerging Trans Cinema
Paige Macintosh / Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
Macintosh explores trans joy through the body horror genre and the Willem Koller-helmed independent film Nest.
Read moreOver*Flow: “Birth is Violent”: Television’s Response to Post-Roe Reproductive Politics
Reut Odinak / Boston University
Odinak considers how, as the debate over reproductive autonomy rages on in a post-Roe world, television has responded with representations demonstrating how birth is violent, controlling reproductive bodies is cruel, and forcing people into giving birth is barbaric.
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