A Critical Forum on Media and Culture
A Critical Forum on Media and Culture
Using Tim and Fred Williams’ musical reaction videos as a case study, María Elena Cepeda discusses racial and generational relations between audiences and content creators as potential drivers of change in production and marketing in the music industry.
Read moreThe cottagecore trend is finding new expression on Tiktok as users present highly curated visions of domesticity. Caroline N. Bayne explores the myths in cottagecore aesthetics and the ways in which they present the home as a sacred space untroubled by the world of work.
Read moreThough TikTok’s algorithm appears to be highly personalized by your taste, the company’s algorithm may not have this in mind. Andrea Ruehlicke investigates issues of agency and implications of presuming the personal is self-determined.
Read moreLooking at artists like Lil Nas X, Abigail Barlow, and Absofacto, Meghan Grosse explores how viral success on TikTok is affecting the mainstream music industry.
Read moreUsing the Chicago Bull’s Mascot, Benny the Bull, as a case study, James Bingaman considers how TikTok is used in NBA branding to create parasocial bonds with fans.
Read moreLuis Loya and Elaine Almeida utilize Communication Theory of Identity (CTI) to understand how hashtags and duet/remix affordances connect the multiplicity of queer identity performances across TikTok.
Read moreThrough the case study of songwriter and vocalist Sophie Fraser, D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye explores how accidental virality on TikTok can influence digital identities, professionalization, and unexpectedly lead to new career opportunities for musicians.
Read moreJessica Sage Rauchberg examines how shadowbanning and algorithmic moderation affect disabled users on TikTok, arguing that these practices erase and suppress user content.
Read moreConsidering generational trauma along with TikTok’s algorithm, Alex Hack discusses the many TikToks that were widely circulated in response to the murder of George Floyd and how they, in many ways, managed to break past the logic of Americana.
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