The “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.
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Approaching 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.
Read more”Real EMO”: Mythologizing and Marketing EMO Music
Francesca Sobande / Cardiff University
Francesca Sobande explores emo’s nostalgic resurgence, raising questions about authenticity, youth culture, mythologization, and the role of industrial and commercial activities in shaping the genre.
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