A Critical Forum on Media and Culture
A Critical Forum on Media and Culture
This article discusses the intersection of technology and creative labor, focusing on the impact of AI tools on video editing and the broader media industry.
Read moreRoderik Smits explores how AI is shaping the landscape of film programming and distribution.
Read moreThis column examines Alfonso Cuarón’s Disclaimer on AppleTV+, exploring how its production and promotion as a “cinematic” auteur-driven series reflect broader industry strategies.
Read moreMichael Z. Newman explores the convergence of television and TikTok, arguing that platforms like TikTok embody television’s fragmentary logic and attention-driven economy, transforming late-night shows like After Midnight into viral, internet-native content.
Read moreAndrew deWaard discusses how Louise Linton reflects the issues surrounding capitalism both on and off-screen.
Read moreEric Harvey discusses how contemporary music stardom pulls fans and commentators into a rabbit hole of never-ending engagement.
Read moreJacqueline Johnson examines the deeper significance of the wigs in Netflix’s Queen Charlotte.
Read moreJuan Llamas-Rodriguez explores how subway flood videos transform extreme weather from spectacle into genre. As infrastructure crumbles under climate-induced disasters, viewers shift between individual frustration and collective crisis awareness. These videos blend intimate, smartphone-captured perspectives with a wider, omniscient view of urban vulnerability, bridging personal experience with public crisis. In doing so, they force audiences to confront their roles in a destabilising climate.
Read morePerplexity, an AI search engine, is introducing advertising to generate revenue, driven by the demands of venture capital investors. The author questions the impact of this shift, highlighting concerns about privacy, the dominance of ad-based business models, and the future of AI-powered technologies.
Read moreK-pop fandom is emerging as a global safe space for LGBTQ+ youth, offering community and resources for identity exploration. This trend creates a paradox, as the fandom’s empowering effects contrast with South Korea’s largely homophobic societal norms.
Read moreEleanor Patterson challenges the idea that the post-network era is defined by a break from prior distribution models, highlighting a long history of offering broadcast programming as singular, “on-demand” commodities.
Read moreBennett examines the unique position of Hollywood assistants as “across-the-line” workers and reveals critical insights into the industry’s hierarchical structures and gatekeeping mechanisms, particularly regarding race, gender, and class dynamics.
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