Asian American Pop Culture Stands on the Shoulders of a Giant Robot
Today’s Asian American pop culture stands on the shoulders of Giant Robot, a beloved zine that published an eclectic mix of artists and subjects.
Media
‘Five Years Old Memories’ and Naïve Art in Video Games
Japanese visual artist, Komitsu’s newest work “Five Years Old Memories” is a colorful interactive documentary. It reimagines old CD-ROM software for the digital era.
Horror Puzzle Video Game ‘The Exit 8’ Is an Inescapable Meme
The horror puzzle video game The Exit 8 is peak capitalist art, or if you prefer, content farm. Either way, it’s also an inescapable meme.
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The Art of Psychological Warfare
From marketing manipulation to all-out psychological warfare, Stories Are Weapons clarifies how our world – and worldview – is seldom our own.
How Rap’s Civil War Was Shaped by AI
The recent “Rap Civil War” accelerated the use of AI in rap music and, as with digital sampling, creatives will use it regardless of the implications.
Cuban Video Game ‘Saviorless’ Subverts the Revolution’s Narrative
Cuban video game Saviorless joins Lillian Guerra’s scholarship and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s film The Last Supper in subverting the Cuban Revolution’s narrative.
Gaming the O.J. Simpson Murder Trial
Did gaming the O.J. Simpson murder trial allow for deeper conversations about our most hidden emotions, ugliest prejudices, and disturbing desires?
Five Sci-fi Video Game Soundtracks for the End of the World
PopMatters looks to the sonic canvas of five sci-fi video game soundtracks, because every dystopia, no matter how bleak, deserves good music.
‘Bahnsen Knights’ Game Revels in ’80s Pulp Fiction
Bahnsen Knights‘ story is an intersection between violent fanaticism and German expressionist philosophy. The clue is in the game’s title.
‘The Media Swirl’ and the Glitter in Your Eyes
In this excerpt from The Media Swirl, Carol Vernallis peers through the glitter of the stunning party scene in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby and exams its sparkling layers of meaning.
McKenzie Wark’s ‘Raving’ and the Need to Dissociate from the Body and Self
McKenzie Wark’s understanding of ravespace as a constructed situation in nonlinear ketamine-time comports with my experience raving on weekends as a freshman in college.
Too Powerful to be Merely Entertainment: Video Games and the Work of Nicholas O’Brien
Video game designer Nicholas O’Brien creates and curates in a medium starving for critical conversation.