When Celebrity Spouses Go Off-Script
Fan obsession over celebrity spouses mirrors anxieties about our performative selves in the age of influencers.
social media
TikTok and the Murder of Long-Form Music Writing
When it comes to music criticism, which version is real? The serious opus or the TikTok goofy snippet?
‘Julie Chan Is Dead’ Lampoons the Influencer Industry
Liann Zhang’s debut satirical thriller Julie Chan Is Dead examines death, digital debauchery, and the cult of clout.
The Pornification of Everything
In this attention economy, where shock pays dividends and subtlety is a liability, the stripper is a cultural archetype, the influencer a high priest of exposure.
Language Is a Virus, and People Could Die
The COVID pandemic seemed to accelerate the spread of new viral media, but viruses mutate, pop culture replicates, and everything’s a cover song.
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.
Gol o Bolbol Go Viral: Iranian Protest Songs in the Age of Social Media
Iranian protest songs like “Soltane Ghalbha”, which lyrically invoke “structures of feeling” connected to the loss and grief of a loved one, achieve an encoded additional layer of resistance when paired with the specific images and stories of lost young Iranians.
A Case for Pretending: Why Identity Is a Sham and Authenticity an Illusion
The tighter we cling to any aspect of self-identity, the more we suffer and the more vital it becomes to release our grip.
The Broken Hearts Gallery: Love, Tech, and the Death of the Romcom
Romcom The Broken Hearts Gallery is aware that we are chained to technology, yet it shrouds social media in the kind of movie magic that can revive the ailing genre.
Why Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’ Mirrors Today’s Social Media Age
In its exploration of themes like paranoia, voyeurism, and loneliness, Hitchcock’s Rear Window strikes a familiar chord with the social media climate we live in today.
You Better Be Quick When It’s Time to BeReal
Although most social media sites are marked by abundance and expansiveness, BeReal operates on scarcity. Its gamification lies in the almighty two-minute window.
The Russo-Ukraine War Is a Mediated War – Not Just a War on the Media
How the Russo-Ukraine War generated a media dimension of its own and how it linked the myths of the past century to the challenges of our own.