social media

A Case for Pretending: Why Identity Is a Sham and Authenticity an Illusion

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

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

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

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

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.

Horror Film ‘The Empty Man’ Unmasks Internet Age Nihilism

Horror Film ‘The Empty Man’ Unmasks Internet Age Nihilism

David Prior’s 2020 horror film The Empty Man taps into a form of nihilism that might be taking over the world via social media.

Punk Wouldn’t Have Spread So Far Without the Sh*t Media

Punk Wouldn’t Have Spread So Far Without the Sh*t Media

Simultaneously inside and outside by either choice or circumstance, punk has always had paradoxical – sometimes hostile – relations with TV, radio, and the internet.

‘Sweat’ Director von Horn Isn’t into Critiquing Social Media

‘Sweat’ Director von Horn Isn’t into Critiquing Social Media

Director Magnus von Horn didn’t make Sweat to be a critique about social media despite what everyone thinks.

Bo Burnham’s Pandemic Comedy Special ‘Inside’ Is the Krapp’s Last Tape of Our Times

Bo Burnham’s Pandemic Comedy Special ‘Inside’ Is the Krapp’s Last Tape of Our Times

Like Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, Bo Burnham’s Inside offers rich insights into how our psyches and sense of self get warped by ever-advancing technologies.

5 Negative Effects of Fandom Nostalgia and How to Overcome Them

5 Negative Effects of Fandom Nostalgia and How to Overcome Them

Fandom, powered by nostalgia, is gigantic, uncloseted, and unfortunately, argumentative.

How ‘Watchmen’ and ‘The Boys’ Deconstruct American Fascism

How ‘Watchmen’ and ‘The Boys’ Deconstruct American Fascism

Superhero media has a history of critiquing the dark side of power, hero worship, and vigilantism, but none have done so as radically as Watchmen and The Boys.

Tommy Siegel’s Comic ‘I Hope This Helps’ Pokes at Social Media Addiction

Tommy Siegel’s Comic ‘I Hope This Helps’ Pokes at Social Media Addiction

Jukebox the Ghost's Tommy Siegel discusses his "500 Comics in 500 Days" project, which is now a new book, I Hope This Helps.