6,913 research outputs found

    An American Knightmare: Joker, Fandom, and Malicious Movie Meaning-Making

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    This monograph concerns the long-standing communication problem of how individuals can identify and resist the influence of unethical public speakers. Scholarship on the issue of what Socrates & Plato called the “Evil Lover” – i.e., the ill-intended rhetor – began with the Greek philosophers, but has carried into [post]Modern anxieties. For instance, the study of Nazi propaganda machines, and the rhetoric of Hitler himself, rejuvenated interest in the study of speech and communication in the U.S. and Europe. Whereas unscrupulous sophists used lectures and legal forums, and Hitler used a microphone, contemporary Evil Lovers primarily draw on new, internet-related tools to share their malicious influence. These new tools of influence are both more far-reaching and more subtle than the traditional practices of listening to a designated speaker appearing at an overtly political event. Rhetorician Ashley Hinck has recently noted the ways that popular culture – communication about texts which are commonly accessible and shared – are now significant sites through which citizens learn moral and political values. Accordingly, the talk of internet influencers who interpret popular texts for other fans has the potential to constitute strong persuasive power regarding ethics and civic responsibility. The present work identifies and responds to a particular case example of popular culture text that has been recently, and frequently, leveraged in moral and civic discourses: Todd Phillips’ Joker. Specifically, this study takes a hermeneutic approach to understanding responses, especially those explicitly invoking political ideology, to Joker as a method of examining civic meaning-making. A special emphasis is placed on the online film criticisms of Joker from white nationalist movie fans, who clearly exemplify ways that media responses can be leveraged by unethical speakers (i.e., Evil Lovers) and subtly diffused. The study conveys that these racist movie fans can embed values related to “trolling,” incelism, and xenophobia into otherwise seemingly innocuous talk about film. While the sharing of such speech does not immediately mean its positive reception, this kind of communication yet constitutes a new and understudied attack on democratic values such as justice and equity. The case of white nationalist movie fan film criticism therefore reflects a particular brand of communicative strategy for contemporary Evil Lovers in communicating unethical messages under the covert guise of mundane movie talk

    “Oh my god, how did I spend all that money?”: Lived experiences in two commodified fandom communities

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    This research explores the role of commodification in participation in celebrity-centric fandom communities, applying a leisure studies framework to understand the constraints fans face in their quest to participate and the negotiations they engage in to overcome these constraints. In fan studies scholarship, there is a propensity to focus on the ways fans oppose commodified industry structures; however, this ignores the many fans who happily participate within them. Using the fandoms for the pop star Taylor Swift and the television series Supernatural as case studies, this project uses a mixed-methodological approach to speak directly to fans via surveys and semistructured interviews to develop an understanding of fans’ lived experiences based on their own words. By focusing on celebrity-centric fandom communities rather than on the more frequently studied textual fandoms, this thesis turns to the role of the celebrity in fans’ ongoing desire to participate in commodified spaces. I argue that fans are motivated to continue spending money to participate within their chosen fandom when this form of participation is tied to the opportunity for engagement with the celebrity. While many fans seek community from their fandom participation, this research finds that for others, social ties are a secondary outcome of their overall desire for celebrity attention, which becomes a hobby in which they build a “leisure career” (Stebbins 2014). When fans successfully gain attention from their celebrity object of fandom, they gain status within their community, creating intra-fandom hierarchies based largely on financial resources and on freedom from structural constraints related to education, employment, and caring. Ultimately, this thesis argues that the broad neglect of celebrity fandom practices means we have overlooked the experiences of many fans, necessitating a much broader future scope for the field

    Die Politik der Toten

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    Der Tod und die Toten spielen eine gesellschaftspolitisch und kulturtheoretisch zentrale Rolle. Man kann mit den Toten Politik machen, sie können aber auch selbst als Teil von Politik und Gesellschaft begriffen werden. Debatten hierüber reichen von der Erinnerungs- bis zur Begräbnispolitik und berühren auch den Umgang mit toten Geflüchteten sowie mit den Toten revolutionärer Bewegungen. Die Beitragenden aus Literaturwissenschaft und Politischer Theorie laden zu einer breiten Lesart einer ›Politik der Toten‹ ein. Dabei wird deutlich, dass der Umgang mit den Toten und die Klärung ihrer Stellung in der Gesellschaft immer wieder aufs Neue ausgelotet werden müssen. In den dabei entstehenden Konflikten können die Toten nicht nur als Objekte des Streits, sondern mitunter auch als Mitwirkende verstanden werden

    Discourses of sexual violence: A critical analysis of the representation of victims and perpetrators on Twitter

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    Esta tesis investiga críticamente los recursos y patrones lingüísticos utilizados por los tuiteros para debatir sobre discursos de género y opresión patriarcal en relación con la violencia sexual. Este estudio tiene dos objetivos principales: 1) examinar los discursos e ideologías de los tuiteros respecto a la violencia sexual y cómo estos contribuyen a la negociación de las identidades de víctima-perpetrador, y 2) identificar el papel del lenguaje evaluativo en la (re)producción y resistencia de discursos e ideologías de género. Para ello, esta tesis toma como caso de estudio la controvertida nominación del juez asociado Brett Kavanaugh al Tribunal Supremo de los Estados Unidos. Tras hacerse pública su nominación, fue acusado de intento de violación por la Dra. Christine Blasey Ford. Sus alegaciones fueron seguidas por otras similares de otras dos mujeres. La nominación se convirtió en un tema de conversación importante en la red social Twitter, ya que los tuiteros utilizaron diferentes hashtags para expresar su apoyo u oposición a la nominación. La Dra. Ford también se convirtió en el blanco de agresiones verbales por parte de quienes apoyaban la candidatura. Sin embargo, sus alegaciones también fueron apoyadas por aquellos tuiteros que validaron su testimonio y, a su vez, provocaron el resurgimiento del hashtivismo feminista. Se compilaron dos corpus de tuits que contenían los hashtags #KavanaughConfirmation (N = 1.753.370 palabras) y #NoKavanaughConfirmation (N = 612.416 palabras) para analizarlos y compararlos en relación con los objetivos de este estudio. Los corpus se analizaron desde un enfoque de análisis del discurso asistido por corpus (ADAC) (Partington et al., 2013) que combinaba herramientas de lingüística de corpus con el Análisis Crítico del Discurso Feminista (ACFD) (Lazar, 2005, 2018) y la Teoría de la Valoración (2005). Los resultados sugieren que los tuiteros verbalizaron discursos relacionados con la violencia de género tanto para denunciar como para perpetuar la cultura de la violación y la opresión patriarcal en la sociedad estadounidense. Estos discursos contribuyeron a la negociación de las identidades de víctima y agresor, que eran inestables y fluidas según los grupos sociopolíticos de los tuiteros. Se mostró que los discursos antifeministas y patriarcales contribuyeron a la representación de AsJ Kavanaugh como una víctima política, retratando así a la Dra. Ford como una agresora política. Por el contrario, los discursos de veracidad y feminismo dieron credibilidad al testimonio de la Dra. Ford y se opusieron a la confirmación. A su vez, estos discursos retrataron a AsJ Kavanaugh como un mentiroso y un agresor sexual. Por otro lado, el análisis del lenguaje evaluativo reveló que en ambos corpus predominaban recursos valorativos negativos para transmitir evaluaciones inmorales y poco éticas y angustia emocional colectiva, lo que contribuyó aún más a la construcción inestable de las identidades de víctima y perpetrador. En definitiva, esta tesis proporciona información sobre las prácticas digitales de los tuiteros para debatir dinámicas de género y resistir/reproducir discursos patriarcales derivados de la cultura de la violación. Además, también demuestra la fructífera combinación de los métodos de la lingüística de corpus, el FCDA y la teoría de la valoración para el análisis de la violencia de género y los datos de los redes sociales.This thesis critically traces the linguistic resources and patterns deployed by tweeters to discuss gendered discourses and patriarchal oppression concerning sexual violence. There are two primary aims of this study: 1) to examine tweeters’ discourses and ideologies regarding sexual violence and how they contribute to the negotiation of victim-perpetrator identities, and 2) to identify the role of evaluative language in the (re)production and resistance of gendered discourses and ideologies. To do so, this thesis takes AsJ Brett Kavanaugh’s controversial nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States as a case study. After his nomination was made public, he was accused of attempted rape by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Her allegations were followed by similar claims from two more women. The nomination became a major topic on Twitter as tweeters used different hashtags to express (dis)affiliation. Dr. Ford also became the target of verbal aggression by those who supported his nomination. However, her claims were also supported by tweeters who validated her testimony and, in turn, sparked the re-emergence of hashtag feminism. Two corpora of tweets containing the hashtags #KavanaughConfirmation (N = 1,753,370 words) and #NoKavanaughConfirmation (N = 612,416 words) were compiled to analyze and compare each dataset in relation to the objectives of this study. The corpora were investigated from a corpus-assisted discourse analysis approach (Partington et al., 2013) which combined corpus linguistic tools with Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) (Lazar, 2005, 2018) and Appraisal Theory (2005). The findings suggest that tweeters invoked discourses relating to gender-based violence to both denounce and perpetuate rape culture and patriarchal oppression in American society. Such discourses contributed to the negotiation of the identities of victims and perpetrators, which were unstable and fluid depending on tweeters’ socio-political groups. Antifeminist and patriarchal discourses were found to contribute to the portrayal of AsJ Kavanaugh as a political victim, thus portraying Dr. Ford as a political aggressor. In contrast, discourses of veracity and feminism gave credibility to Dr. Ford’s testimony and opposed the confirmation. These discourses depicted AsJ Kavanaugh as a liar and a sexual aggressor. On the other hand, the analysis of evaluative language revealed that negative Appraisal resources predominated in both corpora to convey immoral and unethical evaluations and collective emotional distress, which further contributed to the unstable construction of victim-perpetrator identities. All in all, this thesis provides insights into tweeters’ digital practices to discuss gendered dynamics and resist/reproduce patriarchal discourses derived from rape culture. In addition, it also shows the fruitful combination of corpus linguistics methods, FCDA, and Appraisal Theory in the analysis of gender-based violence and social media data

    Married to the cape: Adam West, Batman and signature roles on the small screen

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    A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.This thesis addresses a gap in scholarship by theorising star status for those performers whose public image is defined by a single televisual role. It proposes the ‘signature role TV star’ as a new category of stardom by evaluating Adam West as a quintessential example of this type of figure. West was best known for playing the titular role in the television series Batman (ABC: 1966-1968), which became a worldwide phenomenon after its debut in 1966. Despite its initial popularity, Batman was cancelled after three seasons and West was unable to develop a lasting career as a mainstream leading man, meaning that his signature role remained the defining aspect of his stardom. West’s connection to Batman continued to manifest, as he occasionally reprised his former role, whilst also taking other parts that evoked his superhero success. Meanwhile, he regularly played himself in a parodic fashion in his latter-day career. West demonstrated that the strong link with a signature televisual role can generate new inflections over time, meaning that he embodies both the advantages and disadvantages of this form of stardom. By theorising West’s star status, this thesis contributes to knowledge in the field of television stardom. Influential theoretical paradigms in this area posit that television is unlike cinema because it creates personalities rather than stars (Ellis, 1992; Langer, 1997). Conversely, Deborah Jermyn (2006) challenges prior theories by analysing Sarah Jessica Parker’s image, suggesting that it may be time to revisit the notion that true stardom needs to be associated with a range of different roles. Although Jermyn links this to the contemporary scene, her notion is also relevant to figures like West who are primarily associated with earlier eras. American television stars of the 1960s and 1970s were particularly likely to be defined by their connection to a flagship part, because this period was characterised by scarcity of viewing options (Ellis, 2002: 39-60), the emergence of repeats as a quintessential televisual form (Kompare, 2005) and a strong cultural tradition of American programmes being exported to nations such as the UK (Rixon, 2006). In conjunction, these factors helped cement the association between prime-time TV stars and popular characters. Such connections are an underexamined area in current TV star scholarship and therefore theorising signature role TV stardom as a distinct type of fame addresses this gap in the field of star studies. The analysis of West as an archetypal signature role TV star is accomplished within a star studies theoretical framework that focuses on his onscreen roles, his promotional and publicity appearances and the criticism and commentary that has been produced about him. Richard Dyer’s star theory (1998) is modified and combined with elements of the work of John Ellis (1992) and Jermyn (2006), to argue that the latter’s suggestion that a theoretical star image can be associated with a single TV role can be expanded to conceive a distinct category of stardom. By employing this approach to theorise West as a signature role TV star, this thesis demonstrates that Jermyn’s observation applies across a broader chronological timeframe than previously recognised. Therefore, the signature role TV star category can be utilised to illuminate the cultural significance of other television stars who have hitherto been overlooked by scholars

    Skole and Sabbath as a Way of Being in Classical Educators: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology on Leisure

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    The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe the essence of the lived experiences of 10 classical Christian secondary teachers and administrators who embrace Greek skolé and Christian Sabbath at classical Christian schools in the United States. Leisure theory guided this study, particularly Sabbath as described by Heschel and Brueggeman, Christian leisure as understood by Pieper and Heintzman, and Samaras’ description of skolé in Greek philosophy, as they point to a specific type of leisure and way of being understood by classical Christian educators. van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used for data collection and analysis of open-ended response logs, individual interviews, and focus groups. Participants were recruited using snowballing and criterion sampling in United States classical Christian schools who participate in skolé or Sabbath at least four times per week. The study was developed with the following central research question in mind: What are the lived experiences of secondary classical Christian educators who develop skolé and Sabbath practices outside of the classroom? The research sub-questions also sought to uncover how classical Christian educators develop the cross-section of skolé and Sabbath disciplines to enhance meaningful contribution to their work in the classroom. Four essential themes identified through data analysis were intentional boundaries, activity or practice as a medium for contemplation, the human element, and the posture of receptivity leading to thematic interpretations: leisure approach mirrored learning philosophy and skolé and Sabbath practices led to holistic mindfulness for participants, quality relationships, and measurable order and discipline qualities that were transferable to teaching. Keywords: burnout, classical Christian education, leisure, leisure theory, Sabbath, skol

    The Metaverse: Survey, Trends, Novel Pipeline Ecosystem & Future Directions

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    The Metaverse offers a second world beyond reality, where boundaries are non-existent, and possibilities are endless through engagement and immersive experiences using the virtual reality (VR) technology. Many disciplines can benefit from the advancement of the Metaverse when accurately developed, including the fields of technology, gaming, education, art, and culture. Nevertheless, developing the Metaverse environment to its full potential is an ambiguous task that needs proper guidance and directions. Existing surveys on the Metaverse focus only on a specific aspect and discipline of the Metaverse and lack a holistic view of the entire process. To this end, a more holistic, multi-disciplinary, in-depth, and academic and industry-oriented review is required to provide a thorough study of the Metaverse development pipeline. To address these issues, we present in this survey a novel multi-layered pipeline ecosystem composed of (1) the Metaverse computing, networking, communications and hardware infrastructure, (2) environment digitization, and (3) user interactions. For every layer, we discuss the components that detail the steps of its development. Also, for each of these components, we examine the impact of a set of enabling technologies and empowering domains (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Security & Privacy, Blockchain, Business, Ethics, and Social) on its advancement. In addition, we explain the importance of these technologies to support decentralization, interoperability, user experiences, interactions, and monetization. Our presented study highlights the existing challenges for each component, followed by research directions and potential solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this survey is the most comprehensive and allows users, scholars, and entrepreneurs to get an in-depth understanding of the Metaverse ecosystem to find their opportunities and potentials for contribution
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