Hello fellow HASTAC-ers! This blog post is a bit late, but I thought I would take this opportunity to re-introduce myself and my work now that I have a community of other HASTAC scholars to meet.
The first time I saw the viral "Gangnam Style" music video -- even though I don't speak a word of Korean -- something about it absolutely tickled me. To non-Korean audiences, the video, which has become a viral hit on sites like Youtube, seems like a nonsensical mixture of images, some of strange people dancing, horses, bathrooms, pretty girls doing yoga, against catchy techno beats and the refrain "Oppa Gangnam Style!" Korean rapper PSY, an ordinary-looking man in his 30s, dances impishly in different situations that, at first glance, make little sense to the casual viewer.
Those familiar with Sarah Silverman's comedy may have noticed her recent ventures into online comedic activism. Silverman's comedy has always been political in its content, but her first internet campaign, "The Great Schlep," was a more ambitious attempt, using comedic appeals through online channels to promote community action. See: http://www.thegreatschlep.com/. To summarize briefly, her 2008 "Great Schlep" video asked young, liberal northeasterners to visit their elderly Jewish grandparents in Florida (a highly contested swing state), and convince them to vote for Barack Obama.
Those familiar with Sarah Silverman's comedy may have noticed her recent ventures into online comedic activism. Silverman's comedy has always been political in its content, but her first internet campaign, "The Great Schlep," was a more ambitious attempt, using comedic appeals through online channels to promote community action. See: http://www.thegreatschlep.com/. To summarize briefly, her 2008 "Great Schlep" video asked young, liberal northeasterners to visit their elderly Jewish grandparents in Florida (a highly contested swing state), and convince them to vote for Barack Obama.
Recently, Louis C.K. has attracted attention for his new method of making his comedy specials available to fans. Instead of selling his work through a large corporate distributor, he has subverted these outlets by allowing fans to download his specials for $5 on his website: louisck.net. His efforts have been wildly successful, and have opened up a series of important discussions about producer/consumer relations, particularly in light of the fraught relationship of the music industry to artists and fans.
I want to take a meta-moment to talk about online discussions surrounding the Daniel Tosh rape joke controversy.
I want to take a meta-moment to talk about online discussions surrounding the Daniel Tosh rape joke controversy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/gallup-poll-confidence-tv-news_...
This article, entitled "Gallup Poll Finds Confidence in TV has hit a new low," seems compelling to me for several reasons. The first is that our current attitudes towards television are not isolated, but reflect increasing uses of digital and internet-related technologies. We see television's address and protocols in comparison to the other media technologies we commonly use -- and television's capacity to transmit information accurately are limited in ways digital technologies are not.
First of all, I have to say that I am much more of a reader, browser, and all together non-committal person than I am a blogger. Content is scary. I write all the time, but the editing process typically washes out any latent fears I may harbor about having my ideas picked over. As a long-time graduate student, writing something to post immediately is considerably out of my comfort zone.