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Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Gaming For Life: Gaming Practices, Self-Care, And Thriving Under Neoliberalism, Brian Myers
Gaming For Life: Gaming Practices, Self-Care, And Thriving Under Neoliberalism, Brian Myers
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation frames gaming practices in relationship to thriving, an area of inquiry that has received little attention within the fields of video game studies and cultural studies. It argues that video games can be used by audiences as a tool for thriving, provided we define thriving outside of the framework of success and failure established by a neoliberal political rationality. Using survey data from 70 video game audience members, textual analysis, and ethnographic and auto-ethnographic methodologies, this dissertation first describes how video game audience members define thriving by distinguishing it from a related term, self-care. It then moves to …
'Smarks': Kynical Engagement And Coalitional Fandom Of Professional Wrestling, Andrew Zolides
'Smarks': Kynical Engagement And Coalitional Fandom Of Professional Wrestling, Andrew Zolides
Faculty Scholarship
Conflict in professional wrestling is not limited to the performers in the ring, as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and other promotions have toxic fan practices borne out of their varied engagements with the wrestling texts. Conflicting reactions to performers and storylines speak to a larger divide within the professional wrestling community exemplified by ‘smarks’: industry-savvy fans whose knowledge of backstage dealings impacts their perceptions of the product. In analyzing smarks, I employ Peter Sloterdijk’s conception of kynicism, distinguished from cynicism by an attitude of cheekiness that enables the user to subvert hegemonic idealism through a particular performance. In his words …
Through Google-Colored Glass(Es): Design, Emotion, Class, And Wearables As Commodity And Control, Safiya Umoja Noble, Sarah T. Roberts
Through Google-Colored Glass(Es): Design, Emotion, Class, And Wearables As Commodity And Control, Safiya Umoja Noble, Sarah T. Roberts
Media Studies Publications
This chapter discusses the implications of wearable technologies like Google Glass that function as a tool for occupying, commodifying, and profiting from the bio- logical, psychological, and emotional data of its wearers and those who fall within its gaze. We argue that Google Glass privileges an imaginary of unbridled exploration and intrusion into the physical and emotional space of others. Glass’s recognizable esthetic and outward-facing camera has elicited intense emotional response, partic- ularly when “exploration” has taken place in areas of San Francisco occupied by residents who were finding themselves priced out or evicted from their homes to make way …
Happiest People Alive: An Analysis Of Class And Gender In The Trinidad Carnival, Asha L. St. Bernard
Happiest People Alive: An Analysis Of Class And Gender In The Trinidad Carnival, Asha L. St. Bernard
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Many of the marketing strategies inherent to the modern version of the Trinidad Carnival include texts that represent Trinidadians as young, fit, bikini-wearing, party enthusiasts. In these advertisements, Trinidadians are often characterized as carefree and welcoming to anyone participating in the much-anticipated annual festival. However, dominant narratives highlight certain groups and cultural aspects of the island while frequently masking several inequalities. They cleverly conceal other narratives and therefore marginalize groups and individuals from the very festival that is understood by many as a national symbol. Through informal participant-observation, and an analysis of some of the main promotional material, in particular …
Doing Laundry, Megan Getter
Doing Laundry, Megan Getter
Megan Getter
Using Goffman’s theory on the presentational self, my study explores everyday performances in a laundromat. I take a critical interpretative approach to understand the performances of gender and class in the laundromat. I conducted ethnographic observations as a full member and include autoethnographic observations to enrich the findings. The laundromat is a unique space where gender and class are neutralized people are performing a private chore in a public space. This study fills a gap in public space and ethnographic literature devoid of laundromats.
The "Rich Bitch": Class And Gender On The Real Housewives Of New York City, Michael J. Lee
The "Rich Bitch": Class And Gender On The Real Housewives Of New York City, Michael J. Lee
Michael J Lee
This project offers the opportunity to examine the ways in which normative conceptions of class and gender cohere to produce an archetypal, trans-historical villain, what we term “the rich bitch.” In this essay, we employ the concept of irony to analyze how Bravo'sThe Real Housewives of New York Citycreates rich women as objects of cultural derision, well-heeled jesters in a populist court. The show primes its savvy, upscale audience to judge the extravagance of female scapegoats harshly in tough economic times. The housewives' class and gender flops are inter-related on the show. The lure of class status produces inconsiderate mothers. …