Tag: media theory
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The Prodigal Son Returns: Prince Zuko, the Blue Spirit, and the Parable of Identity. Assessing the Rhetorics Avatar: The Last Airbender as a Media Theorist
The Blue Spirit is a masked vigilante who initially appears to be an antagonist, fighting against Aang and his companions. However, as the series progresses, it becomes clear that the Blue Spirit is actually Zuko in disguise. By adopting this persona, Zuko is able to detach himself from his responsibilities and explore his own sense…
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Every Song All at Once. On cultural hegemony and the rise of blended media
Spotify’s “every song all at once” algorithm is a fascinating cultural artifact that deserves to be analyzed from a media studies aesthetics perspective with the eyes of Lacan. This algorithmic approach to music consumption reflects the ways in which technology and culture are intertwined in contemporary society, and it also raises important questions about the…
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The Mascots that Made Us: From Tony the Tiger, to Pikachu.
As a media studies scholar and cereal addict, I find popular culture mascots such as Tony the Tiger and the King Vitamin (my all time fav, second only to Count Chocula) to be fascinating examples of how branding and marketing are used to create narratives that capture the attention and loyalty of audiences.
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It’s the Apocalypse… Again: Fandom and Fantasy in HBO’s “The Last of Us”
[[A critical analysis on the works of various apocalypse stories, including the new HBO series The Last of Us.]] The apocalypse story is a popular genre in media, with a wide range of works depicting different versions of a world-ending event. These stories can take many forms, from the zombie of George A. Romero’s “Night…
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FLCL Retrospective: The Hero’s (Horny) Journey
FLCL, oh gimme that foo-ri coo-ri. The early 2000’s found me sneaking into my mom’s tv room to catch Adult Swim’s broadcast of a bizarre six-episode… what I would call event, about yet another boy caught up in mecha-madness. Now, before I managed to write this off as some offbrand random wannabe EVA, I found…
Nicholas Andriani Rankin 