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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In Defense of Play: A rereading of Caillois’ “Man, Play, and Games”
Groos came to seein play the guarantor of youth: “Animals also do not play because they are young; they are young because they have toplay.”82 He therefore distinguished play activity involving (a) the sensory apparatus (the sense of touch,heat, taste, odor, hearing, color, shape, movement, etc.); (b )the motor apparatus (feeling about, destruction and analysis,construction…
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I am Making a Boardgame : Introducing Chronundrum
How to make an educational board game, designing for learning, and the mechanics of fun. All relevant to todays discussion of designing a serious tabletop board game in which players travel through ancient Egypt collecting artifacts, solving riddles, and correcting the chaos of time in an interactive and highly lively environment with a full ensemble…
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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.