{"title":"‘When I lose the weight, we’ll go on a date’ – fatness, singleness and liminality in Fat Chance","authors":"S. Ritter","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2023.2253247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2023.2253247","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46933120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The glocalization of The Daily Show","authors":"David Lipson, M. Boukes, Samira Khemkhem","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2023.2251961","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2023.2251961","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44193588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cute politics!: articulating the kawaii aesthetic, fandom and political participation","authors":"Hsin-Yen Yang","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2023.2219661","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2023.2219661","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article explores the affective power of the kawaii (“cute” in Japanese) aesthetic in politics by drawing from the successful “cute” campaign in Taiwan’s vital presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. Based on field participation, interviews, and secondary sources, this study offers a historical-textual analysis of the ways in which cute aesthetics and fan participation alter the political communication process in postauthoritarian Taiwan. This study suggests that the prevalence of kawaii in protests and political campaigns, most salient in East and Southeast Asia today, indicates an ideological shift from masculine communication styles to an “effeminate” voice in politics. This study also exemplifies the significance of the “minor aesthetics” such as cute, zany, glamorous, and whimsical because they give voice to weak, silenced and marginalized groups. These minor aesthetic categories deserve the same level of serious attention that academics have given to the grand, the beautiful and the sublime.","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42603026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Living with LEGO: A fan’s re-interpretation of the interior domestic space","authors":"Vlada Botorić","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2023.2228306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2023.2228306","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The interconnectedness between an individual and the inhabited interior space is articulated through literature, philosophy, and critical theory. The interior, in theory as in practice, is understood even as dialectical where the domestic space is experienced. The role of fans as inhabitants of a space and their subjective fandom experience reflected through their specific expressions within the interior space are in focus. This study looks at aspects of the domestic environment with an emphasis on the collected items contained within to characterize fans’ attitudes toward the materiality of their objects of fandom. Fandom experience within the domestic interior is further explored in the context of the auto-ethnographic account of a life-long participant observer of the LEGO phenomenon, collector, and an academic-fan, where LEGO becomes a dioramic spectacle integrated into the living space. The study finally offers an externalizing fandom life-long experience and aesthetic preoccupations while creating a personalized interior.","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48472520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The adaptation of species in the fashion media ecosystem: the case of Vogue","authors":"Marta Torregrosa, Teresa Sádaba","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2023.2239207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2023.2239207","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Digitalization has reconfigured the landscape in the fashion media ecosystem. New species have emerged within the environment. Today, fashion magazines compete with numerous fashion and lifestyle content providers, questioning their role as the sole authority when it comes to deciding “what is fashionable” and challenging their monopoly when it comes to prescribing aesthetic tastes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the case of Vogue to illustrate how species can adapt to the ecosystem. Vogue’s original response, as reflected in the different initiatives we have studied, enables us to draw up a map of players within the fashion industry, one in which the magazine serves as an institution and not only as a member of the media. In this respect, our conclusions highlight the importance of the public, as opposed to the medium itself, based on an understanding of communication as a social rather than a technological phenomenon.","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43937236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Filmic transposition of revolt and revolution in Nigeria: success or failure of protest in Arase’s In my Country and Somewhere in Africa","authors":"Olivia Elakeche Idoko, Peter Ogohi Salifu","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2023.2214541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2023.2214541","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Protest actions have become popular resorts to decry bad governance and press on socio-political demands in Nigeria. However, the attack and maiming of protesters, the hijack of the protest medium allegedly by hoodlums, and the arrest of protesters by unnamed security agents have introduced doubts as to the potency of the protest medium in effecting desired socio-political change. Understanding the motivations for protest actions through the Grievance theory and Leaning on Marxism, this article analyzes the social stratification and exploitation that triggers protests and the fate of the citizenry in the face of lethal opposition to protests as represented in Arase’s In my Country (2017) and Somewhere in Africa (2011). We submit that the struggle for good governance through protest and revolt requires patriotism, willful spirit, sacrifice, and courage. Optimal regard for the rule of law and the rights of citizens to peaceful assembly and protest is recommended.","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41988726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rebekah Grome, Kristina Drumheller, Emily S. Kinsky
{"title":"“It’s about time”: Twitter responses to gender change with Doctor Who’s 13th Doctor","authors":"Rebekah Grome, Kristina Drumheller, Emily S. Kinsky","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2022.2109030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2022.2109030","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Quantitative content analysis was used to examine social media responses to the BBC’s announcement of the first female Doctor in the science-fiction show Doctor Who. Tweets reacting to the BBC’s framing of the decision (N = 2,971) were coded for mentions of representation, impact on the character, political correctness, feminism, impact on ratings, and impact on younger generations. Results indicated that audience responses did not reflect the BBC’s framing but were generally supportive of the casting choice. Explanations for the lack of correspondence between the BBC and responses are explored.","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47598756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toward a popular theory of algorithms","authors":"I. Siles, E. Gómez-Cruz, Paola Ricaurte","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2022.2103140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2022.2103140","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper establishes dialogs between theories on the popular and critical studies on algorithms and datafication. In doing so, it contributes to reversing the analytical tendency to assume that algorithms have universal effects and that conclusions about “algorithmic power” in the Global North apply unproblematically everywhere else. We begin by clarifying how Latin American scholars and other research traditions have theorized the popular (“lo popular”). We then develop four dimensions of lo popular to implement these ideas in the case of algorithms: playful cultural practices, imagination, resistance, and “in-betweenness.” We argue that this dialogue can generate different ways of thinking about the problems inherent to algorithmic mediation by drawing attention to the remixes of cultural practices, imaginative solutions to everyday problems, “cyborg” forms of resistance, and ambiguous forms of agency that are central to the operations of algorithmic assemblages nowadays.","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48327896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gabriela Alcantara Azevedo Cavalcanti de Arruda, Daniel Medeiros de Freitas, Carolina Maria Soares Lima, Krzysztof Nawratek, Bernardo Miranda Pataro
{"title":"The production of knowledge through religious and social media infrastructure: world making practices among Brazilian Pentecostals","authors":"Gabriela Alcantara Azevedo Cavalcanti de Arruda, Daniel Medeiros de Freitas, Carolina Maria Soares Lima, Krzysztof Nawratek, Bernardo Miranda Pataro","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2022.2074997","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2022.2074997","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Following Robertson’s discussions on epistemic capital, the article analyses worldmaking procedures being used by members of one of the biggest neo-Pentecostal churches in Brazil – Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus. According to the popular narrative, social media, especially WhatsApp groups, contributed in a crucial way to the spread of sets of conspiracy theories aimed to question “established narratives” and creating an image of Jair Bolsonaro, currently the president of Brazil, as the sole hero (“the messiah” and “the myth”) fighting against the “corrupted” Brazilian state and the “globalist/communist cabal.” The article discusses interactions between members of so-called families created by the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus. These families could have between a few or around one hundred members, and they are in regular communication (at least a few times per day) through WhatsApp. Most members of one family do not live in walking proximity; therefore, using WhatsApp is often the primary way they interact. The article puts families into a broader context of the media ecosystem owned or influenced by Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus and contextualizes the church as a religious “infrastructure of knowing.” The article discusses sources of legitimization of particular knowledge produced and mediated between families. The article argues that communication in families contributes to the creation of unique epistemic tools crucial in re-creating individual worldviews of members Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus.","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47523979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An epistemic proxy war? Popular communication, epistemic contestations and violent conflict in Ethiopia","authors":"Matti Pohjonen","doi":"10.1080/15405702.2022.2074998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2022.2074998","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper highlights an understudied perspective on post-truth ideas in online popular communication through an examination of online popular communication during the Ethiopian conflict (or the Tigray War). It argues, in particular, that the epistemic contestations characteristic of the hybrid media environment needs to always be understood as double-layered: contemporary digital media functions both as a site where such contestations can be researched but, at the same time, the theories and frameworks of knowledge we use to articulate the debates need to be also critically contested theories originating from the West not necessarily valid in other parts of the world without critical examination. To specify the theoretical arguments made, the paper will use a mixed-method analysis that combines digital ethnographic research with a large-scale analysis of visual imagery shared on Twitter to understand popular communication and propaganda during the conflict/war.","PeriodicalId":45584,"journal":{"name":"Popular Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48572571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}