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Presentations and Finals: Dr. Will Kurlinkus
Presentations and Finals: Dr. Will Kurlinkus
Presentations and Finals: Dr. Will Kurlinkus
Will
Kurlinkus
FINALS
WEDNESDAY MEET WITH
ME
SPEECH REQUIREMENTS
Play the role of an expert. No one knows more about this topic
than you do. Show us some of the most weird and interesting
facts and findings that youve discovered along the way.
Speak with authority and from authority by using specific
examples.
Take us on a journey. Dont just talk about one aspect of your
topic, choose a few that build on one another or complicate
one another. Start with a question and give us some clues as
we walk through your presentation that each answer a part of
it. Dont let my brain settle.
Know your audience. You know what weve learned in this
class, so connect your research to those common points of
knowledge for us. Where do your examples extend,
complicate, or reject what weve learned?
PAINT A MULTI-SENSORY PICTURE
Subject: In this paper, I will examine how ASMR videos create pleasure
through a distant intimacy that relies on the heteronormative gender
roles of care and the aural impres- sion of the whisper for its
implementation and how their shared space on YouTube fur ther defines
that intimacy as public and communal.
Complication : At fir st glance, ASMR seems to be an excellent case by
which to examine af fect divorced from emotion, as a pure instance of
excess of sensation uncolored by emotional connection. However,
although ASMR is not merely a physiological experience of pure af fect,
it is just as clearly linked to the emotional associations created
through the experience of public inti- macy.
Argument: In this paper, I will explore the connotations of intimacy and
care that create the af fective ASMR experience to examine the ASMR
community on YouTube as sharing in a public and therefore
nonnormative experience of distant intimacy that reflects, if
reluctantly, the potential of digital communities to make us feel.
INTRO
In the childrens rhyming game Dot dot line line , patterns are traced out
on the par ticipants back . Tapping fingers recreate spider s crawling, and
a slow caress becomes the dripping of a slimy egg. The rhyme calls on a
sensor y experience of contact with another per son and by extension with
the unusual or feared substances they tell a stor y about to induce
shivers, or shiveries, as the rhyme goes. The focused attention on the
hands as they draw on the skin, the anticipation of described sensations,
and the emo- tional investment in stor ytelling combine to create the
shiveries. The shiveries is an af fective experience that demonstrates the
links between af fect and emotion: without the stor y, the taps and pats
are only a friends touch; without the touch, there are no crawling
spider s, just a stor y. In the case of the childrens rhyme, role -play demon-
strates the impor tance of emotional content in inducing a physiological
sensation of the shiver. The fascination with the shiveries does not end
with children. Since at least 2008, an online community dedicated to the
pur suit of a similar shiver y sensation has used YouTube, the online video -
sharing platform, to create, collect, and exchange videos made to trigger
the tingles through a computer screen (Tufnell 201 2).
GENRE/COMMUNIT Y INTRO
While a huge phenomenon, the genre (vertical is the industry term) of unboxing is poorly
defined and understood. Media accounts have described the genre alternatively as adver torials
(Chettle, 2015) and adver tising (Sloane, 2015) that represents a market, business
( S c h w e i z e r, 2 0 1 5 ) a n d i n d u s t r y ( C o z m u i c , 2 0 1 5 ) . A s S i l c o f f ( 2 0 1 4 ) r e c o u n t s , I s p o k e t o s o m e
Internet experts who saw the videos as everything from consumers taking back the night from
untrustwor thy marketers, to shoppers tr ying to humanize increasingly computer -based shopping
t h r o u g h s h a r i n g , t o a s p i r a t i o n a l t h r i l l - s e e k i n g i n r e c e s s i o n a r y, d i g i t a l l y m e d i a t e d t i m e s .
Although Silcof f (2014) alludes to these videos as relatives of the haul genre, which describes
Yo u Tu b e v i d e o s o f y o u n g g i r l s o p e n i n g u p t h e i r b e a u t y p r o d u c t s a f t e r a t r i p a t t h e m a l l , t h e
u n b o x - i n g g e n r e p r e d a t e s t h i s f a d a n d e v e n Yo u Tu b e i t s e l f . U n b o x i n g f i r s t e m e r g e d i n t h e e a r l y
2000s on websites like Unbox.it and unboxing.com . The content primarily featured young adults
opening the latest electronics, which is why the videos were deemed geek porn (Steel, 2006).
O n c e Yo u Tu b e w a s l a u n c h e d i n 2 0 0 5 , t h e g e n r e e m e r g e d a s o n e o f t h e m o s t p o p u l a r, g r o w i n g a t
a r a t e o f 8 71 % s i n c e 2 0 1 0 ( K e l l y, 2 0 1 4 ) . T h e r a p i d g r o w t h o f t h e g e n r e s a w i t d i v e r s i f y f r o m a d u l t
e l e c t r o n i c s t o c h i l d r e n s t o y s , a s u b - g e n r e t h a t h a s p r o v e n e v e n m o r e p o p u l a r. I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o
emphasise that the closely aligned genre of product reviews, such as adult electronics, is not our
focus in this ar ticle. For example, the con - ventions of the critical review are not typically par t of
c h i l d r e n s t o y u n b o x i n g . T h e Yo u Tu b e c h a n - n e l F u n To y z C o l l e c t o r h a s 8 m i l l i o n s u b s c r i b e r s a n d
the c hannels most viewed video, PlayDoh Sparkle Princ ess Ariel E lsa Anna Disney Frozen
MagiClip Glitter Glider Magic Clip Dolls, has been watched nearly half a billion times as of
A u g u s t 2 0 1 6 . A c c o r d i n g t o W i l e ( 2 0 1 5 ) , t h e F u n To y z C o l l e c t o r Yo u Tu b e C h a n n e l m a d e o v e r
US$4.9 million since its inception, but this figure is based solely on programmatic advertising
and does not account for other revenue streams like potentially lucrative influencer marketing
deals with toy manufacturers. The channel features a pair of hands opening boxes and
assembling toys with a childlike female voiceover the creator host has gone to great lengths to
k e e p h e r i d e n t i t y a n o n y m o u s . H o w e v e r, t h e t a b l o i d p r e s s ( T h o m p s o n , 2 0 1 5 ) h a s i d e n t i f i e d h e r a s
a f o r m e r B r a z i l i a n p o r n s t a r, w h i c h o n l y a m p l i f i e s t h e m o r a l p a n i c s u r r o u n d i n g t h e s e v i d e o s . F u n
To y z C o l l e c t o r r e p r e s e n t s o n l y o n e o f n u m e r o u s k i d s u n b o x i n g c h a n n e l s a c r o s s m u l t i p l e p l a t f o r m s
generating significant revenue based out of multiple locations around the world, including one of
A u s t r a l i a s m o s t v i e w e d Yo u Tu b e c h a n n e l s , F l u f f y J e t P r o d u c t i o n s .
COMMUNIT Y INTRO
Sampling Methodology: Wh i l e mi n d f u l o f t h e s e c h a l l e n g e s o v e r f i v e mo n t h s
b e t w e e n J a n u a r y a n d M a y 2 0 1 4 , I d e v i s e d a s a mp l i n g s t r a t e g y s e l e c t i n g c l i p s f o r
a n a l ys i s f o c u s e d f i r s t o n i d e n t i f yi n g v l o g s u s i n g t h e s e a r c h t e r m d e a t h o f a p a r e n t .
D u r i n g t h i s t i me t h e n u mb e r o f v i e w s , s u b s c r i b e r s , a d d i t i o n a l v i d e o s , i n c l u s i o n o f
t h u mb s u p a n d d o w n s i g n a l s c h a n g e d , b u t o n l y t o v e r y mi n i ma l d e g r e e s o r n o t a t a l l . I n
t o t a l a p p r o xi ma t e l y 2 0 3 , 0 00 v l o g s w e r e g e n e r a t e d b y t h e s e a r c h . I n o r d e r t o f u r t h e r
r e f i n e t h i s s a mp l e , f o c u s s h i f t e d t o t h e p r o - d u c e r o f t h e v l o g e l i mi n a t in g t h o s e t h a t
w e r e n o t c o n s t r u c t e d b y yo u t h ( e . g . t h o s e ma d e b y mi d d l e - a g e d o r e l d e r l y p e o p le
t a l k i n g a b o u t p a r e n ta l d e a t h , i n c l u d i n g d e a t h s w h i c h o c c u r r e d w h e n t h e y w e r e yo u n g )
a n d t h o s e w h i c h w e r e n o t c r e a t e d b y a n d f o r p e e r s ( e . g . t h o s e ma d e b y g r i e f
c o u n s e l l or s , n e w s s t o r i e s a b o u t p a r e n t a l d e a t h s , p a r e n t a l d e a t h s i n mo v i e s , e t c . ) . A f i n a l
s t a g e i n v o l v e d s e l e c t i n g t h o s e v l o g s w h i c h c o n f o r me d g e n e r i c a l ly t o a p i e c e t o
c a me r a , t h a t i s , a v l o g i n t h e w h i c h t h e d e a t h o f a p a r e n t i s d i r e c t ly s p o k e n a b o u t
e i t h e r v e r b a l l y o r w i t h h a n d - w r i tt e n me s s a g e s o n a s e r i e s o f l a rg e p i e c e s o f p a p e r o r
c a r d b o a r d h e l d u p t o c a me r a . I n o r d e r t o s a mp l e f o r d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t io n a n d a n a l ys i s , a
ma x i mu m o f 11 v i d e o s w a s s e l e c t e d .
THEORY LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Argument/claim/observation
The online discussion forums at <http:// www.thetwilightsaga.com> provide opportunities
for this individually situated interpretation of popular culture phenomena that
encourages both reinforcement of and resistance to cultural messages in a space
created for and by an audience of girls and young women.
2. Example from your research that proves this claim
The poster Logic, who began the discussion thread Twilight is so Anti-Feminist that I
want to Cry on February 19, 2009, publicly resisted what she interpreted as the anti -
feminist message of the Twilight series. Her initial post provided the top five reasons
that support her claim, including a lack of strong female characters, the stereotypical
portrayal of womens roles, the unequal relationship between Bella and Edward, specific
attributes that are denied to female werewolves, and the characterization of Bella.
3. Theory from somewhere else that helps us understand your claim
Convergence culture facilitates this consideration of the real -life implications of a text by
exposing the ways a text functions socially through interactive spaces like discussion
boards. Mazzarella (2005) argued that Chad Michael Murray fan sites gave girls the
chance to be cultural producers but tended to reproduce the conventions of established
texts like teen magazines.
4. How your example complicates that theory.
In contrast, these discussions about Twilight demonstrate the potential for
transmedia narratives to take on a critical and political dimension. By grappling
with definitions of feminism within the novels, the posters simultaneously confront
the consequences of these definitions in their lives.
COMPLICATION