A Critical Forum on Media and Culture
A Critical Forum on Media and Culture
Dr. Newman explores how the use of camera looks in sitcoms like Abbott Elementary serves as a comedic device that establishes a direct connection with the audience, blending old and new traditions of comedic performance to invite viewer participation and emotional response.
Read moreMichael Z. Newman explores the convergence of television and TikTok, arguing that platforms like TikTok embody television’s fragmentary logic and attention-driven economy, transforming late-night shows like After Midnight into viral, internet-native content.
Read moreMichael Newman discusses the gif as a new vernacular allowing gif sharers to display their interiority on digital platforms and interrogates how commercial interests are creating a canon of gif expression.
Read moreMichael Newman examines the legacy of 1960s anti-Vietnam War teach-ins in relation to Twitter and contemporary debates about — and curtailments of — academic freedom, political speech, and public pedagogies within higher education institutions.
Read moreAn examination of the role of the celebrity sex tape in today’s reality TV landscape.
Read moreA recap of the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show and its implications for the future of “immersive” media.
Read moreA brief analysis of the historical relationship between television and computer.
Read moreMichael Z. Newman’s “The Bronze Fonz” explores not only the relationship between art and popular culture, but between cultural memory and urban space.
Read moreAn examination of the ethical considerations circulating around p2p file sharing.
Read moreA look at a Wisconsin’s monument to the Fonz of Happy Days.
Read morelonelygirl15: The Pleasures and Perils of Participation
by: Michael Z. Newman / University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
The Internet has been the site of a zillion hoaxes, so what is so special about lonelygirl15?