Focused Discussion
Asynchronous Session
Surviving Survivor: Insights from Reality TV for Real Life View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Hartley Jafine
The TV show, Expedition Robinson,the US version of Survivordebuted in May 2000. The show became a cultural phenomenon and changed television forever. Survivor has been on the air for two decades and has produced 40 seasons and 590 players (several of them returning players). This study uses the show as our text to explore and critically analyze Survivor from interdisciplinary perspectives. Throughout the discussion, we will investigate how tribes build community, how the toll of the elements impact decision making of the players, and how the principles of group process are understood in a game where people are voted out. We will look at the history of the show and investigate how cultural conversations have been represented and have evolved over the past two decades and how sex, gender, and race may impact the perceptions of gameplay.
Cognitive Dissonance in Film - The Walk View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Rennie Cowan
Philippe Petit walked across the twin towers in 1974 on a tightrope. He was 24 years old (Calhoun, 2020). This true story was depicted in Robert Zemeckis’ 2015 film The Walk. Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance is used in this study to provide interpretation on the historical event as told in the film. The theory carries around a rich assortment of cognitive elements such as attitudes, perceptions, knowledge, and behaviors (Littlejohn & Foss, p. 95). The main character deals with dissonance and it causes mental discomfort, tension and stress. It’s played out in the psyche of the character and his desire is to reduce the dissonance. The situations explored here are forced compliance, decision making, effort, free choice, and belief disconfirmation.
Informatics and Audience: How Original Netflix Content as Online Media Respond to Twitterstorms View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Hamid Reza Farhat
This study analyzes the response of Netflix to public opinion regarding its strategy of creating original content as it is manifested in micro-blogging tweets. This strategy has been expanded significantly over the years, leading Netflix to 129 original shows until the end of 2020. In the absence of conventional media measures, public opinion about the shows has played a crucial role in online platforms' decision making in starting, extending, or cancelling shows. Unlike traditional TV, SVOD (subscription video-on-demand) platforms can precisely specify users' favourite contents in any given categories, predict more precisely people's preference, and suggest contents. These trends are manifested by popular hashtags like #MeToo often appearing in Twitterstorms. The data which they offer might be used to understand what users expect from future productions, influencing the decisions made by platforms such as Netflix. Therefore, by looking at both trends and latter productions, it can be traced if the platforms were successful in addressing the concerns reflected in those trends. In this proposed presentation, we will look at major social and occurrences over the past decade (2010-2020) such as Harvey Weinstein’s scandal and Trump winning the presidential election, examine Twitterstorms related to them and then relate these to the offerings of Netflix in terms of original series produced before and after these occurrences. As for the Twitterstorms, the data is extracted using data mining, and the keywords are analyzed to check whether there is a meaningful connection. The data is content analyzed quantitatively and visually presented.
Digital Technology at Large: Examining Digital Literacy and Cultural Change in the 21st Century View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Sulaiman Adeshina/ S.A. Osho
Just as the ‘Global Village’ theory of Marshall McLuhan triggers instant information dissemination globally through international networking (Internet),digital technology transforms all aspects of operations, interactions, and profession for Improved quality, clarity, and excellence. Thus, digital literacy that involves language, visual, computer, and information literacies is required by all in the new Digital Age to meet development. This study examines digital literacy and the effects of cultural change in the 21st Century. It uses the German Sociologist, Max Weber’s Social Stratification Theory as theoretical framework to measure the dissertation. The analytical dissertation deduces the implications of digital technology on the cultural change in the new age. The narrative treatise discusses the research questions, draws conclusions from the summary and recommendations.
Revitalizing Research: The Importance of Teaching Media Literacy in First-year Composition View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Aleisha Balestri
Although modern media has been an intrinsic aspect of academia for many years, there is still resistance against utilizing popular sources (such as social media, YouTube, and online articles) within first-year composition (FYC). This is especially seen with how we have traditionally defined the research process. “Credible research” has often been conflated with sources that can only be found within academic databases or university libraries. Yet, this definition can be problematic, for it limits the topics and research students can use, and thus can stifle their voices and make them feel as if their interests and passions are “unacademic.” Furthermore, when we ignore popular sources, we inadvertently avoid teaching students how to utilize, analyze, and evaluate sources, a skill that is gaining importance within the world of “fake news.” Thus, I argue that media literacy should be an essential component of FYC, for it will not only vex the tension between academia and real-world relevance, but it will also destabilize the traditional hierarchies of scholarship. Within this presentation, I discuss and demonstrate how the incorporation of media literacy can create a more democratic and equitable learning environment. I also discuss how immersive media can be a valuable tool for teaching analysis and critical thinking within a 21st-century context. Finally, I show how the incorporation of popular sources has revitalized and demystified the research process for my students, and how they have been able to utilize these methods successfully within their own inquiry-driven projects.
What's Going on with that Device Attached to Your Hip?: The Downfalls of Mobile Device Dependency View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Edward Downes
➡️Recorded Presentation Link: https://bostonu.zoom.us/rec/share/t8LcOTqile1I1SDkP5PE1a3_3AJs3YNXuhd8H_RUX_U821JUfX4cB84KmQSZkbE.XrMHisuBoFIalmD⬅️ Access Code: ZV.52.@F⬅️ All of us, at least throughout the developed world, seemingly carry mobile devices. This presentation discusses why--just maybe--we are better off without them. It is built on the premise the devices continually remove us from "the present" while potentially increasing anxiety; increasing psychological (and even physical) dependence on them; and increasing our constant "fear of missing out." It reviews academic literature--as well as more popular/anecdotal suggestions--that speak to the advantages of eliminating (or curtailing) mobile phone use. Doing so it asks if we really, actually, “need” these devices as much as we think we do. Next it comments on recent and developing findings pointing out how "the human condition"--and the social, political, economic, and cultural happenings that influence that condition--is being altered…and not always for the better…through the adoption and diffusion of mobile devices. It then stresses that now is the first time in human history (yes, the FIRST time ever) when people have experienced the downfalls (some still being discovered) of 24-7 availability, continuous streams of information, and the replacement of verbal with mechanical information exchanges. It concludes by asking communication management professionals specifically--and the world of mobile device users generally--to consider to whether we ultimately control these mobile devices attached to our hips…. Or, perhaps, if the devices control us?
The Sunk and Marginal Cost of Using Media Technology: A Discussion of Incentive Compatibility in Media Usage View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Luwen Mai
The initiation and continuing media technology usages are essentially cost-benefit analyses. The idea is that individuals only choose to adopt and/or continuously using certain media technology when the perceived benefit of doing so outweighs the cost. While benefits of media usage have been explored extensively, the cost side of the story is much less visited. Understanding the initial investment of time and effort in learning a new media technology (or the "sunk cost") and the additional time devoted to media usage (or the "marginal cost") are helpful in understanding (1) the push-back in adopting a new media technology, (2) the continuing and increasing usage of adopted media technology, and (3) the reluctance in switching from one media platform to another, even when both platforms provide comparable benefits. On the one hand, the proposed theoretical framework attempts to show that existing theories and concepts in microeconomics could be applied to deepen the understanding of known communication phenomena. On the other hand, using methods in communication research, such as focus groups and experiments, we can test how the notions of sunk cost, marginal cost, and path dependency affect individual interest and actual usage of media technology. Additionally, the framework provides implications in media technology design.
Avatarization and Performance: On the Concept of Avatar View Digital Media
Focused Discussion Rafael Filipe Souza Da Silva
This study is part of research still under development that seeks to investigate the concept of avatar and the processes of avatarization in today's global society, based on the digital world, in the context of Communication and Performance Studies. First, we make a historical retrospective of both the term avatar, which goes back to the Hindu theological narrative, and the social performance we call avatarization, which, although not with this nomenclature, dates back to the first human societies, such as the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Chinese, and Inca civilizations. Then, we seek to discuss the meanings of avatar today, especially in the sphere of influence marketing, digital culture, and pop culture. Finally, we outline an analytical possibility of communicational phenomena based on the perspective of avatarization.
