Anandam Kavoori - Böcker

Digital Media Criticism is an introductory text about media criticism – the act of interpreting and making sense of a range of new media texts that we use (and create) on a daily basis – offering a critical language and a methodological template for interrogating and analyzing the complex texts of digital media. Individual chapters connect key methods of media criticism – genre, auteur, cultural/ideological, and ethnographic – with digital culture. Case studies of social media, user generated content, cell phones, and video games are provided, which include everything from downloading ring tones and making new (Facebook) friends, to creating an avatar, texting, and opening a window on RL (real-life). Insightful and accessible, the book looks at the possibilities and limits of the digital age for us – as creators, consumers, and distributors of content. It will be useful to undergraduates studying media criticism, digital culture and communication, and media literacy, and is written to invite them into a conversation about the culture of the digital age.

How does one make sense of YouTube? There is no reliable sample of videos on YouTube; no easily identifiable way to determine its dominant themes; no way to evaluate quality or impact; no seminal literature. Through genre analysis and digital media criticism, this book presents an accessible, yet critical introduction to «reading» YouTube. The book identifies certain videos by genre – from The Phenom and The Short to The Morph and The Experiment – and provides a thumbnail textual analysis of the videos – from celebrity culture to identity politics – that make up each of these genres. Each one starts with a brief summary/background followed by a theoretically informed mapping of the key issues. Designed primarily for classroom use, the book develops a conceptual language for students to use as they engage with the complex, interactive texts of YouTube and digital culture more generally.

Portable phones are now miniature multi-media centers that can fit neatly in one’s pocket, and media industries of all types are adapting content for these new platforms, or innovating entirely new forms. In the light of this explosive growth, this diverse collection of essays establishes conceptual, critical frameworks for evaluating the latest transformations of the media landscape. Some essays provide historical context, exploring older phenomena such as the CB radio, automobile radio, and hand-held video games, while others unpack the behind-the-scenes negotiations that determine what kinds of services are available to consumers of the latest technology. The Mobile Media Reader is a comprehensive road map, enabling both scholars and students to examine the social, cultural, and commercial implications of media that are available anywhere at any time.