mesk

@meesk.bsky.social

2080 Followers 179 Following

TV, media industries, algorithmic brand culture, videographic criticism. Associate Professor of Rhetoric & Media Studies, Lewis & Clark College. She/her.

Infrastructures in the Darién Rainforest: From Soft Earth to Mudware. Rolando Vargas Rolando Vargas is an assistant professor in the Department of Art and Global Studies program at the University of Virginia. He received his PhD in Film and Digital Media from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Abstract: With media scholars rethinking environments as media, I turn to media ecologies to examine how mud, historically and in the present, functions as an elemental medium enabling the Darién rainforest’s resistance to external interventions. I propose the term mudware to describe the collaborations between mud and the beings that inhabit the rainforest, as an infrastructure of bios sustaining life in the region. Through a perspective grounded in mud—its ephemerality, impenetrability, discontinuities, and intervals—I analyze how Spanish colonial enterprises in the Darién, as well as the Pan-American Highway project and other contemporary incursions, have repeatedly failed within the Darién territory.
"PRIME’S OBSESSED FEST Anchoring the initiative is Obsessed Fest—an inaugural summer tentpole event that brings the internet's most passionate fandoms to life. Taking place on June 27 at nya Studios in Los Angeles, this all-day immersive event transforms online fandom into a live, participatory celebration where fans can connect, discover, and engage like never before. Obsessed Fest will feature highly anticipated Prime Original YA titles including Every Year After, The Love Hypothesis, Elle, Off Campus, Overcompensating, Your Fault: London, Drawn Together and more—offering fans exclusive first looks, appearances from casts and creators and a range of fan focused access to the talent and creators behind the stories they obsess over." via https://press.amazonmgmstudios.com/us/en/press-release/prime-video-launches-obsession-is-in-session-a-new
A white tote bag with blue media-related logos and the words Console-ing Passions, Columbia, MO, April 10-12, 2014.
A screenshot that says, "Congrats on exposing Sam's secret! You are Game Changer superfan #6762. 93238 others needed to unlock episode 11."
A view of the crowds in the Gaslamp, with tall buildings in the background. The buildings' facades are wrapped in giant posters promoting current films and TV shows.
Sign at the Marvel booth that says "Received a text that we're ready for you to check in? Please line up here"
View of the convention center in the early morning sun.
This was very much the vibe of the panel: the facade of the Hilton Gaslamp covered in Lestat's face with the heading Scream for Me.
Ron Moore holding a pen as he is just about to sign a poster depicting abstract images from For All Mankind.
A long line stretching down the middle of an aisle in the exhibit hall.
The concert at Peacefest.
A pin showing the face of Esquie from the game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
A line of people waiting to be let into a night club that has been restyled for Peacemaker. The marquee reads Peacemaker Season 2 streaming August 21 only on HBO Max.
A small cart with cookie boxes.
Cosplayers in the baguette outfit from Expedition 33.
The line to get into the FX activation. If you are a pro at the con, you brought an umbrella.
A close-up of a frozen lemonade that advertises PlutoTV.
A sidewalk booth with swag.
The cast of Critical Role.
A view of a stage where a table read is taking place.
A few rows of people sitting in front of a stage.
A long line of people under the tents on the back terrace of the San Diego convention center.
The cast of DesiQuest at Dynasty Typewriter looking their best selves.
San Diego Comic-Con is North America’s premiere fan convention and a key site for mediating between media industries and fandom. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Comic-Con to abruptly move its programming onto an array of digital platforms in an apparent “platformization” of the con. Informed by research on fan conventions, media industries, and the platformization of cultural production, this analysis of the online convention argues that Comic-Con was primed for platformization because it is already platform-like. Conventions organize markets, infrastructures, and governance to bring together attendees, media industries, and other “complementors.” Moreover, platform logics were already shaping the convention pre-pandemic in the form of experiential marketing and brand activations designed to capture attendee data. Rather than a radical break, the Comic-Con@Home online convention and in particular Amazon’s Virtual-Con activation are part of a longer process of reconfiguring the relationships between fan conventions, cultural producers, and platforms.
A sign on a table that says "Need a Fitting Room?" followed by a QR code and "Sign up here and we'll text you when the room is ready"
A screenshot of my top games of 2023.
A path in the woods leading past a tree that has a speaker mounted on it.