‘We Pay to Buy Ourselves’: Netflix, Spectators & Streaming

This article explains how Netflix has transformed the ways in which we interact with media in the contemporary milieu. I argue that Netflix works through a process of planned differentiation, designing unique customization experiences to create a new type of media user that participates in its global and regional release and production strategies. This leads me into a discussion of how the Netflix interface manages the spectators’ experience through a series of connected features. Thus, I detail Netflix’ personalization mechanisms, proposing that, ultimately, its users ‘pay to buy themselves’, or the version of themselves its interface offers back to users upon systematically gathering data on their habits. Finally, I remark that the key characteristics of the current streaming service/spectator relationship are deceptive limitlessness, customization, the automation of content flow and ubiquity, weaving a form of audiovisual engagement that has partially and, at times completely, conquered our everyday.

When Institutions Fail: Communitarianism and Spotlight

Communitarians argue that social identity is formed through the connection between individuals and their communities. The purpose of this study is to examine how the institution of journalism functions as part of a larger community. Media influence and are influenced by the larger social, cultural, legal, political, and economic systems in which they operate. This textual analysis focused on the breakdown of four Boston institutions—the Catholic Church, the police force, the justice system, and the daily newspaper—depicted in the film Spotlight. These institutions failed their community, allowing decades of sexual abuse to go unrecognized and unpunished—at least until the Spotlight team investigated allegations against Catholic priests. Through the lens of communitarian ethics, the researchers argue that stakeholders must recognize the need for a strong community from which the press can report, explain, correct, and connect.

(in)Fidelity: The Narrative Rationality of Tiger Woods

In this article, the narrative paradigm is applied to the documented life of Tiger Woods, viewing his story as sports folklore and public moral argument, asking, what patterns exist in his narrative? What values? And how can the narrative of Tiger Woods be described in terms of narrative rationality? Looked at as a mythic hero, Tiger feathers the line between fantasy and reality and has gone through the requisite rituals of violation and reconstruction. Accordingly, the duplicity in his character revealed through scandal, and the fallibility of his superhuman image exposed through injury give him something to overcome. As long as he redeems himself each time he falls the conditions of the mythic hero are kept intact. However, implicit in his story is the notion that ends can justify means as he has overcome scandal, criticism of his training methods, and criticism of his character throughout his career.

Mobile Payment in China: A Study from a Sociological Perspective

This study aims to analyse and clarify why mobile payments have been adopted in China at such a rapid pace. Unlike previous studies which focused on mobile payment functionality and the micro-level reasons for adoption, this study emphasized the macro-level and meso-level reasons with an emphasis on social relationships or guanxi to explain the widespread and rapid adoption in China of mobile payment. Initially mobile payment was widely dispersed by leveraging the trust existing in strong relationship ties (e.g. mobile ‘red packets’). In the second phase of mass adoption there was a shift toward relying on economic exchanges in the context of weak urban ties. Now in the third phase mobile payment seeks to abandon social relations altogether relying on technologies for direct human-to-machine interactions. The three successive phases show how the strong interactions between financial regulatory policy and mobile payment development have affected social relationships.

A Presidential Bromance: How Meme Culture Upsets Race, Gender, and Political Power Dynamics

The fictional interactions created between Obama and Biden in the BROTUS internet memes, a collection of memes highlighting a imagined bromance between President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, may be entertaining, but academic literature on internet memes contends that they also serve as a form of political rhetoric. Internet users create memes to communicate political discourse in the form of visual enthymemes. This article takes a qualitative analysis approach to break down internet user's rhetoric in the BROTUS memes to understand the implications of fictional portrayals of the presidential pair and other political figures. The BROTUS memes in this study exemplified humorous fictional narratives crafted by internet users that shaped the duo to be bromantic, heroic, and even familial. These narrative themes help internet users expresses their approval of an inversion of preexisting political and social power structures.

Print Imprint: The Connection Between the Physical Newspaper and the Self

This research puts forward the theoretical concept “print imprint,” articulating the connection between the printed newspaper and its reader’s “Self.” This paper contends that the printed newspaper draws out the meaningfulness of ownership, touch and nostalgia, all influential ingredients of the self. This research centers on interviews with 19 former readers of a weekly newspaper that shuttered. The findings illustrate the significance, usefulness and uniqueness of the printed newspaper. In particular, participants expressed a relationship with the printed newspaper, calling it “my paper.” Ultimately, this research argues that the loss of the weekly newspaper prompted a loss or lessening of self of the abandoned readers. Finally, this article argues this “print imprint” extends beyond printed newspapers and should be considered for all print products, including magazines and books, pointing to future research possibilities.