SELECTED FACEBOOK POSTINGS
"Eating Pizza at Giordano's." Facebook 4.1.2014.
A five-paragraph review of Giordano's stuffed spinach pizza, accompanied by a high-res photograph of the pizza in various stages of consumption. The review applies Bourdieu's theories of cultural capital to the act of eating Chicago-style stuffed pizza, a controversial comestible that pizza aficionados insist is obviously inferior to the New York variety. There are six comments on the review, including one by someone who claims to be Slavoj Zizek (see my "citations" list in Appendix E).
"Untitled Passive-Aggressive Venting." Facebook 6.12.2014.
An essay in which I denounce various unnamed members of a prominent academic organization, although while providing enough clues for an attentive reader to identify said individuals. The essay articulates its critique through a deconstructive rereading of Foucault, productively melded with a Lacanian interrogation of Horkheimer and Adorno. It has thirty-nine comments and eight shares; it has also been reposted to Tumblr, where it has garnered 531 notes. One of the unnamed individuals has informed me in private that s/he intends to sue for defamation, which I consider proof of this essay's subversion of sociopolitical boundaries in elite academic circles (see my supporting documents in Appendix G).
"Untitled Cat Photo Shoot." Facebook 8.2.2014.
Six high-res photographs of my cat Twinkums, a Siamese-Scottish Fold mix. The photographs are accompanied by several fragmentary reflections on the role of cats in the construction of postmodern subjectivity, written in a style intended to evoke a combination of T. S. Eliot and Judith Butler. This post has nine comments and two shares; in addition, one photo of Twinkums lyingin a sunbeam has been reprinted on CuteOverload.
SELECTED TWEETS
"Untitled tweet on hot fudge sundaes." Twitter 1.3.2014.
A 118-character tweet devoted to a peanut butter and dark chocolate fudge sundae, with the hashtag #OmNomNom. Part of an extensive discussion devoted to the cultural implications of eating hot fudge sundaes at the MLA instead of going to the cash bars. This tweet has twelve favorites and thirty-nine retweets, and has recently been linked on Buzzfeed (see "citations" in Appendix E).
"Untitled tweet on television." Twitter 7.3.2014.
A 39-character tweet in which I insist that serious academics do not watch CSI, with the hashtag #OMGLosers. A social experiment in which I performed the role of cultural contrarian. This tweet has eighty-six favorites, ninety-four retweets, and two-hundred-plus responses, including eight responses accusing me of elitism, thirteen insisting that I am a dangerous leftist radical, and four proclaiming me a right-wing fanatic. The tweet has been the subject of serious discussion in Slate, the Chronicle of HIgher Education, and Reddit (see "citations" in Appendix E).
"Untitled tweet on The Phantom Menace." Twitter 10.31.2014.
A 128-character tweet in which I celebrate the radical aesthetics of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, with the hashtag #AnakinForever. Although this tweet has no favorites and no retweets, I have been informed that it will be reprinted in an upcoming book on Star Wars as cultural phenomenon--according to the author, I am the only person to have ever said anything complimentary about this film (see "citations" in Appendix E).
SELECTED YOUTUBE COMMENTS
"Comment on The Hobbit trailer." "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Teaser Trailer." Youtube 8.3.2014.
A denunciation of Peter Jackson's effects on twenty-first century cinema, with reference to the work of Kracauer. At the time of writing, it has received sixty-eight downvotes (and is therefore invisible on the page), but the strength of this response testifies to the power of its intervention in popular discourse on the cinema.
"Comment on Matterhorn POV video." "Super Matterhorn Vid!" Youtube 9.12.2014.
A critique of the video's insistence that rides at Disneyland are fun, pointing instead to the ride's use of the Yeti as a means of sublating contemporary cultural anxieties about ethical tourism. Incorporates multiple references to Baudrillard. At the time of writing, it has received ninety-four downvotes (and is therefore invisible on the page), but has also sparked a serious conversation on academic blogs about whether or not YouTube comments inherently support the status quo (see "citations" in Appendix E).
"Comment on Schoolhouse Rock Mashup." "Schoolhouse Punk Rocks." Youtube 11.6.2014.
A lengthy (equivalent to an entry in The Explicator) argument that contemporary transnational appropriations of Schoolhouse Rock enact an urgent critique of English grammar in an age of globalization, with extensive references to Linda Hutcheon. At the time of writing, it has received three hundred and six downvotes (and is therefore invisible on the page), but it is the subject of articles in Slate, Inside Higher Ed, and the Huffington Post on the possibility of serious theoretical interventions in a medium privileging comments that take the form of acronyms (see "citations" in Appendix E).
*An untitled comment praising this post's hilarity*.
I sometimes feel bad for the biography-writers of the future. They will have a lot to work with. Way too much, in fact. And forget trying to write a historical novel when the online record shows that far from moodily staring out the window into the night sky and flinging away a half-eaten apple, Our Newly-Devastated Hero was in fact sitting up all night getting into an extensive online argument about how the Game of Thrones finale deviated from the books and posting .gifs.
Posted by: Sonetka | September 17, 2014 at 03:39 AM