Evocative Spaces and Aesthetic Grabs: How YouTube and videoblogging are redefining self expression Angela Thomas, 2007

Evocative Spaces “ an evocative object, an object that fascinates, that disturbs equanimity, and precipitates thought” Sherry Turkle

“ an evocative object, an object that fascinates, that disturbs equanimity, and precipitates thought”

Sherry Turkle

Poetics Theatrical spaces

Poetics

Theatrical spaces

Theatrical spaces can be used to teach, purge and shape culture

Social networking tools creating a stage on which anybody can perform

Performance and Performativity

Performance of Self and/or Other? Performance for Self and/or Other?

Carnivalesque

festive play pleasure seductive desires grotesque taboos laughter passion flesh immediacy vibrant imagination exaggeration mocking dancing revelry masquerade sensuality

YouTube as a Site for the Carnivalesque

The Self as a Carnivalesque Object “ I’m silly because if I just sat there talking that would be boring and I wouldn’t have any subscribers then” (TheHill88) “ I’ve decided to answer some of your questions in a new talk-back style vlog” (Ysabellabravetalk)

“ I’m silly because if I just sat there talking that would be boring and I wouldn’t have any subscribers then” (TheHill88)

“ I’ve decided to answer some of your questions in a new talk-back style vlog” (Ysabellabravetalk)

the cult of celebrity -> cult of personality

The Carnivalesque as a Space of Resistance; A Space to Disrupt; Face Off with Power Parody Satire Dialogue Community Fantasy Subversion Critique

Parody

Satire

Dialogue

Community

Fantasy

Subversion

Critique

Social Commentary: The New Meme

Life as Performance Art and the Revaluing of Narrative

Heteroglossia and Intertextuality

The Aesthetics of “The Grab” Instant Aesthetics A quick aesthetic fix Aesthetics of the surface Glanced at rather than contemplated Spectacle appealing to the senses Visual delights An immediate pantomime Sensual, sexy, playful, diverting

Instant Aesthetics

A quick aesthetic fix

Aesthetics of the surface

Glanced at rather than contemplated

Spectacle appealing to the senses

Visual delights

An immediate pantomime

Sensual, sexy, playful, diverting

Grabbing occurs in different ways during each stage of the performance: production, consumption, distribution, interpretation, recirculation, and reappropriation (Senft, 2007)

Grabbing occurs in different ways during each stage of the performance: production, consumption, distribution, interpretation, recirculation, and reappropriation

(Senft, 2007)

Production: grabbing “bits” of pop culture

Consumption: Grabbing a quick snack

Distribution blogging, lectures, theorisations, conference presentations! We “grab” bits to use to reflect our own beliefs, display our alignments, perform our own identities, develop networks, become part of a community

blogging, lectures, theorisations, conference presentations!

We “grab” bits to use to reflect our own beliefs, display our alignments, perform our own identities, develop networks, become part of a community

Interpretation: “shopping for truth”

As a Community Enables us to extend our narrow sense of life Extends our participation in life

Enables us to extend our narrow sense of life

Extends our participation in life

The Personal as Political Ethics Consequences Reputation management Privacy “ making a spectacle of one’s-self” I go back and look at my old videos over and over I privated some of my embarrassing videos I removed the last video because…. Video easier to delete and purge from cache than words and still images

Ethics

Consequences

Reputation management

Privacy

“ making a spectacle of one’s-self”

I go back and look at my old videos over and over

I privated some of my embarrassing videos

I removed the last video because….

Video easier to delete and purge from cache than words and still images