This edited volume examines cultural criticism in the digital age. It provides new insights into how critical authority and expertise in a cultural context are being reconfigured in digital media and by means of digital media, as the boundaries of cultural criticism and who may perform as a cultural critic are redefined or even dissolved. The book applies cross-media and cross-disciplinary perspectives to advance cultural criticism as a wide-ranging and multi-facetted object of study in the 21st century. Presenting a broad collection of case studies, including global cases such as the Golden Globe, the Intellectual Dark Web, YouTube, Rotten Tomatoes and Artsy and particular national contexts such as Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark and the Netherlands, the book showcases the many theoretical and methodological approaches that may serve as useful frameworks for studying new critical voices in the digital age. It will be of interest to media, communication and journalism scholars as well as scholars from a range of aesthetic disciplines.
Author(s): Nete Nørgaard Kristensen, Unni From, Helle Kannik Haastrup (editors)
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 264
City: Cham
Preface
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction: Rethinking Cultural Criticism—New Voices in the Digital Age
Culture and Criticism
Cultural Criticism in the Digital Age
Chapter Outline
References
2 Public Intellectuals on New Platforms: Constructing Critical Authority in a Digital Media Culture
Introduction
The Public Intellectual as a Critical Meta-Position
Public Intellectual Authority
Qualification
Institutions
Media
Discourse
Personality
Users
Conclusion
References
3 The Use of Wine as a Performance of a Style of Being: A Methodological Proposal to the Study of Persona-Driven Cultural Criticism
Introduction
Theoretical Foundation
Analytical Conceptualization
Theatricality
Body
Voice
Spatiality
Personal Narrative Performance
Methodological Design
The Case
Analysis
Creating Intimacy
The Functions of the Wine
Being Different
Concluding Remarks
References
4 Fans, Fun and Homophobia: Mischievous Criticism on the Czecho-Slovak Film Database
Introduction
Toward Affective Fan Criticism
Methodology
Mischievous Criticism as Word Play
Mischievous Criticism as Evaluation
Mischievous Criticism as (Un)Regulated Practice
Conclusion
References
5 When Golden Globes and Stars Align: The Awards Show as a Platform for Cultural Criticism
Introduction
Theory
Elements of Cultural Criticism and Alternative Cultural Critics
Cultural Awards and Movie Awards
Live Media Events and the Three Scripts
Methodology
Analysis Part I: The Golden Globe Awards Show: Awards as “Selection-as-Evaluation”
The Cultural Awards Show as Live Media Event and the Movie Awards Show as Authority
The President’s Speech and the Aesthetic Criteria
Selection-as-Evaluation: Golden Globe-Winning Films and TV Series in 2018
The Industry’s Quality Criteria Vs. Award Winners
Analysis Part II. The Golden Globe Awards Show: Acceptance Speeches and Cultural Evaluation
The Personal History Strategy: “My Mama Was an Advocate for the Women’s Movement”
The Artwork-as-Reference Strategy: “We no Longer Live in the Gaps Between Stories”
Strategies of Evaluation: When Film Stars Share Their Taste in Movies
Conclusion
References
6 The Dual Strategic Persona: Emotional Connection, Algorithms and the Transformation of Contemporary Online Reviewers
Introduction
Shaping Information … and Opinion and Commentary—A Brief History
Presentational Media and Cultural Regime and Its Restructure of Commentary
Pandemic Persona: The Privilege of the Self in Its Real Ordinariness
The Aggregated Critic Persona Versus the Critic/Reviewer Persona: Rotten Tomatoes’ Dual Personas
Making the Online Critical Persona—The Case 1: “Individually Approved” Mae Abdulbaki
Case 2: High Visibility, Video Platforming and the New Personalized Critic Persona: YouTube, Chris Stuckmann and Jeremy Jahns
Extrapolations and Implications of the New Reviewer Persona: Conclusion
References
7 How Has the Role of Newspaper-Based TV Critics Been Redefined in a Digital Media Landscape?
Introduction
Approach
Legacy Media (Mass Media) and the TV Critic
The Media, Digitalization and the TV Critic
Orientations of Change
Knowledge Orientation: What Is Television? What Is the Focus of TV Criticism?
Audience Orientation: Mediated-Interactive Debates
Power Orientation: Niche TV, Niche Criticism
Time Orientation: (Non)Synchronous TV, (Non)Synchronous TV Criticism
Ethical Orientations: Critics and Television Values
Conclusion: The Move to Liquid Criticism?
Main Television Pages Analyzed
8 Digital Media in the Visual Art World: A Renewed Relationship with the Market
Introduction
The Pivotal Role of Art Criticism in the Visual Art World
Exhibition Reviews and Art Magazines
New Players: Artsy Magazine and Artnet News as Case Studies
Presentation of the Cases
Studying Artsy Magazine and Artnet News
Analysis of Media Content
New Dynamics: The Emergence of Branded Content in the Art World
Branded Content
Ethics and Judgments in this New Environment
Conclusion
References
9 Young Voices, New Qualities? Children Reviewers as Vernacular Reviewers of Cultural Products
Introduction
Vernacular Turn in Cultural Communication
Children as Online Media Producers
Methodological Setup
Framework of User-Generated Reviewing
Children as Amateur Reviewers
Children as Consumer Reviewers
Children as Pro-Am Reviewers
Discussion
Conclusion
References
10 The Survival of the Critic: Audiences’ Use of Cultural Information and Cultural Reviews in Legacy Media
Introduction
Research Contexts
Audience Research in a Changed Media Ecology
Cultural Journalism and Cultural Reviews in a Changed Media Ecology
The Danish Context
Methodology
Analysis
Danes’ Broader Interests in Cultural Information
Media Platforms and Their Trustworthiness
Personal Relations as a Central and Trusted Entrance to Information about Culture
Social Media Frequently Used but Rarely Trusted
Professionalised and Trusted Communication by Cultural Institutions
Legacy Media Challenged but Highly Trusted
The Perception of Cultural Reviews in Legacy Media
The Role of Professional Critics and Cultural Journalists in a Changed News Ecology
Conclusion
References
11 Where to Look Next for a Shot of Culture? Repertoires of Cultural Information Production and Consumption on the Internet
Introduction
Setting the Stage: Developments in Cultural Journalism and Cultural Criticism
Explaining User-Generated Content in the Cultural Domain
Method
Internet Affordances
Background Variables
Statistical Analysis
Results
Conclusion
Appendix 1
References
Index
