Subversion, not Sexism, in Internet Culture

[Black King]

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/04/post.html

Alice Marwick delivers a ROFLCon keynote Saturday on the internet's power to upgrade culture.

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- Can the internet and its celebrities change the status quo? Of course they can, but do they?

Those were the questions posed by Alice Marwick, Saturday's keynote speaker at ROFLCon, a two-day internet culture conference. Marwick, a Ph.D. candidate at New York University who studies social status and hierarchy in Web 2.0 cultures, thinks it's time for the internet community to use its power for good.

The internet, it turns out, actually is serious business.

"Rather than fuel a cycle of novelty, let's use this media as a valid alternative," said Marwick. "Let's challenge or change the views that we're subverting from."

Marwick pointed out that while microcelebrity is a positive alternative to mainstream media culture, it's important to turn a critical eye on online communities. "Internet culture can be very sexist, homophobic and racist," said Marwick. "Popular blogs are all written by white guys ... and the most popular YouTube videos are of hot girls."

Marwick went on to discuss whether internet celebrity may even be becoming more important than Hollywood and other traditional models of celebrity. If so, then it's even more crucial to not allow fame, "a drug of validation," to muddy it up, she said.

Marwick used the example of Magibon, a YouTube phenomenon whose videos of herself staring intently into a webcam elicit millions of views, to talk about the way contemporary celebrity culture permeates internet culture. Magibon occasionally spoke in Japanese, leading many of her viewers to think she was from Japan. But a disastrous television appearance led to outing Magibon as a rural teen from Pennsylvania.

"This faux Japanese doll came off as awkward teenaged, American girl," said Marwick.

"If this is the culture we're building as internet nerds, lets have it be something we're proud of," concluded Marwick, as a call to arms to the audience.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

The Internet as a tool of social reform??

 

[Harbinger]

if A T &T has it's way..half the legions of people who flock to the net and reinvent themselvs to even become "net celebrities" probably wont have access. Instead of worrying about "the internet as a tool of social reform" we NEED to worry about how we can keep A T & T from destroying the "net neutrality" laws that ensure unfettered, equal internet access for all!

the article is right about one thing, many places on the net are EXTREMELY racist, sexis and homophobic...ALL AT ONCE. Just look at places like Marvel Directory and Newsarama.

But i think the author is expecting a bit much if he thinks people are going to even THINK far enough ahead to see the 'opportunity for reform' rather than just use this internet as a place to act a fool when they know they wouldnt have the balls to do it offline in real life.

 

[Karma]

internet technology put a serious dent in the music industry and really has forced the music execs and all those related to reevaluate how they handle promotion, distrubution, even production and sales of music. we've seen people like "Soulja Boy" even make an appearence on the Billboard charts thanks to the success of his internet single which spear headed him to notice.

The internet IS a powerfull tool, but of everyone person that might think the way this article suggests...you have many OTHERS who flock to sites made and powered by the "Westboro baptist church" (aka the "God hates fags" people) or you have message boards like RPMB which are all about homophobia, racism, sexism, bigotry...and of course comic book boards...where you see some of the WORSE in all of those categories i just mentioned.

Youtube has some celebrities like "B. Scott" and Chris Croker but most people who watch them don't take them seriously, they ONLY see them as "novelty"...so despite their trying to reach out to their fans and viewers with messages of tolerance and acceptance...i think most people are just waiting to see what their next outrageous moment will be.