In 2009, the internet gave birth to a monster. The Slender Man, like many other forms of online storytelling, is a product of mass communal storytelling. What has led to the Slender Man’s unique long-lasting position online is in part due to the way the community initially dealt with the issues which arose in mass communal storytelling. These issues are primarily found in two modes: 1) the...
In early 2014 activist Amanda Ream and members of Eviction Free San Francisco disrupted the fifth annual Wisdom 2.0 conference, at which Silicon Valley leaders discuss the benefits of ‘mindfulness’ practices. It was another confrontation between working-class residents of San Francisco and the technology employees who have gentrified their neighborhoods. A member of the East Bay Meditation...
Portrayals of mediumship in modern Western television narratives need to be seen as part of a broader phenomenon of the presence of religious elements in Western media, a phenomenon I argue expresses a longing for grand narratives in contemporary Western society. The portrayal and mediatization of religious elements in television narratives as well as their discussion in digital fan culture are...