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Political Life

New media exists at the epicenter of many people’s lives. Statista (2017) reports on how platforms such as Facebook boasting over 2 billion monthly users, and YouTube, which boasts an equally commendable 1,5 billion monthly users. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that, with such a large number of unique users hailing from various social and economic backgrounds, these platforms would house people of numerous believes and backgrounds. This was most evident with the 2016 United States Presidential Election race, where platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube had become the primary focal point of many political discussions, with the presidential candidates openly using and conversing with users on the platform in a manner that was inconceivable prior to the advent of new media. Reddit’s /r/The_Donald would, therefore, serve as an example of the nature in which new media can have a direct impact political life of its users.

For the longest time, political rallies have always largely been controlled by the political party running in the election. However, new media has drastically changed this dynamic and resulted in a situation where the audience and voters have become active participants and contributors to the electoral campaign. This was made evident in the United States’ 2016 Presidential campaign, whereby internet campaigning had become the focal point of now republican President Donald Trump. Primarily residing within Reddit’s /r/The_Donald subreddit, with its 500,000 subscribers,  had ensured that the posts remained the most popular throughout Donald Trump’s campaign. However, this was not exclusive Donald Trump's campaign, as Bernie Sanders, another major figure in the 2016 electoral race, also had subreddits supporting their presidency; /r/SandersForPresident.

The largest contrast between campaigning in the digital realm of new media as opposed to more traditional, “real life” campaigning resides in the tools used to garner support amongst one another and gathering new supporters. As these campaigns had largely taken place on internet forums and social media, the use of memes had become the focal point of numerous online campaigns.

The ‘significance’ of memes within these communities was so prominent that the co-founder of the Oculus Rift VR headset, Palmer Lucky, as well as numerous other members were willing to fund the use of billboards featuring various pro-Trump memes as a means to promote his presidency. The Daily Beast (2016) reports on how Palmer Lucky had adopted the username NimbleRichMan on Reddit, which he had used to make various pro-Trump comments on the forum. The Independent (2017) reports on how Palmer Lucky had contributed $10,000 to the Nimble America ‘meme billboards’ campaign, stating that “meme magic” would help Donald Trump win the presidency.

Memes had also been used as a celebratory mechanism following the announcement that Donald Trump had won the presidential race.

Due to the increasing significance and large userbase of new media platforms, the use of campaigning on social media and forums has the potential to reach a lot of users, as well as serve as a means through which like-minded people can form communities. The fear surrounding the influence new media has on its audience is made evident by the numerous investigations, both internally within the company and externally by the FBI, into companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google, all of whom had reportedly had allowed pro-Trump advertisements to be purchased on their websites by Russians attempting to influence the election. CNN’s Veronica Rocha and Brian Reis (2017) report on how Google, Twitter, and Facebook had all testified to having pro-Trump, Russian bought advertisements featured on their platforms. The Guardian (2017) reports on how the advertisements featured on Facebook had reached 126 million United States citizens during the election.

It is therefore evident that political life and new media are greatly intertwined within our current society. With the advent of various social media platforms and forums, as well the emerging popularity of ‘meme culture’, political discourse has grown to become largely shaped around memes within these online spaces. /r/The_Donald serves as a prime example of the nature in which these online communities can rise in prominence and grow to become largely influential throughout the the realm of politics.

Bibliography

Collins, B. 2016. Palmer Luckey: The Facebook Near-Billionaire Secretly Funding Trump’s Meme Machine. Retrieved 30 October, 2017 from the World Wide Web: https://www.thedailybeast.com/palmer-luckey-the-facebook-near-billionaire-secretly-funding-trumps-meme-machine?via=twitter_page

Solon, O. 2017. Russia-backed Facebook posts 'reached 126m Americans' during US election. Retrieved 31 October, 2017 from the World Wide Web: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/30/facebook-russia-fake-accounts-126-million

Rocha, V. and Reis, B. 2017.  Facebook, Twitter and Google testify at Russia hearing: Live updates. Retrieved 31 October, 2017 from the World Wide Web: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/31/politics/facebook-russia-latest/index.html

Sulleyman, A. 2017. Palmer Luckey: Oculus VR co-founder leaves Facebook after secretly supporting Trump-supporting memes. Retrieved 30 October, 2017 from the World Wide Web: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/palmer-luckey-oculus-co-founder-facebook-leaves-donald-trump-supporter-funding-memes-a7659736.html

Statista. 2017. Most famous social network sites worldwide as of September 2017, ranked by number of active users (in millions). Retrieved 31 October, 2017 from the World Wide Web: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/

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Cultural Life

Gomenasai, my name is Ken-Sama. I’m a 27 year old American Otaku (Anime fan for you gaijins). I draw Anime and Manga on my tablet, and spend my days perfecting my art and playing superior Japanese games. (Disgaea, Final Fantasy, Persona series) I train with my Katana every day, this superior weapon can cut clean through steel because it is folded over a thousand times, and is vastly superior to any other weapon on earth. I earned my sword license two years ago, and I have been getting better every day. I speak Japanese fluently, both Kanji and the Osaka dialect, and I write fluently as well. I know everything about Japanese history and their bushido code, which I follow 100% When I get my Japanese visa, I am moving to Tokyo to attend a prestigious High School to learn more about their magnificent culture. I hope I can become an animator for Studio Ghibli or a game designer! I own several kimonos, which I wear around town. I want to get used to wearing them before I move to Japan, so I can fit in easier. I bow to my elders and seniors and speak Japanese as often as I can, but rarely does anyone manage to respond. Wish me luck in Japan!

New media has fostered the growth of numerous new subcultures and cultures throughout its history. This has helped bolster the popularity of already large groups, such as superhero and video game fandoms, as well as allowing for niche audiences to common with each other through online platforms. As is with any fandom, there are those whose passion far outclasses others. In the case of Japanese media fandoms, be it manga, anime, or video games, these superfans, lead to the advent of weeaboo and otaku culture. Though the use of new media, these fandoms have been able to not only communicate with one another online but create a subculture based on the excessive purchasing of merchandise and the appraisal of all things Japanese as opposed to Western media.

Newitz (1994) states how “otaku” is a word that had originated in Japan, which had referred to a person with an obsessive interest in any type of fandom. A weeaboo, by definition, is a person who is obsessed with not only anime and manga, but Japanese video games and Japanese culture. “Otaku are (typically) young men who spend most of their days and nights at home, at their computers, accessing, processing, and distributing information about some very specific aspect of the world of television, music, movies, or comic-books” (Sefton-Green, 1998: 109). While these words have often had often been stigmatised and used as insults towards Japanese media fandoms, Newitz (1994) points out how they have since become adopted by members of the community.

Much like the male My Little Pony fandoms touched upon by Hautakangas (2015), numerous otakus and weeaboos prefer Japanese media due to the manner in which the characters are portrayed. While it depends largely on the genre of the show, anime characters are often portrayed as cute, overly designed characters that are seen as more aesthetically pleasing to their Western media counterparts.

The “cute girl doing cute things”, or slice-of-life subgenre, serves as an example of how the otaku subculture attempt to subvert the hegemonic ideas of masculinity within western so indulge in slice-of-life anime which directly goes against hegemonic ideas of masculinity New media technologies have provided numerous platforms through which otakus are able to communicate with each other, such as comment sections on videos, image boards, and various forums. Similar to Hautakangas’ (2015) analysis on bronies who prefer to enjoy more joyful media as opposed to those deemed “normal” for men within a society, so too do otakus and weeaboos consume media that goes against ideas of hegemonic masculinity.

New media platforms have served as a means through which this subculture can communicate with another and discuss various topics relating to their fandom that they find interesting. One prominent example of this is on Reddit’s /r/anime subreddit, which boats over 550,000 subscribers and features many who openly problem to be weeaboos and otakus. Here, we see how users make use of various jokes and references in order to “prove” how much of a weeaboo they are; meanwhile here and here, we see how the users “confess” to the strange things they have done as a result of being a weeaboo. Much like most fandoms, new media is also used as a means through which people of similar interests can meet-up in person. This allows them to create more personal relationships which may not have been possible without the communication mechanism being made available to them through new media technologies.

The intersection between cultural life and new media platforms is therefore evident, as they allow for the growth and fostering of various fandoms from across the world to communicate and share their passion with each other. In the case of otakus and weeaboos, new media platforms have allowed what was initially a niche fandom to grow in popularity, as well as serve as a community through which they can be free of the criticisms they had faced for not conforming to hegemonic ideologies.

Bibliography

Hautakangas, M. 2015. “It’s ok to be joyful? My Little Pony and Brony masculinity”. Journal of Popular Television, 3(1).

Newitz, A. 1996.  “Anime Otaku: Japanese Animation Fans Outside Japan”. Bad Subjects, 13.

Sefton-Green, J. 1998. Digital Diversions: Youth Culture in the Age of Multimedia. London: Routledge. 

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Personal Life

New media technologies have had a profound impact in the manner in which people live their everyday lives, as can be observed by the prevalence of smartphones, computers, television and internet usage throughout various parts of the world. This is all the more evident when examining the emergence of online media personalities who have gained popularity through platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Here, we see how new media has allowed various persons to create careers based entirely on new media platforms, often funded through advertising or by direct support from their supporters through various avenues, such as purchasing merchandise, donations through PayPal, or monthly funding through platforms such as Patreon. These platforms have allowed for the possibility of a wide range of careers that may not have been possible prior to the advent of these new technologies, as they are able to satisfy audiences on a global scale. One such example of this is professional cosplayers. As the name implies, these are people whose primary source of income is being paid a salary to cosplay as fictional characters for their supporters. This can be observed in the case of Danielle “Baloo” Beaulieu, who has, through the use of Patreon, turned her hobby of cosplaying into a fully-fledged career.

The act of cosplay has long stood as a hobby amongst various fandoms, serving as a means for people to dress up as a fictional character of their choice. Before the advent of new media, these cosplays could only be displayed at the various fandom conventions that take place throughout the year, however, with the advent of platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and various other forms of new media, cosplay has become something that can be shared with anyone and at any moment. Danielle Beaulieu is one such person who has made use of the new platforms at her disposal to turn what was once a hobby into a full-time job, through platforms such as Patreon, a service that only you to offer monthly payments to content creators of your choosing, as well as other new media platforms such as social media and her own website.

Danielle Beaulieu, and many others like her, adopt post-feminist ideologies with regards to how they choose to make a career. Gill (2007: 149) writes on how, amongst the main discourses with the post-feminism ideology, that of choice and empowerment, as well as “the sexualisation of culture”, and the “consumerism and commodification of difference” are amongst is key discourses. These three aspects all serve as the key components behind the monetization of cosplay within their respective communities. By observing Danielle Beaulieu cosplays, as well as many others within the cosplay community, it can be seen how the costumes often sexualise the culture from which they originate, be they from a video game or anime, the character being cosplayed will often be portrayed in an over-the-top, sexualised nature. The choice to depict the characters in such a manner may also serve as empowerment to some cosplayers, as is the case with cosplayer Mariah “Momokun” Hallad who, despite often being criticised for her physical appearance and the manner of her cosplay, uses her cosplay as a means to challenge heteronormative beauty standards and a means of empowerment.

Kotaku’s article on sponsored cosplay offers an analysis into the nature of commodifying a hobby and turning into a career. Plunkett (2016) writes on how, in numerous instances, cosplayers are often contacted by promotional agencies to assist in promoting the game due to their popularity and authenticity of their cosplays. In the case of Danielle Beaulieu, her sponsors on Patreon all collectively earn her a salary of $10,000, or 140,000 ZAR, per month. In addition to this, Danielle Beaulieu receives revenue by selling print photographs of her cosplays on her website.

It is therefore evident that cosplaying as a career involves many of the discourses within the postfeminist ideology. Through the use of new media, as well as adopting various post-feminist principles and ideologies, numerous female cosplayers have harnessed their femininity as a means to turn their hobby of cosplaying into a career through platforms such as social media and Patreon. It is therefore evident that new media has indeed had an impact on the personal lives of numerous cosplayers within various communities, as without the new media platforms through which they promote themselves and generate revenue, the prospect of cosplaying as a career would not be feasible.

Bibliography

Beaulieu, D. DanielleCosplay. Retrieved 28 October, 2017 from the World Wide Web: https://www.patreon.com/DanielleCosplay

Gill, R. 2007. “Postfeminist media culture: Elements of a sensibility”. European Journal of Cultural Studies. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Plunkett, L. 2016. What It’s Like To Cosplay For Money. Retrieved 28 October, 2017 from the World Wide Web: https://cosplay.kotaku.com/what-its-like-to-cosplay-for-money-1769567196