There are so many artifacts that I would love to research that it is hard for me to choose. However, I think that I would like to explore the satirical news and media content site, Clickhole, which I have already mentioned in another blog post.
Created by the people from The Onion, content-wise Clickhole functions like a mix between Buzzfeed and Upworthy, and pretty much any other contemporary "news" site that pops up in your typical Facebook newsfeed. What makes it so fascinating to me is not only how consistently it makes me literally LOL, but the way that it so perfectly taps into the zeitgeist of contemporary internet culture. The format of The Onion is now out-of-date because people don't consume news the way that they used to, whereas Clickhole simply could not have existed until recently because of its very specific format and language. I would like to study what exactly it is that makes it so funny (if that is even possible), and the ways that it uses language and even metadata (i.e. #wow) to both blend in with and subvert its very format. It would also be interesting to observe the comments, to see who is or is not IN on the joke.
Your post sparks a very interesting question - how can we be sure to take in the context (time and space) of artifacts that we examine? As you suggested, The Onion and Clickhole existed in certain times because they met demands. However, the span of time we're talking about is relatively short. If in the future, say 2050, someone is looking at these artifacts, would they be able to extrapolate the difference that existed in how we consume news in these very specific pockets of time?
ReplyDeleteI never thought of that, but that's a really good point! Considering how many people don't understand what it is now (see http://jezebel.com/st-vincent-doesnt-know-what-clickhole-is-learns-very-1769413650), I'm sure it will spark a lot of confusion and misconceptions about our society. Although, sometimes I think that their posts are so uncanny, and so accurately capture our cultural zeitgeist that it may offer just as much or even more insight. Satire is ancient, so who knows how many cultural texts from the past we have been reading in earnest?
Deleteclickhole is hilarious, but I HATE THE FORMAT OMG STOP. WITH. THE. CLICK. THROUGHS.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's just me? I read the paper every morning. The physical paper. so ...