Tech TIFF 2024
Movie & Tech Commentary
TIFF is always a fun time in Toronto, though overlapping the first 2 weeks of the fall semester. It’s been a busy couple of weeks with the buzz of students up on campus and throngs of movie-goers downtown. I’ve seen only a few films this year and a couple of the industry talks for the first time. So, instead of a full blog post this week, I’m linking to other commentary this week.
My essay on moviegoing, Gen Z and the theatricalization of media appeared on the Conversation Canada. Based on research with my (then) undergraduate student, Taylor Mackintosh, the essay looks at moviegoing habits and changing technology and social factors in why people go to the cinema. I’ll be presenting more on this as part of related research on cinema and anti-theatricality for the American Society of Theatre Research later this fall.
I was also invited to provide commentary on emerging technology in filmmaking and attendance for the weekend radio program, “The Feed” at 105.9 The Region (my part starts at 44:31).
Reading
In other news, I’m reading and re-reading the Korean-German theorist, Byung-Chul Han, admittedly in English translations. He’s one of the most relevant critics of the media age. In the run up to the US Presidential election and with Donald Trump perpetually in the news, Han’s Infocracy: Digitalization and the Crisis of Democracy (trans. Daniel Steuer, 2021) is a great read. If you’re new to Han, I’d recommend starting with his earlier book, In the Swarm: Digital Prospects (trans. Erik Butler, 2017), which introduces a number of key concepts for Infocracy. It’s also drawn me back to James Gleick’s The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood (2011). His chapter, “The Informational Turn” and “Into the Meme Pool” are particularly relevant. Gleick is an accessible introduction to challenging concepts (though I perpetually wish I’d paid more attention in math).
These readings, among others, are related to revisions on my current book project, Digital Historiography and Performance: Introductions and Provocations, and will be the foundation for a couple of upcoming talks and papers forthcoming this fall.
Upcoming: “Thunderstruck”
For next week, I’m working on a fluffy bit connecting the Netflix series “America’s Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.” The series has provoked some strong reactions (see here and here), but I’m mostly interested in the series for its intersection with digital performance (via the AT&T Stadium’s digital displays, TV and a reality series) and for the surprising (to me, at least) connection to the 1978 musical, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Y’all come back now, ya hear.