Posts Tagged 'anthropology of geek culture'

SpaceX’s biggest rocket flies for the first time: But Do We Understand What This Actually Means?
Anthropology in Outerspace

SpaceX’s biggest rocket flies for the first time: But Do We Understand What This Actually Means?

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What if we trained our imaginations to appreciate that the way for reaching the stars in a Starship i.e., attaining knowledge, unity and harmony, was not strictly technological but social and cultural as well? What if we recognised that technological and social innovation did not come from the apparent eureka moments (and individualised capital) of the elites but the accumulated wisdom and creativity of our species?

Shadows of the Past: Rings of Power’s Complicated Penumbra
Study of geek culture

Shadows of the Past: Rings of Power’s Complicated Penumbra

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Rings of Power fails to lean into the possibility of moral ambiguity, instead reproducing the same simplistic binaries between good and evil. For the Elves, the inherent “goodness” of their race, and their purpose on Middle Earth is eminently visible, communicated through the sheer beauty of their people, their clothes, their architecture, their relationship to nature. Even more disturbingly, Rings of Power also reinforces cultural narratives that equate deformity with evil through the character of Adar, a “corrupted” Elf or Uruk.

Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Problems of Magic Bullet Heroism
TGA News

Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Problems of Magic Bullet Heroism

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While I admire the decision to try to help each of Spidey’s foes—particularly since the Avengers have never met a problem they don’t try to punch their way out of—the curative ideal that Spiderman peddles tells us a lot about how the US in particular addresses public health problems, the medical and social ills that the country chooses to “cure” or address through vertical, top-down tactics.

Screen Memory, Social Distancing & Speculative Fiction: The Geek Anthropologist 2021 in Review
Anthrogeekology, Anthropology in Outerspace, Speculative Fiction, Study of geek culture

Screen Memory, Social Distancing & Speculative Fiction: The Geek Anthropologist 2021 in Review

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2021 gave us new ways to think about virtual presence and digital connection through Minecraft; the role of a mediated and mediatized grief in Wandavision; the Marxist politics underlying GameStop stock; the ongoing importance of centering repatriation in the practice of archaeology; and the bureaucratic magic of Loki.