ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the intersections between feminist film studies and new media. It introduces the major questions that feminist media studies asks about digital technologies and cultures, with specific attention to the ways in which they both connect with film studies approaches and also diverge from and put pressure on film studies’ paradigms. Attention is paid to the political implications of the way that technology and virtual spaces are conceived in theory and in film; to the ways in which digital discourses often reproduce “real” world inequalities from avatar design to video game discussion boards; and how non-dominant groups use various digital spaces and technologies to form community and or engage in activism. Sections on fandom (from vidding to Korean fanfic), online harassment, and video games are also included.
Chapter 8 objectives:Define new media
Identify the many ways in which new media studies both draw on and diverge from film studies approaches
Identify the major questions asked by feminist new media studies
Introduce the ways in which digital and technological futures have been represented in film and their implications in terms of gender, race, and class
Understand the ways in which real world politics infuse and inform virtual spaces
Broaden the discussion of fandoms begun in Chapter 2 and introduce female dominated fan activities such as vidding and Korean fanfic
Identify major issues around the politics of fan labor
Articulate some of the ways that non-dominant groups have used various social media and other digital spaces to form community and engage in activism
Provide a preliminary introduction to various new media issues from online harassment to identity politics and gamer culture
