Creator Culture: An Introduction to Global Social Media Entertainment

Published by New York University Press 2021

Creator Culture

An Introduction to Global Social Media Entertainment

Edited by: Stuart Cunningham and David Craig
Preface by: Nancy K. Baym

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479890118.001.0001

Overview
Contents

About this book

Explores new perspectives on social media entertainment

There is a new class of cultural producers—YouTube vloggers, Twitch gameplayers, Instagram influencers, TikTokers, Chinese wanghong, and others—who are part of a rapidly emerging and highly disruptive industry of monetized “user-generated” content. As this new wave of native social media entrepreneurs emerge, so do new formations of culture and the ways they are studied.

In this volume, contributors draw on scholarship in media and communication studies, science and technology studies, and social media, Internet, and platform studies, in order to define this new field of study and the emergence of creator culture. Creator Culture introduces readers to new paradigms of social media entertainment from critical perspectives, demonstrating both relations to and differentiations from the well-established media forms and institutions traditionally within the scope of media studies.

This volume does not seek to impose a uniform perspective; rather, the goal is to stimulate in-depth, globally-focused engagement with this burgeoning industry and establish a dynamic research agenda for scholars, teachers, and students, as well as creators and professionals across the media, communication, creative, and social media industries.

Contributors include: Jean Burgess, Zoë Glatt, Sarah Banet-Weiser, Brent Luvaas, Carlos A. Scolari, Damián Fraticelli, José M. Tomasena, Junyi Lv, Hector Postigo, Brooke Erin Duffy, Megan Sawey, Jarrod Walzcer, Sangeet Kumar, Sriram Mohan, Aswin Punathambekar, Mohamed El Marzouki, Elaine Jing Zhao, Arturo Arriagada, Jeremy Shtern, Stephanie Hill

Author / Editor information

Cunningham Stuart :

Stuart Cunningham is Distinguished Professor of Media and Communication, Queensland University of Technology. His most recent books include Media Economics (with Terry Flew and Adam Swift, 2015), Screen Distribution and the New King Kongs of the Online World (with Jon Silver, 2013), and Hidden Innovation: Policy, Industry and the Creative Sector (2013).Craig David :

David Craig is Clinical Associate Professor at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and a visiting scholar at Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries. Craig is also an Emmy-nominated Hollywood producer and TV executive who has supervised or produced over thirty critically acclaimed films, series, documentaries, books, web series, and stage productions.Baym Nancy K. :

Nancy K. Baym is a Sr. Principal Researcher at Microsoft in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the author and co-editor of three previous books about audiences, relationships, and the internet. More information, most of her articles, and some of her talks are available at nancybaym.com.

Stuart Cunningham is Distinguished Professor of Media and Communication, Queensland University of Technology. His most recent books include Media Economics (with Terry Flew and Adam Swift, 2015), Screen Distribution and the New King Kongs of the Online World (with Jon Silver, 2013), and Hidden Innovation: Policy, Industry and the Creative Sector (2013).

David Craig is Clinical Associate Professor at USC Annenberg’s School for Communication and Journalism and a Fellow at the Peabody Media Center. Craig is also a veteran media producer and executive nominated for many Emmy Awards and responsible for over thirty critically-acclaimed films, TV programs, and stage productions.

Nancy K. Baym is a Sr. Principal Researcher at Microsoft in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the author and co-editor of three previous books about audiences, relationships, and the internet. More information, most of her articles, and some of her talks are available at nancybaym.com.

Reviews

What could once be referred to confidently as ‘the media’ has fragmented into a diverse array of creators, platforms, audiences, communities, regulatory responsibilities, and business models. With Creator Culture, Cunningham and Craig have captured the zeitgeist of social media entertainment, bringing together an array of leading international researchers to critically analyze this emergent field.

This lively collection puts forth a persuasive case for ‘creator culture’ as a major new force in media industries worldwide. Drawing from intricate analyses and ethnographies of creator practices across the globe, the scholars in this volume show how today’s social media entrepreneurs exist at the uneasy intersection of platforms, legacy media, and advertising. From unboxing videos to fashion influencers, these essays explore the cultural logics of online creators and their larger sociocultural contexts. An essential collection for scholars of branding, celebrity, and social media, and anyone interested in the future of entertainment.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Foreword Nancy K. Baym Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Stuart Cunningham and David Craig Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I Frameworks and Methods
1 Platform Studies Jean Burgess Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
2 Productive Ambivalence, Economies of Visibility, and the Political Potential of Feminist YouTubers Zoë Glatt and Sarah Banet-Weiser Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
3 Affect and Autoethnography in Social Media Research Brent Luvaas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
4 A Semio- discursive Analysis of Spanish- Speaking BookTubers Carlos A. Scolari, Damián Fraticelli and José M. Tomasena Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
5 Critical Media Industry Studies The Case of Chinese Livestreaming David Craig, Stuart Cunningham and Junyi Lv Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
Part II Genres and Communities
6 Video Gameplay Commentary Immersive Research in Participatory Cu Hector Postigo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
7 Value, Service, and Precarity among Instagram Content Creators Brooke Erin Duffy and Megan Sawey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
8 Toy Unboxing Creator Communities Jarrod Walczer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
9 Beyond the Nation Cultural Regions in South Asia’s Online Video Communities Sangeet Kumar, Sriram Mohan and Aswin Punathambekar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	170
10 Creativity and Dissent in Arab Creator Culture Mohamed El Marzouki Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Part III Industries and Governance
11 Wanghong Liminal Chinese Creative Labor Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
12 Content Creators and the Field of Advertising Arturo Arriagada Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	232
13 The Political Economy of Sponsored Content and Social Media Entertainment Production Jeremy Shtern and Stephanie Hill Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	250
14 Creator Rights and Governance Stuart Cunningham and David Craig Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	271
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
About the Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	293
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	297