On Parasocial Relationships with Professional Athletes

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On Parasocial Relationships with Professional Athletes

My family have always been fans of the Philadelphia Eagles. To most Philadelphians, being an Eagles fan means more than just supporting our favorite football team: it’s a lifestyle. So when my sister brought home an Odell Beckham, Jr. jersey several years ago, I was mortified. It wasn’t until years later that I realized she had recognized something crucial about the changing landscape of American sports fandom: people invest a lot more into individual players today than they have in the past.

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From Brazil to L.A. : Transmedia and Audiovisual Creators Raphael Draccon and Carolina Munhoz (Part Two)

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From Brazil to L.A. : Transmedia and Audiovisual Creators Raphael Draccon and Carolina Munhoz (Part Two)

Raphael Draccon and Carolina Munhoz bring together unusual and solid characteristics as content creators, capable of reading a world and translating it to increasingly sophisticated and broad audiences in a universal aesthetic and language without losing their creative DNA. There are many interesting topics to be covered and therefore this interview will be divided into two parts. We will address biographical aspects to understand how the trajectories of the authors are inspiring for young talent, aspects related to content creation, editorial and audiovisual business, interaction with technology and platforms, relationship with fandom and influence in the conception and development of projects, the relationship between creators and large entertainment companies, and future projects will also be covered.

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From Brazil to L.A. : Transmedia and Audiovisual Creators Raphael Draccon and Carolina Munhoz (Part One)

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From Brazil to L.A. : Transmedia and Audiovisual Creators Raphael Draccon and Carolina Munhoz (Part One)

Raphael Draccon and Carolina Munhoz bring together unusual and solid characteristics as content creators, capable of reading a world and translating it to increasingly sophisticated and broad audiences in a universal aesthetic and language without losing their creative DNA. There are many interesting topics to be covered and therefore this interview will be divided into two parts. We will address biographical aspects to understand how the trajectories of the authors are inspiring for young talent, aspects related to content creation, editorial and audiovisual business, interaction with technology and platforms, relationship with fandom and influence in the conception and development of projects, the relationship between creators and large entertainment companies, and future projects will also be covered.

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The Sound of Protest: Bollywood’s Jimmy Jimmy and COVID unrest in China

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The Sound of Protest: Bollywood’s Jimmy Jimmy and COVID unrest in China

While factory workers in China voiced their protest of Covid 19 lockdowns on the street and online, another subtler wave of online protest emerged as humor through the sound of Bollywood. The Chinese Tik Tok Duoyin abounded with videos of Chinese netizens (Internet citizens)  singing Jimmy, Jimmy a popular Bollywood song from the 1980s. Jimmy Jimmy, however, is not just any Bollywood song; it was the youth anthem for many soviets and east Europeans in the eighties. This post focuses on three aspects of this event. First, what qualities make a song a protest song? Second, how do we account for the transcultural, trans-linguistic flow of the song, and what does this exchange reveal about the cultural dissemination and absorption of Bollywood in China?

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