Current Research/Research Interests:
With a hesitant beginning as a freshman double majoring in English and musical theater, my studies were initially motivated by a love of words and a desire to be the center of attention. I had cultivated many pieces of an academic persona over time and yet I had no idea how these fragments would come together to answer the age-old question: “What are you going to do with an English degree?” As my degree progressed I realized ways that I could integrate contemporary media into my studies and I began to see how my English degree had evolved from a love of literature into a tool capable of inciting social and political change. The pieces came together in a way that was both meaningful and cohesive.
My current research interests derive from the intersection of 20th/21st Century American film, feminist media studies, and cultural studies. My work seeks to reveal the ideological inculcations in contemporary visual texts, particularly those marketed towards young children, with the goal of understanding the ways in which systems of belief that result in the perpetuation of rape culture are reproduced within everyday images and social interactions, transmitting concealed moments of micro-aggressions and social injustices. My latest project makes a slight diversion from this objective and focuses instead on the relationship between material products (film) and industrial practices.
My latest essay “Monsters in the Closet: (Re)Negotiating Corporate Hegemony and The Death of Hand-Drawn Animation” enters at the nexus of the history of cinematic and Disney scholarship. My research focuses on the shift in the political economy of animation during the Disney and Pixar merge and I examine the 2001 Pixar film Monsters, Inc. as an allegory for the tenuous partnership between Disney and Pixar at various impasses during their twenty-year relationship. This allegory signals the political economy of animation and large-scale media corporations in the late 1990s to early 2000s as the medium shifted from hand drawn to computer generated imagery. It earns its significance by allowing us to not only examine how social conditions surface in material products but by also providing an avenue through which we can explore both the corporate hegemony that necessitated these contract negotiations, the Disney acquisition of Pixar, as well as the leadership that needed to shift for the acquisition to be possible, the promotion of Pixar leadership within the Disney Studios.
In my spare time I am an avid CrossFitter (which is why this photo is brought to you by athleisure)!
Discovery of NMCC:
As a film scholar, I encountered the New Media and Culture Certificate program during my media-related courses. This was a truly fortunate discovery because the addition of the New Media and Digital Culture Certificate has provided me the opportunity to expand my research past my comfort zone of film studies and enrich my knowledge of new media and emerging technologies. This quarter I am enrolled in a seminar where I have gotten to learn about the theory of games – and I even get to work with my group to create my own computer video game program!
Useful Resources for New Media Students:
I have recently found that reviewing non-academic publications can be an inspiring tool for inciting new, and innovative ideas. I think that these publications are often overlooked, but are rich with socio-political insight. Some of my favorite places to start include: The Atlantic, Slate, The Learned FanGirl, The New York Times, and Huffington Post. My interest in internet circulated media has increased exponentially as I begin to think through my next project which seeks to address the social function of fan-created adaptations.
Influential Reads:
Some of my favorite texts (books, articles, and documentaries) include –
Christensen, Jerome. America’s Corporate Art : The Studio Authorship of Hollywood Motion Pictures. Stanford, California: Stanford UP, 2012. Print. Post 45.
Kanfer, Stefan. Serious Business: The Art and Commerce of Animation in America from Betty Boop to Toy Story. New York: Scribner, 1997. Print.
Kline, Stephen. “The Making of Children’s Culture.” Out of the Garden: Toys, TV, and Children’s Culture in the Age of Marketing. London: Verso, 1993. Print.
The Pixar Story. Dir. Leslie Iwerks. Perf. Stacey Keach, John Lasseter, and Brad Bird. Leslie Iwerks Productions, 2007. Web.
https://youtu.be/Vq0nxmrLZdk
Telotte, J. P. The Mouse Machine: Disney and Technology. Urbana: U of Illinois, 2008. Print.
Zornado, Joseph L. “Children’s Film as Social Practice.” CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 10.2 (2008): 1-10.
What My Year Looks Like:
I have set two major goals for myself to accomplish this year: 1) I want to achieve a more balanced, healthy lifestyle and 2) I want to submit my first essay for academic publication. I have been working diligently towards both of these goals by incorporating both strength enhancing and mind-body fitness programs into my daily routine and also meeting with advisors and peers who can help me refine my work.
In addition to these larger goals, I have also been submitting pitches to popular Internet magazines (such as Slate, The Atlantic, and The Learned FanGirl) to increase my participation in non-academic conversations about popular media. I will be spending the majority of my summer studying for breadth exams this coming fall!
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