RTVF 298 Schedule • Fall 2021

@cartermoulton • mediaexperiences.slack.com • cartermoulton@u.northwestern.edu

Welcome to RTVF 298, Media Experiences & Digital Culture, and more specifically to our class publication. Here’s a rundown of our schedule this term. This is a “live” schedule, subject to changes as we move through the term, so be sure to check it regularly for updates! I know folks are balancing different schedules, so consider this a list of “target dates” rather than strict “due dates.” There is some flexibility here. That said, sticking as closely to the target dates as you can will help you get the most out of the course. Feel free to make comments or ask questions right on this page using Medium’s annotate feature.

Click on any week to jump to a more detailed rundown of readings and activities.

Week 1: Making Places [week of Sept. 21]
Week 2: Fandom & Convergence Culture [w.o. Sept. 28]
Week 3: Platforms as Places [w.o. Oct. 5]
Week 4: The Experience Economy [w.o. Oct. 12]
Week 5: Eventful Viewing [w.o. Oct. 19]
Week 6: Theme Parks [w.o. Oct. 26]
Week 7: Media and/as Tourism [w.o. Nov. 2]
Week 8: Reality Media [w.o. Nov. 9]
Week 9: The Ethics of Experience [w.o. Nov. 16]
Week 10: No Class (Holiday) [w.o. Nov. 23]
Week 11: Final Project Experiences [w.o. Nov. 30]
Week 12: Digital Portfolio [w.o. Dec. 6]

Important Dates

October 14: Media Experience 1 (No Class)
October 21: Media Experience 2 (No Class)
October 28: Media Experience 3 (No Class)
November 9: Final Project Pitch Target Date
November 11: Final Project Pitch Meetings (No Class)
Week of Nov 30: Final Project Experiences/Presentations
Dec. 8: Digital Portolio

Week 1: Making Places

concepts: locative media; spatial self; digital place-making, (re)placing; strategies; tactics

TUESDAY, 9/21: We’ll do some introduction activities, go over the syllabus, and form brave space agreements. After class, you should…

Do 2 things (if you haven’t already):

1. Sign up for a Slack account and join our workspace @ mediaexperiences.slack.com. Upload a picture or avatar.
2. Set up a Medium account, complete your profile, write a bio, and upload a picture of yourself (or something that represents you). DM me your username and I’ll add you as a writer to our class publication.

Read 2 things:

• Schwartz & Halegoua, “The spatial self: Location-based identity performance on social media” (~14 pg.)

‘Replace-ing’ the city

Then, do 2 things:

1. On your Medium page, write a post in which you either (1) reflect on your own digital placemaking practices or (2) explore your “spatial self.” If digital placemaking is “the use of digital media in cultivating a sense of place for oneself and for others,” what digital placemaking practices do you engage in or use in your everyday life? If the “spatial self” refers to how “individuals document, archive, and display their experience and/or mobility within space and place in order to represent or perform aspects of their identity to others,” who is your “spatial self”? Add photos, links, or screenshots if you want. How do you use digital media to create meaningful places? How do you use places to create meaningful profiles? Make sure to attach the #rtvf298 tag to your post, as this will help us find each other’s work throughout the term. Share a link to your first Medium post in the #publishing-stream channel on Slack.
2. By next Tuesday, make a short video (~1 min.) introducing yourself to us. Upload your video to a site like YouTube, Vimeo, or any other site where videos live (feel free to make it unlisted if you want). Post a link in the #introductions channel in Slack. This can be super simple (shot on your phone/computer, no editing, etc.). Tell us whatever you want in the video. Here are a few ideas (no need to answer all of the prompts):
   No need to tell us your age, major, or year.
   No need to tell us where you grew up — unless you want to tell a story about it or show us a picture!
   No need to tell us about a hidden talent or hobby — unless you’re willing to do the thing or show us something you’ve made!
   Do tell us your pronouns and nicknames.
   Do tell us what sparks you, what you care most about.
   Do tell us about a memorable media experience you’ve had.
   Do click here and answer the first question you get.

THURSDAY, 9/28: We’ll talk a bit more about theories of space, place, and power, and do an activity where we consider ourselves as “tactical” beings. That will take us to week 2…

Week 2: Fandom & Convergence Culture

concepts: textual poaching; participatory culture; transmedia; spreadability, drillability; paratexts; prohibitionist, collaborationist; fan labor, franchising; mothership;

Before Tuesday’s (9/28) class, you’ll want to…

Read & listen to some stuff:

• Jenkins, “Folk Culture, Mass Culture, Convergence Culture” (~4 pg.)
• Warner, “(Black Female) Fans Strike Back: The Emergence of the Iris West Defense Squad” (~7 pg.)
• Stanfill & Condis, “Fandom and/as Labor” (Sections I-III)

K-Pop’s Digital ‘Army’ Musters To Meet The Moment, Baggage In Tow

Then, do a few things:

1. Record and submit your first voice memo (#voices).
2. If you haven’t already, complete and link your introduction video to the #introductions Slack channel. Welcome your peers!
3. Using our Medium tag (#rtvf298) or #publishing-stream Slack channel, find and follow all of your peers on Medium. Find a few of their posts and add comments or annotations on Medium. Also, at the bottom of every page, you can applaud your fellow classmates.

TUESDAY, 9/28: I’ll briefly lecture on fan culture and participatory culture, and we’ll do some activities. I’ll introduce the Transmedia Infographic project, target date next Tuesday (10/5). After class…

Read & look at some stuff:

• Check out this image; Use Jenkins, “7 Principles of Transmedia Storytelling” to fill in your understanding.
• Scott, “#Wheresray?: Toys, spoilers, & the gender politics of franchise paratexts” (~8 pg.)
• “LEGO Dimensions 101” (Youtube, ~4 min.)

Then, do some stuff:

1. In our #reminded-me-of-you Slack Channel, post a photo of a material object linked to your fandom. Write a few sentences about it. Why do you have it? Is there a story behind it? How does it relate to the ideas we’ve been talking about? Comment on some posts and #introduction videos that you find interesting.
2. As a class, help fill out the Transmedia Principles Padlet. Find examples from any transmedia franchise that illustrate 1–2 of Jenkins’ concepts, and post a link to them in the appropriate column. Add a sentence or two about how you see it connecting to the concept.
3. Pitch at least one idea for your Transmedia Infographic and engage with others on our #looking-for-a-group Slack channel. You’ll want to have a group by Thursday.

THURSDAY, 9/30: During class, we’ll discuss transmedia, paratexts, and world-building. You’ll have time to work on your transmedia infographic. This takes us into week 3…

Week 3: Platforms as Places

concepts: intellectual property; intertextuality; synergy; stickiness; canon; digital enclosure; interactivity, surveillance; portals; platforms; interfaces

Before Tuesday’s (10/5) class, you’ll want to… work with your group to finish your Transmedia Infographic. Publish it to someone’s Medium page and link it to our #publishing-stream.

Also, read this:

• Andrejevic, “Ubiquitous Computing & the Digital Enclosure Movement” (~10 pg.)

and if you have time, one of these two:

The gentrification of the internet

In the Gif Space Michael Newman / University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Then, do the following:

1. Record and submit your second voice memo (#voices).

TUESDAY, 10/5: We’ll discuss the enclosures we find ourselves in, and I’ll introduce the Interface Analysis project, which has a target date of next Tuesday (10/12). After class…

Read this:

• Van Esler, “In Plain Sight: Online TV Interfaces as Branding” (~12 pg.)

Take a one-hour dive and soak up some information on Algorithms and Platforms:

• “Winning the Netflix Prize” (~8 min. video)
• Safiya Noble, “Algorithms of Oppression” (~4 min. video)
• WSJ, “How TikTok’s Algorithm Figures You Out” (WSJ) (~13 min. video)
• Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj, “Amazon” (~20 min. video)
• “Facebook Whistleblower: The 60 Minutes Interview” (~13 min. video) or The Daily Podcast: Facebook Whistleblower (~30 min. podcast)

Then do this:

1. React and respond to your peers’ transmedia infographics on Medium. Remember, we will all be revising our published work for the final portfolio, so ask questions and make suggestions that will encourage further thought and reflection. I’ll be commenting too!
2. Come to class with an idea for your Interface Analysis project. Post on #looking-for-a-group if you have an idea for collaboration! You’ll have some time to work on it in class.

THURSDAY, 10/7: We’ll talk a bit about how enclosure might be occurring in terms of media franchises and fandom. You’ll also have some time to work on your Interface Analyses. This will take us into week 4…

Week 4: The Experience Economy

concepts: the experience economy; affirmational vs. transformational fandom; just-in-time fandom; pop-ups; takeovers; brand intimacy; regifting

Before Tuesday’s (10/12) class, you’ll want to finish your Interface Analysis. Wherever it lives on the internet, use the hashtag #rtvf298 and link it to our #publishing-stream.

Read:

• Kohnen, “The experience economy of TV promotion at San Diego Comic-Con” (~16 pg.)

And done this:

1. Record and submit your third voice memo (#voices).
2. It’s never too early to start thinking about your final project. Over the next 2–3 weeks, pitch ideas and group up in our #looking-for-a-group channel.

TUESDAY, 10/12: I’ll lecture a bit on the experience economy, and we’ll discuss examples of affirmational and transformational fandom. After class and before Thursday…

Read:

• Booth, “From Player to Fan” (~10 pg.)

Do the following:

1. Find and comment on a few of your peers’ Interface Analyses. Remember, folks will be revising these for their final portfolio, so help them by asking questions and making suggestions and connections.

THURSDAY, 10/14: No in-person class. Instead, you’re invited to…

Media Experience #1: Join our live digital escape room

Show up to our Slack workspace on Thursday @ 2pm. We’ll play a digital escape room together. Instructions will follow. It will take somewhere between half an hour and one hour. Or we’ll fail. Not sure. Those of you who can’t make it can reach out on #looking-for-a-group on Slack and play it together by clicking here (link will be provided after the live session). This will take us to week 5…

After the event:

• Take some quiet time to reflect on our course so far and fill out your first check-in survey. It will take a little time, but your reflections are both appreciated and important!

Week 5: Eventful Viewing

concepts: media events; hype; eventfulness; liveness; global simultaneity; destination viewing; officialization; inter-temporality; media time; fan time

Before class on Tuesday (10/19), you’ll want to…

Read:

• My article (!) “Only in Theaters in an On-Demand Culture” (~15 pg.)

and if you have time:

• Horeck, “Netflix and Heal” (~6 pg.)

Then:

1. Record and submit your fourth voice memo (#voices).
2. Get hype. Link to a promotional paratext (could be a news article, merchandise, promotional media, celebrity-related news, review, tie-in, anything!) to our #dune-hype thread before our screening on Thursday.
3. Download the Regal app on your phone. Click on the red box on the upper right-hand corner and play around with their AR experiences. Think about how this AR media might function as a form of digital placemaking or as a promotional paratext for moviegoing? What do Regal and Moviebill really mean by the word “experience” here? We’ll discuss in class!
4. Make sure you’ve submitted your check-in survey.

TUESDAY 10/19: We’ll analyze some movie trailers and talk about promotional hype, reflect on what makes a viewing experience memorable and “eventful,” and outline the fan practices that contribute to these feelings. After class…

Do this:

1. Take a moment to think about your final project. Look ahead on the schedule, and look back on the things we’ve learned so far. Schedule a time to meet with me (either in person or remotely) to discuss your final project.

THURSDAY 10/21: No in-person class, though I am available during this time to discuss final project ideas. Instead, you’re invited to…

Media Experience #2: Join our Dune IMAX Opening-Night Moviegoing Experience

Thursday, October 21, 6PM. If you can’t make it or don’t feel comfortable traveling to the movie theater given COVID-19, there will be other ways to participate as well. Details of that TBD.

Following the event, do this:

1. Make your own visual-based media (a GIF, meme, IG story, TikTok or Youtube video, etc.) that captures, documents, responds to, or reacts to the moviegoing experience in some way, and share them in the #random channel. You could also write a Medium post and share the media there. Here are some instructions for making a GIF. There are also apps and some online tools you can use to make a GIF or meme. Just Google something like “how to make a GIF.” Some tools are better than others. This takes us into week 6…

Week 6: Theme Parks

concepts: transmedia tourism; theming; immersion; authenticity; discipline-for-fun; haptic fandom; embodiment; destination doing; diegesis; hyperdiegesis; seasonality;

Before class on Tuesday (10/26), you’ll want to…

Read some stuff:

• Leon-Boys & Chávez, “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge as Postcolonial Fantasy: Disney, Labor, and the Renegotiation of Border Discourses” (~15 pg.)
• Reijnders & Waysdorf, “Immersion, authenticity and the theme park as social space: Experiencing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter” (~14 pg.)

Do some stuff:

1. Record and submit your fifth voice memo (#voices).
2. Keep thinking about your final project. Look ahead on the schedule, and look back on the things we’ve learned so far. Pitch one idea that you’re thinking about in our #looking-for-a-group channel. Even if you’re not sure you want to do it, your idea might help inspire somebody else! DM your peers and group up. DM me on Slack or sign up via Calendly and let’s schedule a time to check-in and discuss your project. Remember, your pitch should be submitted by Tuesday, November 9th.

TUESDAY, 10/26: I’ll lecture a bit about immersion, Disney, and theme parks, and we’ll talk about colonialism and Halloween. After class on Tuesday, you’ll want to…

Do this:

1. Pick an attraction at any theme park in the world (other than Harry Potter & The Escape from Gringotts or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance), and analyze it in a Medium post (this analysis can take any format you want). A few questions you may choose to take up and answer: How does the attraction utilize transmedia principles or encourage interactivity on the part of visitors/fans? Does it mobilize digital placemaking (see week 1)? How does the architecture of the ride structure immersion? What kinds of immersion? Is there a fan community around the attraction itself, or rituals that visitors engage in? Have fans “sweded” the ride? How is the ride promoted via paratexts? Is there a problematic history here? Does the ride exist in multiple global locations, and if so, has it been adapted to fit different local contexts? Include photos or videos. Cite at least one reading or concept from the slides! Tag the post #rtvf298 and publish in our Slack #publishing-stream by Thursday at midnight.
2. Watch a ride-through video of The Haunted Mansion and watch this segment on Decorating Disney (if interested, check out a slightly different representation of what it’s like to work at Disneyland). Read up about the ride on Wikipedia and drill down into its textual world. Skim Williams, “Extending the Haunted Mansion: Spatial Poaching, Participatory Narratives and Retrospective Transmedia” (~26 pg., use my highlights as a guide!). Prepare yourself so that you can catch any intertextuality or “inside” jokes during the screening.

THURSDAY 10/28: No in-person class, though I am available during this time to discuss final project ideas. Your pitch is due Tuesday, November 9th. Instead, you’re invited to…

Media Experience #3: Join us for a live screening of The Muppets: Haunted Mansion

We’ll watch together on Disney+ at 8pm. The movie is ~50 min. long. To prepare for our watch party, make sure to download Google Chrome and add the TeleParty extension. Also, as you watch, fill out your Bingo card for a chance to win prizes! (link to be provided). Those of you who can’t make it are invited to reach out on #looking-for-a-group on Slack and schedule another watch party.

Week 7: Media and/as Tourism

concepts: globalization; authenticity (contd.); media pilgrimage; media rituals; the tourist gaze; the tourist imagination

Read, watch, & listen to some stuff:

• Williams, “Fan Tourism & Pilgrimage” (~7 pg.)
• Crouch, Jackson, Thompson, “The Tourist Imagination” (~2 pg.)
• Quest #FortheThrone (NPR) (~4 min podcast)
• “How Social Media Ruins Your Travel Plans (Or Makes them Even Better)” (Shift) (12 min. video)

Explore these:

‘Joker Stairs’ and the Problem With Meme Tourism

Photos show China’s most surreal tourist spot- a fake Instagram-worthy town full of pretend farmers…

Instagram is loving nature to death

Then:

1. Record and submit your sixth voice memo (#voices).
2. Pitch another idea or two to our #looking-for-a-group channel. Go back through all the pitches. You have 3 lightbulb emojis to use. Leave them on 3 pitches (not your own) that you’d be particularly interested to work on. Remember, you’ll want to have selected an idea/made a group soon so that you can submit your final project pitch, which is due Tuesday, November 9th.
3. Choose one reading in our Topics in Tourism folder (located on our course archives) that looks interesting to you. Use the sign up sheet to make your selection. First-come, first-served. In groups of 2–3, you’ll be tasked with teaching the class about this reading on Thursday, so get a head start on reading the article if you can!

TUESDAY, 11/2: We’ll talk a bit about the final project, methodologies, and how imaginary and physical boundaries create / perpetuate cultural meaning. You’ll also have some time to prepare your teach-the-class sessions. After class…

Do some things:

1. Head over to our #publishing-stream and engage with your peers’ attraction analyses. Provide some of your thoughts, ask questions, and point them toward our course concepts. Another thing you might consider is pointing out areas of their writing where a public audience (i.e., not someone taking this course) might be confused. The goal is to be able to share our work outside of class, especially in the form of our digital portfolio, so make suggestions for how they might make their work more spreadable.
2. Work with your group to design and finalize your teach-the-class lesson plan.

THURSDAY, 11/4: You and your group will be teaching the class on the media tourism case study you chose! This takes us into week 8…

Week 8: Reality Media

concepts: reality media; AR/VR; presence; aura; remediation; immersion (contd.)

Media Experience #4: Experience VR

In pairs, visit the VR Lab at The Garage on campus sometime during the week (Sign-Up Sheet) and experience VR for an hour. “Experience” the following titles:

Clouds over Sidra (White Oculus Quest, “Within” app)
The Climb (White Oculus Quest, do some climbing)
Vader Immortal (Black Oculus Quest, do some training with Darth Vader)
Wander (Black Oculus Quest, do the tutorial, travel to a place you want to go)

That means each person will spend approximately half hour with the white headset, and a half hour with the black headset (switching headsets midway through). If you have extra time, try out other titles as well!

After the event:

🎧Instead of an individual voice memo, record a collaborative podcast episode with your partner and talk about what you experienced. Prepare a few interview questions for one another and identify a few themes you want to discuss. Engage with the Bolter, Engberg, and MacIntyre reading, the Nakamura reading, and other content for the week (see below for this week’s schedule) in some way. DM me your audio file (.wav, .aiff, .mp3, or .m4a) link by next Tuesday, 11/16. I’m going to be compiling them all into one podcast playlist so we can all listen. 🎧

Before class on Tuesday (11/9), you should do the following things in this order…

First, do:

1. Go back and engage more with your peers’ attraction analysis. Provide some of your thoughts, ask questions, and point them toward our course concepts. Another thing you might consider is pointing out areas of their writing where a public audience (i.e., not someone taking this course) might be confused. The goal is to be able to share our work outside of class, especially in the form of our digital portfolio, so make suggestions for how they might make their work more spreadable.

Then, watch:

1. Put on some headphones, enter a quiet, dark space, and watch the TreeHugger trailer. Zen out.
2. Watch Milk, “How Virtual Reality Can Become The Ultimate Empathy Machine” (~10 min. TEDTalk)
3. Watch CNET, “Everything Facebook revealed about the Metaverse in 11 minutes”

Then, read:

• Engberg, Bolter, MacIntyre, Reality Media, Chapter 5: “Presence” (~15 pg.). I have included Chapter 6 as well. If interested, peruse to think about how VR/AR are remediating certain genres that already exist in our media culture.

And Explore:

• Head over to Reality Media to check out the transmedia extension of the book. Scroll down and read each of the 8 landing pages (they are very short).
• Check out DressX. Download and play around with the Dressx app.

'The Matrix Resurrections' Avatar NFTs to Go on Sale for $50 Each Ahead of Movie Premiere

Then:

1. No voice memo this week. You’ve got your collaborative podcast due next Tuesday (11/16). Still, come to class Tuesday with some thoughts, reactions, and questions re: this week’s material.
2. Complete and DM me your/your group’s final project pitch. Sign up for a time to meet with me on Thursday.

TUESDAY, 11/9: We’ll talk about remediation, AR and VR. After class…

Read:

• Nakamura, “Feeling Good about Feeling Bad” (~18 pg.). Let this (and the other material from Tuesday) inform your podcast discussion.

THURSDAY, 11/11: NO CLASS (Final project meetings and VR lab visits).

Before you get started on next week’s tasks, do this:

1. Fill out your second course check-in (9 questions). I see you as the expert in your own learning, so I want to get your honest take on your experience this term. While I reserve the right to change your grade at the end of the term, I do intend to give you the grade you give yourself. If you are worried about this process, or feel like you want to make an individualized plan about your progress, reach out to me on Slack. This takes us to week 9…

Week 9: The Ethics of Experience

concepts: brandright; surveillance capitalism; fair use; experiential enclosure; intellectual property law; rendition

By Tuesday (11/16), you’ll want to…

Read & watch 2 things:

• Ethical issue: Experience as IP. Read a chapter from my dissertation, “Pop Ups & Take-Downs” (~27 pg.). As you read, be on the lookout for all kinds of course concepts we’ve learned throughout the term.
• Ethical Issue: Experience as Data. Instead of reading this book, watch my DIY edit (~20 min. down from 50 min.) of VPRO’s Documentary with Shoshana Zuboff. Some of this might sound familiar to our Week 3 discussions. As you watch, think about how those concepts we talked about earlier (digital enclosure, for instance) might be extending beyond our digital spaces and interfaces and onto our very bodies, senses, and material experiences in the physical world. Here are some receipts for things she’s talking about(I, II, III, IV, V).

If you have time, explore 2 things:

'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' Is Just As Bad For Rural Players As 'Pokémon GO' Was At Launch

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite's lack of accessibility is turning us into muggles

Do 2 things:

1. Finish your collaborative podcast episode with your VR partner.
2. Fill out the “Ethics of Experience” Padlet.

TUESDAY, 11/16: We’ll discuss and re-visit some ethical issues as they relate to our media experiences. We’ll also start prepping for Pub Trivia. After class…

Do this:

1. Listen and respond to at least one of your peers’ podcast episodes using the inline comment feature.
2. Revise one of your activations—either your spatial-self analysis, transmedia infographic, interface analysis, attraction analysis—in preparation for your end of the year digital portfolio and post it to our #publishing-stream. Add a few sentences about what you changed and why! Tag and shoutout folks who gave you good ideas.
3. Prep for Pub Trivia with your team.

THURSDAY, 11/18: RTVF 298 Pub Trivia

Week 10: No Class (Holiday)

Work on your final projects, but don’t stress out about it, and enjoy some good food and community, whatever that means to you. The only thing I ask you to do this week is to:

• Create and submit something to our #final-projects Slack channel to promote your final project experiences. This is where you reveal the title of your project to the world! Maybe you make a promotional paratext of some kind—a poster, brochure, animation, teaser website, tweet, or trailer? You might use this as an opportunity to let your audience know what they can expect (or, if you’re ready, give them instructions for something to do asynchronously?), but ultimately, this is about getting your fans (us) hype for next week!

Week 11: Final Project Experiences

TUESDAY, 11/30:

1. Tanner, Maya, Caden
2. Chris
3. Maddy
4. Sarah

THURSDAY, 12/2:

1. Samara
2. Ben
3. Olivia, Kendall, Mark
4. Sofia
5. Matt
6. Marcus

Week 12: Digital Portfolio

Please revise your work and submit your portfolio to #publishing-stream by Wednesday, December 8 so we have time to look at it and you have time to complete your final course self-evaluation, which I will send you once you submit your portfolio link.