A Culture Made of Algorithms

I've been working with the Virtual Reality Archive Learning Project (ViRAL) at Coventry University's Centre for PostDigital Cultures and I'm inviting you to the closing presentation!

On March 31st, 2021, the UK government published a report which claimed institutional racism no longer existed in British Society. Interested by this bold conclusion, I reviewed the report, uncovering a bubbling disdain for academic rigour, qualitative data and the people who the report researches. 

In this episode, I go through my findings of the report, some of the controversies surrounding it and what I hope to do with this report moving forward.



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Neoliberalism is a socio-economic model that exists everywhere, but what happens when it exists inside a media text that is set in a world that has been destroyed by nuclear war? Well, I go to town explaining what that's a thing and how it's a problem because lets be honest, we treat money like it's magical. 

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THE ESSAY THAT STARTED THIS PODCAST:
R.W. Connell's* theory of Hegemonic Masculinity argues that men exert their power in society through the expression of patriarchy to control the people through ideology.  I take this argument, support it with Stuart Hall's Decoding principal and argue that it's so influential as an ideology, that when feminist works go out to debunk patriarchal norms, they sometimes end up perpetuating it instead. How is this possible? Take a look at 'Workin Moms' on Netflix.

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Clubhouse is a new, invite and audio-only social media platform that was popularised by celebrities and media professionals who flocked to the platform as it went into a beta-release.  Featuring on Twitter daily for the shenanigans people get themselves into this episode talks about my findings and experiences on the app so far. 

Having gotten access to the platform this December, this episode gives my thoughts on i

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Going through the archive this week, I've come good on a promise to share with you a previously unreleased, juicy portion of content by Eeds Mckenzie, Co-Host of Don't Alert the Stans Podcast and Host of AndWithTech, UX/UI Designer and overall tech fanatic. We talk about Tiktok, social media and surveillance, Ruha Benjamin's Race After Technology and I pretend to be a Dolphin with echolocation.

Find his podcasts here: 

Thank you so much to everyone who took part in the weekly polls, who used this podcast in your own discussions and for tuning in!

This episode will be the last before a short break, so make sure to keep an eye on me on Twitter, Vero and Youtube for the latest updates and releases! 

*Re-UPLOADED* Women, Queer and Ethnic Minority voices are frequently touted to be ignored in media representation. But what are the gripes these groups have?

In this episode, I outline these arguments and which demographic they are drawing the biggest comparison to, their main arguments and skirt precariously close to hitting an SJW bingo. 

Credits:

In the second of a three part mini-series on representation, we look at the police as a state body and why media representation matters to them and by extension, other state bodies as a part of a hegemonic cultural and pollical power in a culture made of algorithms, a podcast that takes a look at our media consumption, the culture it produces and the societies left behind.

Take part in the weekly poll by following me on Twitter: @ACMOAPod Message me on Vero www.vero.co/omaralleyne Email the podcast: aculturemadeofalgorithms@gmail.com

Credits:
All Images belong to their respective copyright holders.

Salutations Listener. Sorry I kept saying 'As such' and apologises to Kay and Skittles for calling you Key and Skittle.
Everyone else whos name I got wrong, you get a smaller sorry. 

So this week we move into the final mini-series of the season, opening a dialogue around representation and why people even give a hoot about it. But because media representations aren't always what they seem, this episode focuses on 'semiotics' and how semiotic analysis helps to uncover the who, what and why people care about representations in media texts and how some readings land on some startling conclusions. 

Take part in the weekly poll by following me on Twitter: @ACMOAPod Message me on Vero www.vero.co/omaralleyne Email the podcast: aculturemadeofalgorithms@gmail.com  

Credits:
All Images belong to their respective copyright holders. 

Shock Algorithms are loosely defined as pieces of code which show users of a platform distressing content. This is based on a belief that distressing content forces an emotional response from a user and thus, keeps them engaging with the platform longer. And as user engagement is vital to a platforms business sustainability, shock algorithms seem like a useful tool for the producer. However, social media platforms aren’t well understood and thus, shock algorithms are heavily contested to even exist.

With this argument in mind, this episodes looks at and evaluates three schools of thought which argue why and how a shock algorithm might exist - but also how click restraint might be the key to breaking the shock cycle.

Take part in the weekly poll by following me on Twitter: @ACMOAPod

In the relationship between producers and their audiences, the role of the consumer is regularly undermined. So in this episode, I address four different ways we as consumers have, can and continue to exercise our consumer power. 

This episode uses the work of Dan Laughey, Abraham Maslow, Elihu Katz, Paul Lazarsfeld, Joseph Klapper and John Fiske as the background research. Not all of these great theorists had their names pronounced correctly though. 

Music History is more than just a history of its composition, structure and artistry. Additionally, it is an indicator of technological progress and a way to track the mutation, adaptation and growth of a society. 

This week, I use a brief history of music consumption to track the societal change of behaviours and attitudes towards ownership and our arts.

In April 2020, amidst the global shutdown due to COVID 19, Universal Pictures CEO announced that Universal Pictures films will be releasing on streaming platforms to rent simultaneously alongside cinema releases. Since then, questions have arisen about the future of cinemas as a business, an experience and a cultural icon. 

IN this episode, I tackle those and also the debate around cinemas being relevent in the next phase of our society, the role Home Cinema movements will play in this changing environment and what barriers the cinema industry have to overcome.

WE'VE MADE IT! In celebration of surviving the first season, this week's episode takes a look at your poll responses for the past 9 episodes, responds to your responses, gives free clout to the people who replied and celebrates your listenership with some gems from the past season.

Gen Z (or Gen Z, depending on who you ask) is a marketing conundrum.  With an age gap of 18 years and the power of the internet at their disposal; entire market segments have grown, evolved and been created using their economic and cultural power.

As such, I've invited the marketing insight dynamic duo of Imagen's founders; Forbes' 30 Under 30' Jay Richards and Media Week's Rising Star award winner, Cat Agostino to help make sense of Gen Z. Together, we have an interesting QandA about the dilemmas companies have when looking at Gen Z customers, the fabric of the Gen Z demographic and what the future might look like when Gen Z's potential is fully realised. 

Alex Reads, mental health advocate, writer and public speaker opens the guest series with a fantastic discussion on social media, its impact on our mental health and the duty of care platforms have to their users. We discuss things like boundaries, using our autonomy more wisely as we dive into our motivations and experiences of using social media at such a draining time during a legislative lockdown. 

Online Dating has become a $3bn market in the USA, with users creating cultures that media critics, users and observers can't help but comment on, online dating has evolved from being just a 90's fad.
But how has Online Dating changed our culture? Are there any impacts we should know about and who benefits from all of this? In this episode, I look at those questions and find a surprising answer.

This week, I challenge the idea of the homoerotic, but completely, utterly and totally straight theory by George Louis Tin: The homosocial world. I also analyse what it means, how it applies and what it's connection is to feudalism in the 21st Century. 

Being online is all fine and dandy until you upset the stans and now they're saying your baby is ugly and your job is going nowhere. But why are people like this? In this episode, I explore the nature of Parasocial relationships; from what they are, to why people get involved with them.