Mediascape Meta Section Call For Papers
Fall 2016: Audience

New media’s ability to engage audiences alters the notion of media as static or absolute. Media today has a life of its own. Because of social media, the process of encoding today takes into account what the process of decoding will be like far more than ever before.


The Meta section of Mediascape is looking for essays, prose (consider this example: http://bombmagazine.org/article/7224/violeta-went-to-heaven), and video essays exploring media’s relationship to authorship. The topics may include but are not limited to explorations of authorship in cinema, digital media, social media (http://thenewinquiry.com/blogs/marginal-utility/social-media-is-not-self-expression/), video games, DVD/Blu-ray (types of releases from distributors of different countries, or in what format, what are the special features included, or how do bootlegged ‘home videos’ have advantages or disadvantages?), video-on-demand (including but not limited to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Vudu, Vimeo, YouTube, etc.) TV, webisodes, television series, and others.


Possible topic may include, but are not limited to:
- According to Barthes, the author is dead. When the concept of the author is eliminated, who or what takes its place? Consider the “showrunner”—a concept that originates from the US and is now spreading to other parts of the world, such as the UK. Why is a showrunner necessary? How does a showrunner differ from a writer, producer, director and executive producer? What is the showrunner’s role?
- What do independent filmmakers to retain authorship or creative control?
- What is the process that scripts go through in the development stage? What happens to the author by the time the film is “in the can?”
- How is authorship altered when users participate in social media? For instance, when a person shares an article on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, how does it get interpreted and released into the public sphere? What happens to the original message that the author of an article put in? Does it get distorted or changed?
- In a film like Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) where not only the filmmaker but also the actors were awarded the Palm d’Or at Cannes, what does it say about the recognition of authors in a film? In such a case, would the actors also be counted as authors of the film? If so, how does it change our perception of the criticisms of the film’s alleged “male gaze” and “voyeurism?”

The Meta section strives to use digital media in its presentation but is not required. Visual content—video or other media—is strongly encouraged. Submissions should be between 1000 and 5000 words (5-15 pages).

If you have questions about Meta submissions, or wish to submit a paper or abstract for consideration, please contact Grace Jung at Mediascape.Meta@gmail.com with the subject header “Mediascape Meta" by December 15, 2015.