Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet

摘要: In the nineties, neoliberalism simultaneously provided context for Internets rapid uptake in United States and discouraged public conversations about racial politics. At same time many scholars lauded widespread use of text-driven interfaces as a solution to problem intolerance. Todays online world is witnessing such e-mail instant messaging giving way far more visually intensive commercially driven media forms that not only reveal but showcase peoples racial, ethnic, gender identity. Lisa Nakamura, leading scholar examination race digital media, uses case studies popular yet rarely examined Internet pregnancy Web sites, messaging, petitions quizzes look at emergence race-, ethnic-, gender-identified visual cultures. While Hollywood cinema continue depict nonwhite nonmales passive audiences or consumers rather than producers, Nakamura argues contrarywith examples ranging from Jennifer Lopez music videos; films including Matrix trilogy, Gattaca, Minority Report; joke sitesthat users color women vigorously articulate their own types virtual community, avatar bodies, associate professor speech communication Asian American University Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She author Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, Identity on coeditor, with Beth Kolko Gilbert Rodman, Race Cyberspace.