Digital Media & Cultural Identities

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, which was successfully held earlier this year, was held against the backdrop of the COVID-19, and the vast majority of audience were unable to attend the event in person and had to use media channels to participate. While traditional media such as newspapers and television provided channels for sports viewers to learn about information and watch broadcasts, new media channels such as the Internet and social media provided platforms for sports viewers to exchange views and express their emotions. During the Olympic Games, sports viewers also took to social media in a patriotic frenzy under the stage of country-based sports competition. Whether it was cheering for their athletes in the live comment section of the Internet broadcast platform, collectively posting social media posts or comments congratulating athletes on their achievements, or posting articles about the rules of the sport and commenting on the judges’ decisions, the interactive use of...

           It was around mid-2019 when I stumbled upon a post on Facebook of one of my friends sharing a funny meme (which I unfortunately can’t find anymore) about a Western misunderstanding of Chinese culture. I laughed and related to the struggle. I didn’t realise at the time, but that was one of my first instances where I interacted with memes that represented Asian voices and struggles.   ‘Subtle Asian Traits’ was the name of the group that had posted it. Intrigued by their post and their group name, I naturally clicked on the group. Subtle Asian Traits (SAT) is a Facebook (FB) group that was created on September 2018 by a group of Asian-Australian students and currently has 2 million followers, making it one of the largest online Asian groups in the world. “Wow” was my first thought, as I scrolled through the numerous posts from users. Accepted submissions on the page ranged from personal celebrations of individuals ‘making it’ in the Wester...

2018 saw Indonesia's academia rocked to its core by the emergence of a sexual assault case that gripped the nation. What started as an issue exclusive to an Indonesian university (Universitas Gadjah Mada) soon transpired into a nationwide introspection towards its handling of sexual assault and harassment cases. The case in question revolved around two then-students of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM); 'HS', the perpetrator of the incident, and 'Agni', a pseudonym given to the victim. To summarise the timeline of events, both students had been assigned to the same mandatory community service group together in Eastern Indonesia; the incident took place in the summer of 2017 when Agni had chosen to stay at the perpetrator's hotel room rather than her assigned dormitory due to heavy rainfall and poor conditions for travelling from their community service site. Stories of the assault began to circulate within their group and it was not long before action was taken by t...

If you ever wondered how does it feel to have a tragic backstory, magical powers, the ability to fight, the sensation of saving a world, or how it feels to simply be of different gender or sexuality, you don’t have to look any further; all you need is a pair of dice, a character sheet and a group of friends to bring on an adventure. That is what Dungeons and Dragons is all about. Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a tabletop roleplaying game that includes a lot of rolling of dice, fun and drama, as well as gaining meaningful memories and connections. Set within a fantasy world full of magic, fights of the good and evil, and the perfect opportunity to try out and take on different identities. Of course, there are the more obvious possibilities- try out how life is for the various races, such as Elves or Dwarves to name a few, how it would feel to wield magic or be able to fight with sword and shield, however it brings up a more nuanced opportunity, for example to be of different genders ...

  A quick search for news from Bulgaria shows that the country has been organizing election after election and failing to form a stable government. Much is being said about the country’s corruption, a persistent problem that has prevented the state from entering the Schengen area for years. Dig further still and you will find discussions about the country’s role in NATO and the military aid provided to Ukraine. A problem that seems to get far less coverage, while being equally important, is that of the treatment of Roma people in Bulgaria. The question of Roma integration get continually pushed aside, in the hopes that one day it may magically resolve itself. While mainstream media may be slow to react, there are movements that make use of social media to challenge the anti-Roma sentiment which is prevalent in the country and seek better and more just representation for the community. People holding up the Romani flag One of these movements is the Roma Standing Conference which was...

Hello everyone! Today I would like to talk to you about the case of Alika Ogorchukwu, a 39-years-old Nigerian man who was killed in the street of Civitanova Marche (a town close to the place I come from in Italy), while begging for alms on July the 29 th , 2022. The fact took place in the city centre, in the middle of the day: Filippo Ferlazzo, a 32-years-old Italian guy killed Alika for simply begging for money. He declared that Alika was just “too intrusive in his begging”. Thus, he lost his temper and punched the Nigerian man to death. Talking to the police, later, he will imply that he was totally legitimate in killing a man for begging for money. Italian police closed the case guaranteeing it was not a hate crime, but just a simple fight ended up very bad.   The most shocking thing for me was when I discovered that there were people walking by and stopping by while the man was punching Alika to death; people were watching the scene, but nobody intervened! Someone yelle...

            Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang The changing of profile pictures in a gesture of solidarity towards a specific social justice movement has been around for many years.   However, I want to dedicate this text to the posting of black squares predominantly on Instagram and Twitter in the context of the Blackout Tuesday launched on June 2 nd , 2020, by Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, both executives of major record companies. #TheShowMustBePaused – a demand by both women who were calling for a day of action within the music industry as a reaction to the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmad Arbery. The call for action asked companies in the music industry for a 24-hour suspension of releasing any music and refraining from any business activities for the duration of that day. The businesswomen argued that while the music industry was benefiting off the work and talent of black and brown artists, the industry still lacked ...

  #BoycottQat ar2022: Where do you stand? #BoycottQatar2022 is a recent trending hashtag which has been gaining lots of attention either on social media or off- life. In fact, the hashtag is visibly related to the World Cup which is taking place in Qatar during these weeks and it is the product of all the discussions and controversies created around the big world-wide event.  I am not a huge fan of football (plus Italy, my home country, is not playing) so I have not been so interested to the World Cup, but it was impossible not to notice all the buzz that was generated around the event. As a matter of fact, #BoycottQatar2022 is everywhere on social media, and I started reading some tweets related to it some weeks ago. It was shocking for me realizing how many unethical episodes are related to Qatar.  Above you can see an image showing how the hashtag has also been used as a protest motto in stadiums.  Why do people want to boycott this big event? Qatar, as a na...

South Korea is one of the most economically and technologically advanced nations in Asia, yet it still maintains a socially conservative structure due to its deeply patriarchal society. Concerns have been raised surrounding the future of women in Korea due to the recently elected South Korean government’s anti-feminism sentiment and male supremacy ideologies. As evidenced by his claims that gender discrimination does not exist, South Korea’s newly elected conservative president openly condemns feminism . The rise in anti-feminism in South Korea has definitely been harnessed by the conservative president-elect, as his election only exacerbates the already enormous gender inequality that exists in the nation. Yoon Suk-Yeol became South Korea's president-elect in March, 2022. In light of the surge of anti-feminism sentiment in South Korea, I thought it would be interesting to write about how the cybersphere has become an unsafe environment for women and, as a result, has influenced ho...

Digital media play an immense role in our society. Especially younger people spend a lot of their time online. Whether it is Social Media networks, news apps, Youtube or blogs, the digital sphere merges more and more with different. The online sphere thus influences how our identities are created and shaped. No wonder there is also change happening regarding the way social activism is carried out. Many protests start as a single hashtag that can lead to demonstrations and actual change outside of the online world. A current example of online activism is the protest against the Iranian regime. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year old woman died on 16.9.2022 because of injuries she got when she was arrested for not wearing her hijab correctly a ccording to the regime’s policies. Following this murder, local protests emerged against the government and for women’s rights. Many people went to the streets to fight for their rights despite the risk of being arrested or hurt. This case depicts the struggle ...

  #BlackBoyJoy - Reconstructing the narrative of black masculinity  Over the last few years the #BlackBoyJoy has shown up on almost every platform from Twitter and Instagram to Youtube and TikTok. Turning more into a global social movement than just a hashtag having inspired books, poetry, art, films, content creators and much more. But where did this cultural phenomenon begin? What is its purpose and what makes it so special? And how does this all connect to digital media and cultural identities? Well these are just a few questions that my blogpost hopes to elaborate upon and critically discuss.  The story begins with Chance the Rapper whose lyrics, style and personality all exemplify the carefree black boy. Inspired by the way Chance embodied happiness and joy during the 2016 MTV’s Video Music Awards journalist and content creator Daniella Young coined the term ‘BlackBoyJoy’. Chance the Rapper’s inner child was truly shining at the 2016 VMAs. From his goofy dance moves ...