Author Description

The Media Crease: Race, Gender, and Repetition examines the concept of "media creases" as sites of repetition to illuminate how media repetition works both as a tool for oppression and for resistance to that oppression. The media crease, as defined by Abigail De Kosnik, is the trace of repeated consumption of a media text, which, in analog formats, is a physical mark – the crease in the spine of a book where a reader has re-read the same pages over and over, or the glitch in a videotape where the viewer has re-watched the same scene over and over. On digital platforms, “creases,” or evidence of reuse, take the form of repetition – numerous reappearances of an image in one's social media feed (so that a user feels that their feed has been “taken over” by the image) or the employment of a hashtag such as #metoo, #BlackLivesMatter, or #StoptheSteal by thousands or millions of users on social networks in a short span of time. The contributors to this volume, led by De Kosnik and members of the UC Berkeley working group, The Color of New Media, explore the emotional responses brought about by media creases, highlighting the ways that individuals who “fall into” a media crease feel not alone, recognized, and seen by the external world, or a corner of it. This leads to positive experiences of community and self-acceptance as well as anti-social behaviors, such as commitments to conspiracy theories and fascistic political movements. The editors use various approaches including critical race theory, feminist theory, and media/cultural studies to highlight how media creases can be equally essential or oppressive to minoritized peoples.