Aliens & Identities - Spring 2021

Class blog for Dr. Fowler's ENWR 1510 class at UVA

[angrycowboy]

the pod squad and their jean button up shirts

[nicolegendary]

I wanna be what my body wants me to be townie - mitski [x]

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

malex.

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

THE LIMITS OF INFINITE SCROLL: GIFSETS AND FANMIXES AS EVOLVING FAN TRADITIONS LOUISA STEIN / MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE

"For example, these West Wing/Hamilton gifsets layer Hamilton lyrics over West Wing imagery, or West Wing dialogue over Hamilton imagery, cumulatively orchestrating a multimodal conversation between these two fannishly beloved sources that represent American political issues and history."

Being a huge fan of Hamilton, I obviously loved this example provided in the article with the lyrics laid over the pictures. This style makes it so much more dramatic and the lyrics always perfectly match the moment. It really captures what is going on. I also live for the drama and the bold lyrics evoke stronger feelings. I have never seen this style before and I loved it.

[namtan]

1.05 / 2.13

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

THE LIMITS OF INFINITE SCROLL: GIFSETS AND FANMIXES AS EVOLVING FAN TRADITIONS LOUISA STEIN / MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE

“Fan gifsets in general can be usefully read through the lens of vidding in the sense that, like vidding, they select particular moments from the source text, some highly recognizable, some not, and recontextualize them among one another, in so doing revealing or establishing new visual and thematic patterns, offering distilled readings or new meanings born of new contexts and juxtapositions.”

I selected this sentence because I have never thought about fan gifsets (or fanmixes for that matter) in that way before. In fact, I typically don’t engage in gifsets that much, but knowing the general reasoning behind some carefully selected and articulated images makes them quite interesting and unique to me. After viewing “The Hamilton West Wing” and some gifset examples on Tumblr, I see what they mean by “offering distilled readings or new meanings born of new contexts and juxtapositions.” Similar to fan videos, we can pair images up together and (let’s say) create or emphasize a relationship between two or more people.

[laurieodell]

Michael’s not so bad after a shower… but you know that.

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

Here’s my gifset!

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

THE LIMITS OF INFINITE SCROLL: GIFSETS AND FANMIXES AS EVOLVING FAN TRADITIONS

“Tumblr conveys a sensation of limitlessness; no need to click on an arrow or the word ‘next’ to see what else fans have created, just keep scrolling and the Tumblr posts keep coming; (although there may indeed be a limit to how much we can take in as we endlessly scroll…) Likewise, 8tracks, while showcasing fan-created playlists of often 8-15 songs, autoplays from one playlist to the next.”

I really liked how the author emphasized the feeling of endlessness while scrolling through tumblr and listening to 8 tracks. I noticed the article was published in 2016 and since then I feel like the social media landscape has changed so much, but it seems like fandoms still stick with Tumblr as their primary medium. As somebody who never used Tumblr before taking this class, I was pretty confused by the interface at first, but now that I’m more familiar with it I can see why Fandoms haven’t completely migrated to other social platforms. Tumblr combines the sense of endlessness of other social media platforms, but with an added sense of creativity and flexibility as to what you can share. 

[ober-affen-geil]

insp.

Image description here or below

Begin description

Gif 1:   Behind the school bleachers flashback to ten years before the start of  the show, season 1 episode 6. Teen Michael is sitting on the tailgate of  his truck, his back to Alex who is walking away behind him. He has a  slightly confused, considering look on his face and he turns to look  over his shoulder at Alex. The text reads “Love isn’t a fact” with the word “fact” large and italicized.  

Gif 2:  In the tool shed flashback to ten years before the start of the show,  season 1 episode 6. Closeup on teen Michael, who is clearly having a  silent personal revelation. Alex is behind him, out of focus. The text  reads “It’s a hunch at first” with the word “hunch” large and italicized.    

Gif 3:  In the UFO Emporium flashback to ten years before the start of the show,  season 1 episode 6. Teen Michael is facing Alex (whose back is to the  camera). He is shy, but he takes in Alex’s expression and makes a sudden decision. He  steps forward and cups his hands on either side of Alex’s neck and  kisses him chastely but solidly on the lips. The text reads “And then later a series of decisions” with the word “decisions” large and italicized.  

Gif 4:  Outside Michael’s trailer, season 1 episode 2. Michael reaches out to  grab Alex (who is mostly out of frame) by the arm. The text  reads “A lifetime of decisions” with the word “lifetime” large and italicized.  

Gif 5:  In the junkyard, season 1 episode 9. Michael is looking at Alex (out of  frame). His mouth is slightly open as he listens to whatever he’s  saying, and he closes it gently in a fond smile. He looks almost lit from within. The text reads “That’s love” with the word “love” large and italicized.    

End description

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

here is my chosen gif set!

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

The Limits of Infinite Scrolling

“Perhaps this is most clearly seen in Tumblr’s “infinite scrolling.” Where the interface limitations of Tumblr are many, and can make it feel very opaque and confusing to newcomers, at the same time Tumblr conveys a sensation of limitlessness”

I think that this quote sums up this article pretty well. With the use and improvement of technology tumblr has turned into a very well known popular website. It is a different way for people to interact. As said in the quote you can just keep scrolling and scrolling. Tumblr is a less formal site and I think that appeals to people. There is no right or wrong way to write on Tumblr. It allows there to be a wide variety of options when you are scrolling. You can see a written post, gifs, videos and more.

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

THE LIMITS OF INFINITE SCROLL: GIFSETS AND FANMIXES AS EVOLVING FAN TRADITIONS LOUISA STEIN / MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE

“For example, these West Wing/Hamilton gifsets layer Hamilton lyrics over West Wing imagery, or West Wing dialogue over Hamilton imagery, cumulatively orchestrating a multimodal conversation between these two fannishly beloved sources that represent American political issues and history.”

I had never really seen this style of gif set before, with the lyrics or dialogue from one show overlayed onto another show. However, I find it extremely effective in this case, and it intrigues me to wonder if there are further connections between the two shows!

[mcqraw]

we connected like something… COSMIC

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

malex!

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

Louisa K. Stein, "The Limits of Infinite Scroll: GIF Sets and Fan Mixes as Evolving Fan Traditions"

I’m really surprised by how people can dedicate so much to the characters they love, the fandom world shows that. I did not know someone would actually be willing to create and manipulate their character’s stories because they love to do it. The infinite scroll idea is just so ideal, fans from anywhere can search desired hashtags and all they have to do is scroll until there aren’t any published work anymore. This is a great way, like Tumblr, where fans can share their opinions and become inspired by others’ work.

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

Fan Fiction Reactions

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30882911

The Family that Stays Together

I liked this one because it encapsulates the mannerisms that the characters seem to use. The speech patterns seemed natural and topic of conversation seemed to be on point also. The concept of the story was interesting and added to the mood of the story, which was a bit different than any mood that the episodes offered. Overall, the use of both a new mood and old characters made the story enjoyable to read.

Manes Man

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30746417/chapters/75885212

This was a creative idea of an incident that definitely could’ve happened in the show. Without spoiling, it shows the pain that Jesse Manes can inflict, but also the idea that he has no remorse for his actions. Creative idea and well-written.

A Fool’s Day Surprise

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30597176

The idea for this story was pretty creative. While it was a little bit far-fetched of a prank, it certainly was one that showed the author’s knowledge of Michael and how seriously he took his alien studies and secrecy. At the end, the story proved to have a happy ending too, which is always nice.

[thatonekimgirl]

“C’mon, I love this song.”

[aliensandidentity-sp21]

The Limits of Infinite Scroll

“Perhaps this is most clearly seen in Tumblr’s “infinite scrolling.” Where the interface limitations of Tumblr are many, and can make it feel very opaque and confusing to newcomers, at the same time Tumblr conveys a sensation of limitlessness”

I find the fandom world to be very interesting.It isn’t surprising to me that people love characters so much, but it is surprising that they create stories about them, identify with them, or create in general for them with such great detail and emotion. I feel as though tumblr is a really great place for all of this to come together since anyone can post what they want when they want, and it can reach a target audience using a hashtag. If people want to continue reading or looking at posts about a certain topic, all they have to do is scroll until there isn’t anymore work published with that tag. Even in your feed, it never ends, posts just keep coming. I think it is a really interesting way to get people involved or invested in something that they maybe never heard about until they scrolled past it. 

[angrycowboy]

Save a horse, ride a cowboy