Abstract
This paper is a practical and theoretical look at the notion of “emojis as civic duty.” I frame the discussion in terms of an “emoji code” that goes beyond an evolution of natural languages to integrate more fundamentally into specific experiences, particular communities, and a networked regime of images. I revisit media, communications, and cultural studies’ “circuit of culture” as an alternative theoretical frame to prevailing linguistic theories on the function of emojis. The circuit endures because it helps us to recognize a politics of the image beyond form and function, signaling an interplay between consumption, production and vitally a politics of live-video streaming media. I offer an analysis of “emojis as civic duty” through the case of an Esports champion called Syed Sumail Hassan, and I conclude by suggesting where future study is necessary for a more robust understanding of gamers as citizens.
Presenters
Ilya BrookwellAssistant Professor, Media and Cultural Studies, University of California Riverside, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Emojis, Gamer, Citizen, Streaming, Twitch, Esports, Civic Duty, Culture
