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Browsing by Author "Diffrient, David Scott, committee member"

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    A fandom framework: critical digital media literacy in first-year composition curriculum
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Wigginton, Brook, author; Amidon, Timothy R., advisor; Szymanski, Erika, committee member; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member
    Critical digital media literacy is an important factor in everyday life and in academia, but it has failed to gain momentum in first-year writing studies as a necessary literacy for students to develop. A comparative analysis of two first-year composition programs and the inclusion of autoethnographic examples is done to explore how critical digital media literacy is valued in current curriculum and to showcase its potential. Findings indicate that, while critical digital literacy is, in fact, a major part of first-year composition curriculum, it is not overtly named as such. The power in naming the literacies composition instructors expect students to enact and learn should not be underestimated, and composition scholars must renegotiate how we teach students to navigate our increasingly digitally mediated world. An example of how a fandom framework might name and develop those literacies is offered.
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    An indie hype cycle built for two: a case study of the Pitchfork album reviews of Arcade Fire and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Ernst, Samuel R., author; Lupo, Jonathan, advisor; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member; Thompson, Deborah, committee member
    This thesis investigates the whims of critical reception in the indie rock world and its effects upon the hype cycle. I define the indie hype cycle as a naturalized communicative process governing the flow of critical favor within the indie music community and identify its four primary phases as entrance on to the scene, hype generation, backlash, and obscurity/visibility. To understand the interaction between the hype cycle and critical reception, the project focuses on Arcade Fire and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (CYHSY) as two bands emblematic of the critical divergence possible after initial success. It compares the reviews of the bands' debut and sophomore albums by Pitchfork, a prominent indie music website, and identifies genre, elitism, and authenticity as key constructs in the way the site frames the bands as indie, and thus, worthy of praise. I argue that an economy of authenticity--featuring emotional, economic, and talent-based forms--affects the indie hype cycle in a variety of ways. The thesis concludes that the mechanics of indie music criticism have extensive influence upon the indie hype cycle. The initial framing of band authenticity that accompanies debut releases can have years-long ramifications on the way that band is received and covered in the indie press. To inform its analysis, the thesis draws upon a wide variety of scholars including Ryan Hibbet, Michael Albrecht, and Devon Powers, along with commentators from the popular music press including Carl Wilson and Nitsuh Abebe.
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    Developing (super)citizenship: constituting idealized American citizenship in the Avengers: Earth's mightiest heroes
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Luurs, Geoffrey, author; Anderson, Karrin, advisor; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member; Marx, Nicholas, committee member; Martey, Rosa, committee member
    This thesis explores two elements of character design in select episodes from the animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Disney XD 2010-2012) that guide audiences towards dominant readings of idealized American citizenship utilizing both close textual analysis and ideographic criticism. I argue that select episodes of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes contain representations of hyper-patriotic Americanized superheroes and un-American super villains which work together to teach viewers about dominant ideologies of Americanness and un-Americanness. In doing so, the text directs viewers towards a specific understanding of how to become idealized American (super)citizens.
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    Gaming culture, motivation, and cathartic experience: an ethnographic study of tabletop roleplaying streamers
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Sagstetter, Seth, author; Snodgrass, Jeffrey G., advisor; Cohen, Adrienne J., committee member; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member
    With the rise of online, streamed entertainment and the resurgence of tabletop roleplaying games in popular media, it has become essential to examine participation motivations in the tabletop streaming space. To investigate play and community participation motivations I have drawn from my own decade long experiences in the tabletop space and initial observations of tabletop roleplay streams to inform interviews of seventeen active streamers. Interviews were further enhanced by both participating in a tabletop stream and observing streams online over the live streaming platform Twitch. Player relations to character and a desire to engage in game play emerged as motivations to initially participate in streaming roleplaying games. Once engaged in the broader tabletop community, players found themselves better able to express their ideal selves and, building upon psychological anthropological theories on cultural norm congruence, better fit into a community with new, alternative cultural norms that more closely aligned with players of marginalized identity. Player character relationship and the safety brought about by alternative cultural norms also allowed for the emergence of therapeutic benefits of play, through cathartic experience. The safety to express ideal selves, the comfort brought on by more closely aligning with the community's norms, and the relief of emergent cathartic experiences best explain player motivations to return to online streaming groups.
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    Gather me
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Bailey, Daniel, author; Steensen, Sasha, advisor; Cooperman, Matthew, committee member; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member
    The poems in GATHER ME oscillate between the holy and the profane while seeking to deconstruct God and create a new system of belief. The poems also deal with a universal you and an I that can be split infinitely and regathered into a new being.
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    Hong Kong's Umbrella and Hard Hat revolutions: toward a theory of the ideology of protest strategies
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Gilmore, Andrew, author; Dickinson, Greg, advisor; Aoki, Eric, committee member; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member; Mao, KuoRay, committee member
    In this study, I analyzed Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella Revolution and 2019 Hard Hat Revolution to answer two research questions: (1) What ideologies characterize the protest strategies of Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution and Hard Hat Revolution? and (2) What protest mechanisms communicate the ideologies of the protest strategies of Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution and Hard Hat Revolution? Using participant interviews, mass media, social media, and my own embodied experiences, I analyzed three major protest mechanisms of the two revolutions—metaphors of the home, the use of public transportation infrastructure, and the portrayal of political leaders. My analysis led me to uncover two distinct theoretical protest ideologies that characterize the Umbrella and Hard Hat Revolutions—One World, One Dream (Umbrella Revolution) and Our World, Our Dream (Hard Hat Revolution)—and the tenets that undergird these two ideologies. My development of the two ideologies revealed that the two major differences in ideological approaches and their communication mechanisms derived from different audiences—the target audience for the Umbrella Revolution was potential external allies, while the target audience for the Hard Hat Revolution was the Hong Kong police force and the Hong Kong and Beijing governments.
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    "Lovingly tweaked": genre and gender in Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Cox, Jessica I., author; Chung, Hye Seung, advisor; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member; Sloane, Sarah, committee member
    This thesis explores genre and gender in Joss Whedon's web miniseries, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. The plot of the web miniseries follows Billy, whose alter ego is the wannabe villain, Dr. Horrible. He spends the majority of the miniseries attempting to commit villainous crimes that will, he hopes, get him placed into the Evil League of Evil, falling for the woman he has a crush on, Penny, and avoiding his arch nemesis, the hero Captain Hammer. The web miniseries is representative of elements of Joss Whedon's auteur signature, also holding implications for the director's self-declared "feminist agenda." This thesis utilizes genre theory and conversations about the musical genre to analyze how Dr. Horrible revises the musical genre. Furthermore, the differences between the musical and non-musical sequences serve to illustrate the duality of Billy's character. The analysis also delves into the tensions between civilized, primitive, hysterical and hegemonic masculinities, as Billy/Dr. Horrible ultimately struggles with all of these forms. Although Billy/Dr. Horrible's struggle with masculinity is central to the narrative of the web miniseries, the depiction of femininity and Penny's character is also explored. Finally, after exploring the role of Whedon's auteur signature, and genre and gender in the web miniseries, the thesis explores the relation between Dr. Horrible and convergence culture, and the role of the web miniseries in the evolution of the Internet as a mode of distribution.
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    User-driven role-playing in Final Fantasy XIV: immersion, creative labor, and psychosocial well-being
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Tate, Rachel, author; Snodgrass, Jeffrey G., advisor; Kwiatkowski, Lynn, committee member; Diffrient, David Scott, committee member
    Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) give each user the starring role, drawing them into the game's story and world through their character avatar. Some, however, take role-playing (colloquially, "roleplaying" or "RP") further by constructing deep and complex narratives for their characters and pitting them against others in new and often spontaneous stories that emerge from collaborative efforts. This research looks at the RP community in the MMO Final Fantasy XIV in order to understand how and why RPers choose this form of play in a game already rich with activities. Specifically, I aim to shed light on the relationship between RP and psychosocial well-being. Drawing on perspectives from game studies, media fandom studies, and positive psychology, this research examines RP through a tripartite model of avenues towards well-being: play, flow, and sociality. A mixed-methods approach is used to gather ethnographic data through participant observation and interviews while also sampling broad patterns through a field survey. A cognitive anthropological "cultural models" consensus and consonance methodology allows for the culture of RP to be assessed in its capacity to reinforce and encourage positive experiences for its participants. Findings suggest that RP is a fulfilling activity because of its ability to enhance immersion and flow in the game world and the meaningful social connections that are forged through creative collaboration. However, RPers who are lonely or who become overinvested in the activity are more likely to have negative experiences if they cannot learn to play in an adaptive manner.