E. J. White

A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

This cultural history reveals how cats became the undisputed mascot of the internet-"an essential look at life online" (Ryan Milner, author of The World Made Meme). Journalists and their readers seem to need no explanation for the line, "The internet is made of cats." Everyone understands the joke, but few know how it started. A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet is the first book to explore the history of how the cat became the internet's best friend. Internet cats can differ in dramatic ways, from the goth cats of Twitter to the glamourpusses of Instagram to the giddy, nonsensical silliness of Nyan Cat. But they all share common traits and values. Bringing together fun anecdotes, thoughtful analyses, and hidden histories of the communities that built the internet, Elyse White shows how japonisme, punk culture, cute culture, and the battle among different communities for the soul of the internet informed the sensibility of online felines. Internet cats offer a playful and useful way to understand how culture shapes-and is shaped by-technology. Western culture has used cats for centuries as symbols of darkness, pathos, and alienation. The communities that helped build the internet represented themselves as outsiders, with snark and alienation at the core of their identity. Thus cats became the sine qua non of cultural literacy for the Extremely Online, as well as an everyday medium of expression for the rest of us. Whatever direction the internet takes next, the "series of tubes" is likely to remain cat-shaped.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 168
• Erscheinungstermin: 25. Mai 2023
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781503614031
• Artikelnr.: 60062412

Autorenporträt

Elyse White is Associate Professor of Digital Humanities at Stony Brook University, and the author of The Republic of Games (2018) and You Talkin' to Me? The Unruly History of New York English (2020). A self-professed dog person, she's now the human associate of Aaron Purr and multiple foster kittens.

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction
1. The Semiotic History of Grumpy Cats
2. The Great LOLcat Massacre
3. Extremely Online Felines
4. The Three Lives of Internet Cats
Epilogue: Late Adopter