· These fieldnotes will be exclusively web-based. The goal of this digital research is to study the digital self-branding the group, primarily through the group’s blog and individual members’ Twtitter accounts. Initial research about general group information has given me the following:
o Odd Future consists of over 14 members, some of whom are rappers, producers, or general “hype men”
o Within the group, there are multiple sub-groups (MellowHype, The Jet Age of Tomorrow, EarlWolf, and the Internet) made up of different members of Odd Future
o Because of the many different members in the group, each of whom plays a very different role within it, it is hard to always point out a universal tone in their Twitters
o Tyler, the Creator will usually be referenced as the lead member of the group, as he produces many of the beats, is featured heavily in the rapping, and is generally regarded as the poster child of Odd Future
· Group Tumblr (http://oddfuture.tumblr.com)
o “Bitch Suck Dick” motif
o Promotion of individual members’ albums/singles/videos
o Upside-down cross à demonic imagery
o Skater videos
o Los Angeles iconography – skaters, Amoeba, Venice, etc.
o Videos of the boys fooling around and being rambunctious on tour
o MTV Video Music Awards – comparison and connectedness with other celebrities raises one’s notoriety and legitimacy
o Appeal to marijuana consumers
o Still very much feels like the group Tumblr of a group of young teenage boys, using Tumblr as a social platform mainly used for propogating their jokes and musings
· Individual member Twitter accounts
o @fucktyler (Tyler, the Creator)
§ Hypersexualized (Irony? Humor?)
§ MY FEMALE GIVES ORAL LIKE SHE GIVES ORAL MY FEMALE GIVES ORAL LIKE SHE GIVES ORAL MY FEMALE GIVES ORAL LIKE SHE GIVES ORAL. TOMRROW AT 8
§ FUCK I DONT WANNA GET OLD. BEING 30 IS LIKE, YOU CANT REALLY DO FUN SHIT LIKE YOU DID WHEN YOU WERE 20. FUCK.
§ [Feels like he is lost in a celebrity world] Whole Foods Is The Gayest Store
§ Dark Skinned Dykes. Top 10 Porn Titles
§ depicted as the stoner of the group
§ blazed.
o @oddfuckingtaco (Taco)
§ Relatively misogynistic, but still in a very bully, teenage way
§ I'm a fat bitch, i'm crying cause this hamburger is so good
· I will get more information, particularly in the individual member Twitters, as there are many more members in the group that I have not yet studied. My general perception thus far is that Odd Future as a cohesive group, represents/brands itself (primarily through their group Tumblr) using various repeating motifs (antichrist, skater, LA crew, hypersexualization). The individuals of the group, who differ in projected personalities and very much satisfy different niches in the group, while pulling on these same group-ascribed themes, each emphasize different aspects. Frankie Ocean, usually seen as the songcrafter of the group, puts on a romantic persona. Tyler projects himself in a blatantly, questionably ironic, misogynistic and nihilistic voice.
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ReplyDeleteBlogger Epaulettes said...
ReplyDeleteWill,
Notes on the fieldnotes.
To begin, way to organize your fieldnotes around the web impression. Obviously for a group who owe not just their fame but their entire aura to their online presence, looking at this online apparatus is a must. I can already sense how you might be going about crafting the general arc of your project.
You have made some interesting observations on the twitter front. Well Done.
While the academic musings of the blogosophere and contemporary media have done, in the aggregate, a fairly thorough investigation of Odd Future (i.e. New Yorker profile of Earl, NYTimes stories), it is heartening that you make no mention of these. This is obviously in the spirit of your ethnography and will make your project both more research-intensive and far more fruitful
Keep up the good work.
-Houston
Sounds like a very interesting approach to a very interesting topic. I'm curious as to how far you will be able to go in studying the subculture revolving around Odd Future strictly through the use of social media. Are you planning on spending a decent amount of time on Facebook and twitter dissecting their fan base? I especially like your approach to the project, as in many ways Odd Future might not have taken off without social media and the internet, so what better way to trace the subculture surrounding them then through the medium through which they helped create it?
ReplyDeleteI really like your approach to taking virtual fieldnotes. I think looking at Twitter and Tumblr is especially relevant to your project and will provide a constant source of information as you continue. How do you plan on honing in on a few recurrent themes across this wealth of constant information? Is there worth in examining replies to this material, both critical/analytical and casual? Are the personas you describe consisten across all of their publication outlets, or is there room for fluidity?
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading more,
Tristan
Great start. It's worth bearing in mind that web-based ethnography has some special advantages when it comes to investigating the (relatively recent) past, since so much material tends to be archived. For instance, how far back do the Twitter feeds go? Can you identify any shifts in representational choices over time? I agree with Alex that doing a complementary reading of fan discourse will be essential to the project (I'm sure you're already planning on that). One note on "blogginess": don't forget that you can easily include screenshots of Twitter feeds etc. rather than just retyping verbal content.
ReplyDelete