Jason Mittell
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jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell
@jmittell.bsky.social
6.5K followers 1.1K following 1.9K posts

Media studies professor at Middlebury College; video essayist & author of videographic book on Breaking Bad; author of written books on TV, narrative theory, etc.; journal manager of @intransition.bsky.social . [he/him] https://linktr.ee/jmittell .. more

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Jason Mittell is a professor of American studies and film and media culture at Middlebury College whose research interests include the history of television, media, culture, new media, and digital humanities. He is author of four books, Genre and Television (2004), Television and American Culture (2009), Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling, and Narrative Theory and Adaptation. He also co-edited How To Watch Television and co-authored The Videographic Essay: Practice and Pedagogy. His digital-humanities activities focus primarily on videographic media criticism and, in 2015, he co-founded the first "Scholarship in Sound & Image" workshop, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Moreover, he is journal manager and co-editor of [in]Transition: Journal of Videographic Film & Moving Studies, published by the Open Library of Humanities and supported by the Society for Cinema and Media Studies. .. more

Communication & Media Studies 39%
Art 14%
Posts Replies Media Videos
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jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · Nov 10
There wasn't a good list of accounts related to video essays - so I made this starter pack! Who did I miss? Who do you know who should join Bluesky to share & talk about video essays?
go.bsky.app/PtthhCc

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Jennifer A. Johnson

jael.bsky.social
jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 19h
this @katelynburns.com piece about the death of lia smith deserves your full attention

www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...
Politicizing Transgender Athletes Is Dangerous. Lia Smith Deserved Better.
"Let her passing be an inflection point for how you think about trans rights and trans people more generally."
www.teenvogue.com

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Jason Mittell, Joe R. Feagin , and 6 more

bakerdphd.bsky.social
Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 2d
What an amazing essay from the former chair of Africana Studies at Bowdoin. I'll share a few sections in the reply but seriously, read the whole thing. It's all insightful and beautifully written.

lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Michael Barnett, Michael S. Rosenberg , and 30 more

brittanytrang.com
Brittany Trang @brittanytrang.com · 3d
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 6d
Musk will get the Boring Company to build tunnels for a billionaire Underground Railroad. It will collapse due to Grok-led engineering.

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 6d
"Children of acclaimed film directors" is the new ideal candidate qualification

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Rosemary A. Joyce, David R. Miller , and 3 more

attackerman.bsky.social
Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 6d
All day, many of you have been asking for a Cheney obituary from me. Get ready:
His Works Completed, Dick Cheney, Mass Murderer of Iraqis and American Democracy, Dies
As much as the Trumpists claim to disavow the War on Terror, they walk a path paved by the most powerful vice president in U.S. history.
www.thenation.com

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 6d
Today's listen in honor of Dick Cheney:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi_Y...
Tramp the Dirt Down
YouTube video by Elvis Costello - Topic
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Kim L. Scheppele, Jason Mittell , and 1 more

pamkeithdc.bsky.social
Pam Keith @pamkeithdc.bsky.social · 9d
The thing about Johnson not swearing in Grijalva is that’s it a test for 2026.

If you think they will accept an outcome they don’t like, they will just Grijalva it.

So what’s the plan when the GOP says “we ain’t leaving, fuck you, make us.”

Because that IS what they are going to say.

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 10d
I’m a gray-haired, upper-middle-aged, arguably-esteemed professor and father of adult children. And yet, walking down a street in Berlin, I instantly become a 12-year-old boy:
Street sign reading Dickhardtstraße

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 11d
Sitting in a Berlin café and “Crystal Blue Persuasion” comes on over the sound system. Suddenly I am flooded with images of meth cooking, distribution and money laundering from one of the greatest montage sequences ever put to film.

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 11d
Had a wonderful time today in Berlin at the Serial Encounters symposium in honor of @fkelleter.bsky.social ! I talked about his contributions to theories of seriality and influence on my own work - but I did make a slide for the hypothetical paper I wish I'd given!
Caption: “Coffee Mugs, Shoes, Toilets & Shadows: The Object-Oriented Online Aesthetics of Frank Kelleter’s Photography” Slide with pictures of an empty coffee mug, legs/shoes of three people, a toilet, and a shadowy image.

Reposted by Jason Mittell

indivisible.org
Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 12d
Do you use Spotify Premium? Cancel your subscription until Spotify stops running ICE ads. There are other streaming options that don’t profit from exploiting artists while recruiting for ICE: indivisible.org/cancel-spoti... #CancelSpotify
(between images of the Spotify logo that have been crossed out) DON’T STREAM FASCISM Spotify is treating ICE recruitment like just another ad. But when you turn family separation into a marketing pitch, you're not a platform — you're spreading propaganda. • Cancel your Spotify Premium subscription until Spotify removes all ICE ads • Demand Spotify immediately terminate all ICE and DHS advertising contracts. • Urge artists and podcasters to speak out.

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 12d
I'm in Europe this semester, and for some reason it's not available here. It's one of the few things I'm looking forward to upon returning to the US...

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 12d
As always, @biblioracle.bsky.social nails the core challenges and conflicting definitions undermining the teaching/learning of writing right now - this time in a clear list of bullet points that take you through his argument!

Reposted by Jason Mittell

biblioracle.bsky.social
John Warner @biblioracle.bsky.social · 13d
I think we should still teach students writing, not AI-assisted document production. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
Writing Classes Are About Writing, Not AI-Aided Production
If we want students to learn to write, AI tools shouldn’t have much of a role. If we don’t think students need to learn to write anymore, I’m not sure what we’re doing here.
www.insidehighered.com

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Jason Mittell, Scott A. Imberman , and 1 more

bakerdphd.bsky.social
Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 13d
I couldn't even pick my favorite line from Tressie because it's all of them (gift)

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
Opinion | A Nazi Tattoo Exposes Democrats’ Greatest Weakness
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Will Jennings, Timothy D. McBride

ourflagmeansbeth.bsky.social
HerRoyalThighness @ourflagmeansbeth.bsky.social · 13d
This is probably the funniest headline of the year.
Donald Trump Confuses Dementia Screening for 'Very Hard' IQ Test as He Brags About Results People

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 13d
Got it. I saw some say that the college banned her, which is something we could fight for locally.

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 13d
Have you found a source for this? I teach at Middlebury and want to advocate on this, but want to know what is being said. Thanks!

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 14d
It's really fun to wake up in Berlin and see a bunch of friends cracking wise in baseball stupors while I drink my morning coffee. Congrats/condolences to all who made it to through the game!

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 17d
Not counting films _about_ the music (e.g. 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould; Fantasia):

I love the Debussy "Claire de Lune" cue in the fountain scene in Ocean's Eleven

Reposted by Reece Jones, Anna O. Law, Jason Mittell , and 33 more

andrewkostrub.bsky.social
Andy Kostrub @andrewkostrub.bsky.social · 19d
Updating my LEGO White House

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 22d
This piece by @tressiemcphd.bsky.social is quite good - not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for though:
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/o...
Opinion | The Tech Fantasy That Powers A.I. Is Running on Fumes
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Kate Jackson

acyn.bsky.social
Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 23d
Hasan: The great irony is of course that Donald Trump is the son of an immigrant. The grandson of an immigrant and married to an immigrant. In fact two of his three wives were immigrants, proving yet again that immigrants will do the jobs that even Americans are not willing to do.

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Scott A. Imberman

santiagomayer.com
Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 24d
Reminder to disable biometrics on your phone before attending any protests. If police ask for the passcode, you do not have to provide it.

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 26d
At least it wasn't Frenzy - that would have been concerning.

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 26d
How many films had she seen? Was it simply the best of the 23 films she'd watched?

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Jason Mittell, Alfie Kohn , and 3 more

ceciliatan.com
Cecilia Tan @ceciliatan.com · 26d
oooh. Bookmarking this! "How to turn off AI tools in Apple, Google, Microsoft, and more." Step-by-step instructions from Consumer Reports.
How to Turn Off AI Tools Like Gemini, Apple Intelligence, Copilot, and More via @ConsumerReports
AI features are crowding into Google search, Gmail, iPhones, Windows laptops, and other products. If you're suffering from AI overload, these settings can help.
www.consumerreports.org

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 27d
My 21-yo daughter saw them last month - she was happy to be out of place!

Reposted by Martin Paul Eve

jmittell.bsky.social
Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · Oct 7
So very excited to announce that as of today the number of Videographic Books in the world has doubled! Check out ADAPTIVE FORMS, Gregory Brophy & Shawn Malley's fabulous new open-access book on contemporary science-fiction - complete with video essays on ARRIVAL, SNOWPIERCER, BLACK PANTHER, etc.!!!
Adaptive Forms: Videographic Criticism and Contemporary Science Fiction Film
An examination of media adaptation in contemporary science fiction film, with 14 video essays <br><i>Part of the <a href="https://www.leverpress.org/videographicbooks/">Videographic Books</a> series</...
www.fulcrum.org