Jason Mittell

@jmittell.bsky.social

6.6K followers 1.2K 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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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

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 1d

Many of them don't matter themselves, but their presence is felt - when you walk into a store filled with Pokemon merch or see kids wearing Spider-Man backpacks, you feel their significance.

And I grew up in original Star Wars era - the toys, books, merch, etc. really mattered a ton!

Reposted by Jason Mittell

The Blaine Clause @blainecapatch.bsky.social · 1d

don't forget to set your clocks back tonight

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 1d

I never suggested such paratexts don't exist - I said that they lack the widespread relevance and ubiquity of other blockbusters. The point is that these broader circulations are what makes a franchise feel "significant", not box office. If you have to look it up, it's not broadly "significant."

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 1d

I saw this post earlier, and decided to spend much of this lazy Saturday watching this 2.5 hour Minecraft video, despite never playing the game or watching these types of things. No regrets! Amazing film-making and collective storytelling created an epic fantasy narrative - highly recommended!

Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief @katie.bzky.team · 2d

razor made me watch this video. she swore up and down despite it seeming like slop that it's actually peak

AND GOD DAMN IT SHE'S NOT EXAGGERATING. IF THIS WERE ON LETTERBOXD I'D GIVE IT A 5. ZERO HYPERBOLE

i cannot fucking BELIEVE how good this is. what the fuck. emergent storytelling is beautiful

razorgirl @razorgirl.diy · 2d

We ended up accidentally watching this whole video yesterday, and against all odds, it ended up being one of the greatest pieces of cinema I've ever experienced:

youtu.be/ef568d0CrRY?...

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 1d

I think the key gap here is the lack of culturally significant "paratexts" emerging from the franchise. Most blockbusters generate toys, games, costumes, fan creations, remixes, etc. that become ubiquitous & establish "significance." It's telling that the most prominent AVATAR paratext is... this:

Papyrus - SNL

YouTube video by Saturday Night Live

www.youtube.com

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 1d

Uber prototyping

Reposted by Jason Mittell

Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief @katie.bzky.team · 2d

razorgirl @razorgirl.diy · 2d

We ended up accidentally watching this whole video yesterday, and against all odds, it ended up being one of the greatest pieces of cinema I've ever experienced:

youtu.be/ef568d0CrRY?...

1000 Players Simulate Civilization: Rich & Poor

YouTube video by ish

youtu.be

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 2d

Star Wars action figures, lunch boxes, etc. were ubiquitous in the 80s. It seems like Avatar only culturally exists in movie theaters.

Reposted by Jason Mittell

Emily Nussbaum @emilynussbaum.bsky.social · 2d

This wonderful @michaelschulman.bsky.social piece about puzzles & Sondheim is stuffed with funny, sticky details: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Sondheim had begun designing board games in his teens. He sent an idea to Parker Brothers and then considered suing when the company put out a game-Park and Shop-that he thought copied his.
When he was twenty-three, he created a board game alternately called Stardom or Camp, in which players compete to succeed in Hollywood by sleeping their way to the top-the winner beds Norma Desmond-while affixing colored sequins to their faces. (The game was uncovered intact after his death, as his belongings were being prepared for auction.) Another, known as the Game of Hal Prince, or Producer, gamified the business of Broadway, with points allotted for good reviews and wild cards that ribbed Sondheim's contemporaries. (Jerome Robbins abandons the show to see his therapist.) Sondheim also collected antique

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 2d

Committee Royale

Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 2d

Make a Bond movie academic

Live and Let Cite

Dean Leetal @deanleetal.bsky.social · 2d

Make a Bond Movie academic

The writer's use of the word 'never' is problematic, and rewording might better serve the paper (1983)

Reposted by Jason Mittell, David R. Miller, Roopika Risam

Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 2d

Make a Bond movie academic

Live and Let Cite

Dean Leetal @deanleetal.bsky.social · 2d

Make a Bond Movie academic

The writer's use of the word 'never' is problematic, and rewording might better serve the paper (1983)

Dr Andrew McInnes @drbeard79.bsky.social · 3d

Make a Bond Movie academic

Best, Russia

Reposted by Jason Mittell

Edwin Davies @edwinjdavies.bsky.social · 3d

Time for the best Christmas post

Jordan_Morris @Jordan_Morris

I'm sick of these libs telling me l can't say "Happy Honda Days" because I might offend someone who celebrates Toyotathon. So, I guess I'm supposed to wish everyone a "Happy Winter Car Sale"?

Reposted by Jason Mittell

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 6d

UPDATE

I have updated my story linked below with a high-quality broadcast version of the 60 Minutes segment that was pulled by Bari Weiss.

Here it is (no paywall): bit.ly/4qn6Jn5

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 6d

I'm Thursday morning, second slot. Meh

Reposted by Jason Mittell

Josh Gondelman @joshgondelman.bsky.social · 6d

For this week's That's Marvelous newsletter I regrettably wrote a little bit about Bari Weiss (but also I happily wrote a little bit about dogs)! Read it here: www.thatsmarvelousnewsletter.com/163-60-minut...

If you have never heard of Bari Weiss, I envy your blessed existence, and I will catch you up with great regret, like when you have to explain death to a child or Mr. Beast to a parent. Weiss rose to prominence as a beneficiary of the NYT op-ed section's community outreach program, where they provide financial support to Ivy League graduates who believe themselves to be at the vanguard of public thought despite not having (or even really engaging with) a new idea since 2003. She then founded a blog that told rich people who were not ready to come out of the closet as racists and transphobes exactly what they wanted to hear. In a more just world, she would have been put out of business when ChatGPT began offering the same service to our nation's internet-and-wealth-poisoned elites for free.

Reposted by Jason Mittell

David Hughes aka DavidHughesTwit @davidhughesbluey.bsky.social · 6d

Had an absolute blast with this Time Out exclusive:

'Die Hard' screenwriter @stevenedesouza.bsky.social ranking 10 'Die Hard'-inspired action flicks www.timeout.com/news/10-die-...

10 ‘Die Hard’ clones ranked by the screenwriter of ‘Die Hard’

Yippee-ki-yay! Steven E de Souza sorts the ‘Die Hards’ from the try hards

www.timeout.com

Reposted by Jason Mittell

Scott @scootrdud.bsky.social · 7d

Here is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her ‘60 Minutes’ colleagues in full:

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 8d

AWAY FROM HER: fascinating narrative patterns and techniques and not standard male canon

Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 8d

Since when does visual allusion = hackery? Feel free to dislike something, but condemning art for referring to other art in interesting ways is just petty