A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet
by E.J. White
Description
How cats became the undisputed mascot of the internet.
The advertising slogan of the social news site Reddit is "Come for the cats. Stay for the empathy." 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, and the communities that helped build the internet explicitly constructed 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, not to mention 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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How cats became the undisputed mascot of the internet.
The advertising slogan of the social news site Reddit is "Come for the cats. Stay for the empathy." 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.
Stanford University Press
Founded in 1892, Stanford University Press publishes 130 books a year across the humanities, social sciences, law, and business. Our books inform scholarly debate, generate global and cross-cultural discussion, and bring timely, peer-reviewed scholarship to the wider reading public. Numerous recent accolades include the Hayek Book Award and an NAACP Image Award nomination, while our authors and their books frequently appear in impactful media outlets such as the New York Times and NPR as well as in leading academic journals. Readers can find SUP titles at physical and online retailers around the world. At the leading edge of both print and digital dissemination of innovative research, with more than 3,000 books currently in print, SUP is a publisher of ideas that matter, books that endure.
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Stanford University Press
- Publication Date July 2020
- Orginal LanguageEnglish
- ISBN/Identifier 9781503604636
- Publish StatusPublished
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