Author:Daniel Fandino
Computers in Media: David Fincher’s Cradle of Love Music Video
As my work has taken a decided turn into the realm of computer and gaming history, this is the first of a series of posts looking at computers in media. This time it is the Macintosh computer featured in the 1991 Billy Idol video “Cradle of Love.” Another post about Billy Idol and his album …
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Digital Life, the Eternal Now, and the End of Linear Time
You’ve seen it happen. A photo from years ago suddenly appears on social media with a new comment, and the original poster wonders why anyone would drag up such an old picture. To them, the photo is firmly rooted in the past as they are able to place the moment at a specific point in …
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The Tokyo 2020(ONE) Logo and the Ichimatsu Moyou
The logo for the 2020 Tokyo was created by artist Asoa Tokolo and the checkered indigo blue design is based upon the traditional Japanese pattern called ichimatsu moyou. Ichimatsu moyou (市松模様?) is named for the kabuki actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu I (佐野川 市松?) Active as an actor from 1733 until his death in 1762 at the …
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Eve of Destruction: History and Memory in EVE Online
The massively multiplayer game EVE Online is a story of intrigue, bitter rivalries, and endless conflict among the stars. To support the complicated fictional history of the game, the virtual space of EVE features historic sites and memorials that link to the fictional past and commemorate the continuing exploits of players, reinforcing a collective history that provides the sense of a narratively cohesive universe.
Star Trek and History: S.S. Botany Bay
While Star Trek often draws from history for ship names, the historical significance of the name rarely ties in to the role of the vessel in the series’ narrative. The S.S. Botany Bay is an exception, as the historical connotations of the name connects directly to Khan’s story. The S.S. Botany Bay was the DY-100 …
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Skyfall: The Fighting Temeraire
In a scene in the 2012 film Skyfall, James Bond sits in the National Gallery, silently contemplating a painting when he is joined by Q. The newcomer briefly remarks on the painting before identifying himself to a visibly irritated 007. While the moment serves as the introduction of the new Quartermaster, it also underscores the …
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The Politics of Dancing: Love Live, Population Decline and School Closures in Japan
The central plot element around which the storylines of Love Live: School Idol Festival and its successor Love Live Sunshine are draped is the imminent closure of the protagonists schools. In both series, the main characters rally together to become school idols in order to attract new students to enroll and in doing so save …
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Dancing with Myself: Scenes from a Tokyo Nightclub
The origins of Billy Idol’s 1981 hit “Dancing with Myself” trace to a random encounter during Generation X’s 1978 Japan tour. When Idol and other members of the band visited an unnamed dance club in Tokyo, Idol noticed the young Japanese club patrons dancing in front of mirrors–effectively dancing with themselves. Idol further describes the …
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So Lonely: The Police in Asia
The music video for The Police 1980s hit So Lonely is a classic example of the early 1980s low budget guerilla filmmaking that characterized the pre-MTV era. The video features Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland wandering through the underground corridors and trains of the Tokyo metro system singing into walkie-talkies while other scenes take …
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Imagining Tokyo: Kanda Shrine and Love Live!
Tokyo is a city with two lives: the day to day reality of a bustling metropolis and a virtual life recreated in games, film and anime. As the capital of Japan, the city looms large in the Japanese imagination, occupying a space that is equal to Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York combined in the …
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