Woven with action and extraterrestrial science fiction, I think Avatar would be a stellar addition to the Black Mirror and Digital Culture course. Why, you ask? This movie highlights technological aspects such as the combination of military and tech advances, the development of society with technology, and the demand for privacy. It theorizes future human technology and the capability of injecting a human’s intelligence into a biological body and the possibility of remotely controlling and transferring human personalities into alien bodies. Although fictional, the story pulls out topics of civil peace, energy and natural resource crises, and the dangers of what technology may be able to accomplish in the future.
Set in 2154, the movie addresses the power of technology in making military advances and the anonymity component as human Jake fills and lives out life in an Avatar body undercover for The Resources Development Administration’s private security force. Avatar would most definitely address the Digital Self theme, as we talked about military intelligence and the Black Mirror Episode Men Against Fire in class. I would assign this movie around that episode and our military readings that we were assigned so that there’s another applicable fiction example that may be equally as effective at describing the overarching idea of digital life and technological advancements. I think it would be the most effective to have a Student Led Discussion assignment on this movie because it would be interesting to hear the differing thoughts the class would have on the movie after the readings, and would lead to an overall stimulating discussion.
Ah so … you want to know more about the *scandy* affair between Hamilton and Maria. Well you, my friend, are in the right place.
A little background info before we get started.
This is Alexander Hamilton (a star in the fan-favorite: HAMILTON the Musical):
so dapper
Hamilton was the first secretary of the United States Treasury (kind of a big deal) and built the foundations of the national banking system. Unfortunately, he died in a duel against Aaron Burr (long story short, there was just a lot of beef).
and this is Maria Reynolds:
the 23-year-old, blonde damsel in distress
She claimed to have an abusive husband, James Reynolds, who left her and her young daughter to run off with another cutie.
Maria went to Hamilton’s family home in Philly in the summer of 1791 to ask him for some money to get to her friends in New York. Hamilton, being the gentleman he is, brought a 30-note bill to Maria’s house. The young lady brought him upstairs and that’s when things got a little steamy.
Maria and Hamilton began a *sexual* relationship and would meet up at Hamilton’s home.
Meanwhile, his loyal wife, Eliza, was in Albany with their children visiting her father.
faithful Eliza
James Reynolds found out about the affair and confronted Hamilton.
@jamesreynolds: a little birdie told me a very important person is sneaking around with my wife… @alexanderhamilton
@alexanderhamilton: what do you want @jamesreynolds
@jamesreynolds: $1,000 should suffice @alexanderhamilton
@alexanderhamilton: word.
Alexander called it quits on his affair with Maria in the summer of 1792.
Later on, James Reynolds and his associate, Jacob Clingman, were arrested and imprisoned for involvement in a scheme to defraud the government by posing as executors of deceased Revolutionary War veterans to get money.
Talk about risky business.
Clingman went to his former employer, Frederick Muhlenberg, while out on bail and and claimed Reynolds was involved in illegal stuff with Hamilton.
Muhlenberg and colleagues James Monroe and Abraham Venable visited James Reynolds in jail and Maria Reynolds at home. After hearing their stories, they confronted Hamilton in person. He showed them his exchanges with Maria.
@frederickmuhlenberg: @alexanderhamilton exposed.
@jamesmonroe: hey @thomasjefferson i’ve got some of Hamilton’s letters for you
Sneaky John Beckley, the clerk for the House of Representatives, kept a copy of Alexander’s documents.
The Reynolds’ split (Aaron Burr was Maria’s attorney) and Maria married Clingman – remember him? none other than James’ associate – the same day her divorce was official.
In the fall of 1796, Hamilton came for Jefferson’s rumored relationship with his slave Sally Hemmings.
@alexanderhamilton: heard things are getting spicy with Sally @thomasjefferson
Journalist James Callendar, let’s say not the biggest fan of Hamilton, called him out on his own scandalous history.
@callendarnotcalendar: okay @alexanderhamilton but didn’t you use federal funds to handle your personal business … mhm … that’s what i thought
@alexanderhamilton: did @jamesmonroe give you that info??
@callendarnotcalendar: i don’t snitch
@elizahamilton: i don’t usually get involved in this kind of stuff but are you serious @jamesmonroe? these are our personal issues. stay out of it.
@jamesmonroe: wow wow wow i don’t know how the letters resurfaced
@elizahamilton: i will never forgive you.
However, although Hamilton blamed Monroe, it was most likely John Buckley who gave Callendar access to the documents after the Federalists fired him as the House clerk.
In 1797, Hamilton published the Reynolds Pamphlet that shared the details of his affair with Maria Reynolds and the blackmail payments he made out to James Reynolds, ruining any chances he had of becoming president.
In the 1700s, most content was physically published – like Alexander Hamilton’s Reynolds Pamphlet. It would be interesting to see, though, how this document would have been received by the public had it been published online/on Twitter. Would they annotate it? Troll it? Would Hamilton block people? With Twitter, private matters, especially for public figures, are publicized. In Bonnie Stewart’s article “In Public: The Shifting Consequences of Twitter Scholarship.” she states that “networks’ capacity to turn into full-scale publics at any moment has become increasingly visible. Where academic Twitter once seemed quietly parochial and collegial almost to the point of excess, it is now thrust into the messy, contested business of being truly open to the public”. If Hamilton had remained silent on Twitter, he would have faced consequences, and if he had posted his letter, he would face consequences of public scholarship, the public’s online reactions (anonymous or not) through retweeting, public bashing/humiliation, or “cancellation”. With his situation, a scandal like this, he would have definitely had a hard time in the realm of Twitter scholarship.
Pruitt, Sarah. The Scandal That Ruined Alexander Hamilton’s Chances of Becoming President. 20 Apr. 2018, www.history.com/news/alexander-hamilton-maria-reynolds-pamphlet-affair.
Today, many question the way in which TikTok seems to read our minds and provide content that we may have recently mentioned to friends and family both verbally and virtually. Do we have any privacy with this platform? I decided to do some investigating on this rapidly growing social media platform.
TikTok, aka the “Platform”, updated its Privacy Policy in the United States on January 1, 2020. The site is simply formatted and easy to read for the average viewer. The company states that when you register you have the choice to provide the following information:
Registration information: age, username and password, language, and email/phone number
Profile information: name, social media account information, and profile image
User-generated content: comments, photographs, videos, and virtual item videos that you choose to upload or broadcast
Payment information
Phone and social network contacts (with permission)
Opt-in choices and communication preferences
Information to verify an account
Information in correspondence sent to the company
Information shared through surveys or participation in challenges, sweepstakes, or contests (gender, age, likeness, preferences)
Okay… The information we know we share with TikTok is listed first and foremost. I scroll further.
TikTok then lists the information they take from other sources:
Social Media – i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google (if you choose to link/sign up with these networks)
Third-Party Services (advertising partners and analytics providers)
Other Users of the Platform
Other Sources
Ahhhh “other sources” I seeee. “Other sources” under the “Information we obtain from other sources” headline. Very specific. This bullet proves that we still don’t entirely know how the platform retrieves our information to create our perfectly tailored algorithms. One can only imagine.
Next, the Platform clarifies the information they collect automatically:
Usage Information
Device Information
Location data
Messages through the app
Metadata
Cookies (collect information, measure, and analyze the web pages we click on and how we use the app to ‘enhance’ our experience, improve the app, and provide targeted advertising)
Allow service providers and business partners to collect information about online activities through cookies (TikTok takes no responsibility for the privacy practices of those service providers and business partners)
The last part about cookies is a bit unnerving. We, again, do not have a full grasp on how much information we’re giving not only TikTok, but also their service providers and business partners. Would that make us more careful when using the app?
The next headline goes more in-depth into how they use our information – nothing too surprising. Again, how they work to bring the most customized, functional, and developed platform to you. One line that stands out to me is that they use the information “to combine all the information [they] collect or receive about [us] for any of the foregoing purposes.” Vague once again.
TikTok restates how they share our information: to service providers and business partners, within their corporate group, in connection with a sale, merger, or other business transfer, for legal reasons, and with our consent.
Under Other Rights, TikTok writes that “If you are a California resident, once a calendar year, you may be entitled to obtain information about personal information that [they] shared, if any, with other businesses for their own direct marketing uses.” … Why just California? What about the other states?
Our choices regarding privacy include refusing/disabling Cookies, managing third-party advertising preferences, opting out of some types of targeted advertising, switching off GPS location, and updating certain personal information.
So although we may question our privacy with TikTok, it is not much different from how our information is being handled on other social media platforms. When a platform is so tailored to us, do we really want to eliminate the cookies and breaches of privacy that make it possible?
In Funk’s article, “Cambridge Analytica and the Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz.” she describes the OCEAN (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) score on Facebook that builds our psychological profiles. Cambridge Analytica can gather 3,000 to 5,000 data points to profile every one of us for microtargeted ads. Through analyzing Cambridge Analytica’s strategy, it becomes clearer how our For You pages on TikTok can be made For You. TikTok has access to your personal information (as listed above), usage on the app (likes/comments/hashtags/followers), as well as “other sources” and social media outlets – thus, giving it the thousands of data points to accurately profile you and perfectly curate your experience on the app.
I asked what my hallmate’s stance is on TikTok’s privacy – more specifically, the privacy of the For You page:
“And how do you feel about the For You page?”
“Um.. it’s kind of creepy. Like I swear it hears what I’m saying … I feel like a lot of times it’s definitely feeding to either what it wants me to see or what it thinks I want to see or hear. And that’s kind of, I don’t know, I’m probably not as careful about it as I should be but it’s, it kind of like, makes me realize, how easy it is for apps like that to have your information and know what you like and want to see.”
Ultimately, you decide the amount of information you want to give to platforms like TikTok . Your perceived privacy is up to you … but up to a certain point, depending on what you decide to let these platforms access. To reap some of the ‘benefits’, you have to grant permission to external sources that branch to others from there. As the Privacy Policy site states, “You should understand that no data storage system or transmission of data over the Internet or any other public network can be guaranteed to be 100 percent secure.” Practice safe social media usage. There is most definitely a lack of privacy in today’s world, so be aware and educate yourself on topics that are not microtargeted to you.
While searching on my Professor, Mary Grace Abdoney (she/her/hers), I can tell she has an active and dynamic social media presence. She frequently uses platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and even dabbles in posting pictures on Flickr.
Professor Abdoney was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and the earliest schooling that is noted on her social media platform is her attendance at H.B. Plant High School. Thereafter, she studied Philosophy (as well as Anthropology and Secondary Education) and graduated from the University of Florida in 1999. Since, she has been a member of the Alpha Xi Delta Alumnae Association – an organization dedicated to sisterhood, leadership, knowledge, and service – and has graduated from the University of South Florida with a Master of Arts, Library, and Information Science.
Upon searching ‘Mary Abdoney’, the first few links related to her involvement at Washington & Lee University, which comes as no surprise as she has been a part of the faculty since 2006 (found via W&L directory, LinkedIn, and Facebook). Then, at the fourth link, I found her Twitter handle – @MaryMaryLibrary (she is a Librarian after all).
Professor Abdoney’s Twitter bio states that she, “Likes: critical librarianship, digital pedagogy, alternative publishing, and empowering students.” From there, I was able to put some pieces together. She tends to have a liberal stance on political issues (and was very much so an Elizabeth Warren supporter) and believes in the inclusivity of all ethnicities, sexualities, socioeconomic statuses, and gender identities. Looking through her recent Tweets, Professor Abdoney was also particularly upset with the delay in closing the library as COVID was ramping up in the United States.
From her Twitter, I decided to do a deep dive into her blog. There, I was really able to read more about her personal opinions. One thing that is for certain is that she strongly dislikes the patriarchy and fervently believes in women’s rights. She goes on to mention in other posts her struggle balancing life as a working woman and mom for her Kindergarten-aged son, Emmett. This made me more curious about her family life, so I navigated my way to her Facebook and Instagram. Immediately, you can tell she absolutely loves her cat whose name is Kat, baking, sewing/quilting, gardening, and taking pictures of flowers.
There was one more site I had yet to scroll through. Flickr. From there, I learned that Professor Abdoney goes on several trips and is married to Ned Norland – who, after doing a little more searching, works on the IT staff at W&L. They met each other in 2008, drove to each other on the weekends for four years from Chapel Hill to Lexington (vice versa) to be with each other, and later married on September 29, 2012 at the Castle House at Washington & Lee (wedding information provided through maryandned.com). Other little facts about Professor Abdoney on her wedding site include that she can play the violin and cello, and used to be a ballerina and danced in three productions with Tampa Ballet.
And in 2020. Well. She just really, really doesn’t like 2020.
Professor Elizabeth Anne Teaff (eat) was not as open of a book as Professor Abdoney on her social media. From what I could find, her birthday is June 16, 1974 and her hometown is Columbus, Ohio, but then moved to Gloversville, New York in 1985. She studied Studio Art at Fulton-Montgomery Community College (Class of 1994), then at the State University of New York at Potsdam (Class of 1996), and then Library and Information Science at University of South Carolina (Class of 2006). On her Instagram and Facebook she describes herself as ‘quiet and quirky’, sports many different hair colors, posts many pictures of flowers and an occasional cat, and supports the LGBTQ+ community.
From my research, I could see both Professor Abdoney and Professor Teaff’s filter bubble on social media most likely including pictures of flowers, cats, and liberal stances on media.
I find it interesting just how much personal information you can choose to put out online- as demonstrated through the different social media activities/presences of Professor Abdoney and Professor Teaff. Sometimes, now with the Internet and social media, you can learn the general history of someone if you take the time which is interesting/powerful, but scary. Social media sites like Facebook can even identify your emotions nowadays and share their data with advertisers, as highlighted in the article, “Facebook Told Advertisers It Can Identify Teens Feeling ‘insecure’ and ‘Worthless.’” as well as use this information to change people’s feelings (using emotional contagion). Companies and businesses have incredible control over us today – and they have social media/the Internet to thank for that.
However, I don’t think I would personally change how I use social media because I have always been, for the most part, wary of my digital footprint and it is has played a relatively key part in my daily life. I do think, though, that I will search my name up more often to see what might be out there that I do not know about my digital self.
“Mary Abdoney.” The Washington and Lee University Library, library.wlu.edu/about/library-directory/mary-abdoney.
7:30PM: call friends and text my figure skating coach
8:00PM French study through Canvas
8:45PM and 10PM: text friends on Snapchat
After 10PM: Write blog post while listening to music
Looked through Snap and Instagram throughout the day
I am mostly online for coursework when I need to read articles for class, access Canvas, or communicate with my professors to clarify and fulfill assignments. I use the Internet to communicate with my friends and family back home, as well as to meet up or talk to friends here. It is a quick and easy way to have a conversation with someone, near or far, or make plans. In terms of my personal fulfillment, I use Spotify to listen to music – an essential for when I want to decompress. I also just enjoy being able to contact my friends. That definitely fulfills me because I consider myself a people person.
I have to say that it is amazing how many articles and how much reading material one can access on the Internet. I find that the Internet is necessary for all different components of my day. The best part- I have endless sources of music to stream for my personal enjoyment. The Internet is truly amazing, but it also raises so many expectations for response timeliness (with friends and for classes) and makes comparison culture hard to avoid. Additionally, it has made it easy to become wrapped up in the negative aspects of the news (especially with COVID). At times I catch myself being concerned with what is happening online when I should be focusing on the present moment. I am worried, though, that this will spill over into motherhood.
In the reading “The Quantified Baby.”, the author talks about her concerns during her pregnancy cycle and obsession with logging everything her son did during the early months of motherhood. I hope I won’t be too caught up in the discussion forums and analyze every day of the early parenthood stages. However, with the strength of participatory culture, I know I will find it difficult to avoid engaging – especially as I try to navigate parenting (and try to be the best mother I can).
I know my parents found it tricky to keep in touch with friends and family when they went off to college, but it is now something that I do not even need to worry about. The Internet seamlessly weaves into our everyday lives – whether for the good or the bad.
Warzel, Charlie. “Twitter Is Real Life.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/opinion/twitter-debates-real-life.html.
Dannagal Young, Shannon McGregor. “Perspective | Mass Propaganda Used to Be Difficult, but Facebook Made It Easy.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Feb. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/14/mass-propaganda-used-be-difficult-facebook-made-it-easy/.
Prushinskaya, Anna. “Should I Be Tracking Everything About My Baby With an App?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 10 Apr. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/04/the-quantified-baby/389009/.
