Lets_get_this_thing_open_SRO_copy.pdf (203.75 kB)
“Let’s get this thing open”: the pleasures of unboxing videos
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 15:04 authored by Sharif MowlabocusDigital videos depicting the unboxing of new objects have become a lucrative revenue stream in the YouTube economy and are beginning to attract critical interest from media scholars. Much of this work focuses on the economic and regulatory dimensions of this new digital form, but little has been written regarding the texts themselves or the pleasures they offer viewers. In this article, I contribute to recent scholarship on YouTube genres, by performing a critical ‘unboxing’ of this digital form. Following a brief introduction to this phenomenon, in which I outline the key narrative tropes found in these videos, I unpack the affective intensities and tactile pleasures that structure these texts, in order to consider how and why unboxing has become so popular.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
European Journal of Cultural StudiesISSN
1367-5494Publisher
SAGE PublicationsExternal DOI
Department affiliated with
- Media and Film Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Centre for Photography and Visual Culture Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2018-09-13First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-09-13First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2018-09-13Usage metrics
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