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Jonathan McIntosh

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Jonathan McIntosh
McIntosh in 2008
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)YouTuber, pop culture critic
WebsitePopCultureDetective.com
YouTube information
Years active2008–present
GenreVideo essay
Subscribers1.09 million
(as of December 10, 2024)
Total views85.6 million
(as of December 10, 2024)

Jonathan McIntosh is an American producer, writer, artist, feminist, and cultural critic. He is the creator of the Pop Culture Detective Agency video series examining intersections of politics, masculinity, and entertainment.[1] He was also a producer and co-writer on the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games YouTube video series.[2]

Video

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Remix work

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McIntosh produced video mashups early in his film career. A proponent of remix culture,[3] he spoke on the topic and how media produced in this fashion can be uniquely powerful tools for commenting on political and social issues.[4][5][6] American academic and political activist Lawrence Lessig cites McIntosh's work as among his favorites in the book Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy for its ability to deliver "a message more powerfully than any original alone could".[7]

Buffy versus Edward

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In 2012, McIntosh spoke before the United States Copyright Office to advocate for exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act—a law designed to criminalize the unauthorized production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services regarding copyrighted works—that was adversely affecting video artists like himself.[8][9] His 2009 video, "Buffy versus Edward: Twilight Remixed"—a high-profile mashup video and Webby Award nominee for remixing—was used as an example in the copyright discussion.[10] The final rulemaking stated an exemption for "motion pictures (including television shows and videos), as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, where circumvention is undertaken solely in order to make use of short portions of the motion pictures for the purpose of criticism or comment in limited instances." It specifically points out "Buffy versus Edward: Twilight Remixed" in the rulemaking: "Based on the video evidence presented, the Register is able to conclude that diminished quality likely would impair the criticism and comment contained in noncommercial videos. For example, the Register is able to perceive that Buffy vs Edward and other noncommercial videos would suffer significantly because of blurring and the loss of detail in characters' expression and sense of depth."[11]

Tropes vs. Women in Video Games

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From 2013−2015, McIntosh worked on the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games YouTube video series as a producer and co-writer.[12] The web series was a highly successful Kickstarter created by Anita Sarkeesian that examined gender tropes in video games.[13][14][15]

Pop Culture Detective Agency

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In 2016, McIntosh launched the Pop Culture Detective Agency, a Patreon-funded web series examining the intersections of politics, masculinity, and entertainment.[16] The long-form video essays examine a variety of topics within these themes.[17] One episode explored the concept of toxic masculinity through an American pop culture lens. Other episodes are devoted to examining specific pieces of pop culture, such as television programs Steven Universe and The Big Bang Theory, and films including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Star Wars.[18][19][20] Some of the videos produced in the series propose new cultural tropes in which to understand the topics discussed, such as "Born Sexy Yesterday", which seeks to explain how fictional characters exhibit men’s fear of experienced women.[21]

Writing

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In 2014, McIntosh wrote the opinion piece, "Playing with privilege: the invisible benefits of gaming while male", which addressed the Gamergate controversy that had been receiving increasing media attention and public discourse. In the piece, he sought to address the underlying problems that contributed toward sexism in video gaming by examining the inherent privileges that male-identified gamers benefit from. Taking inspiration from the famous Daily Effects of White Privilege list by Peggy McIntosh, among others, McIntosh listed 25 daily effects of male game privilege. These included such privileges as "I will never be asked or expected to speak for all other gamers who share my gender."[22][23]

References

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  1. ^ "The Pop Culture Detective Agency". The Pop Culture Detective Agency. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Jusino, Teresa (December 2, 2015). "Feminist Frequency How Men Can End Sexism". The Mary Sue. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "I+C+i #2 // The Remix as Cultural Ecosystem". Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  4. ^ "The Five Funniest Google Glasses Parodies". Gizmodo. April 9, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  5. ^ Jenkins, Henry (October 15, 2019). Participatory Culture: Interviews. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-5095-3847-8.
  6. ^ Schildcrout, Jordan (September 4, 2019). Schildcrout, Jordan (ed.). In the Long Run. doi:10.4324/9780429265372. ISBN 9780429265372. S2CID 203317230.
  7. ^ Lessig, Lawrence (2008). Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy (1st ed.). Penguin Press. p. 71. ISBN 9781440634628. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  8. ^ Kravets, David (May 17, 2012). "Feds Considering Allowing DVD-Encryption Cracking". Wired. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  9. ^ Jenkins, Henry (October 13, 2017). "Remixing Gender Through Popular Media: An Interview with Jonathan McIntosh". Henry Jenkins. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Nye Griffiths, Daniel (January 15, 2013). "Copyright In The Twilight Zone: The Strange Case Of 'Buffy Versus Edward'". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  11. ^ "Section 1201 Rulemaking: Fifth Triennial Proceeding to Determine Exemptions to the Prohibition on Circumvention" (PDF). Copyright.gov. United States Copyright Office. 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  12. ^ Souppouris, Aaron (August 26, 2014). "Latest 'Tropes vs. Women' shows how video games treat women as playthings and victims". The Verge. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  13. ^ del Castillo, Michael (November 26, 2014). "Anita Sarkeesian's male co-producer speaks out against sexism in gaming". The Business Journals. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Campbell, Colin (June 19, 2019). "The Anita Sarkeesian story". Polygon. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "Feminist Frequency How Men Can End Sexism". The Mary Sue. December 2, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  16. ^ Rouner, Jef (July 19, 2016). "Feminist Frequency's Jonathan McIntosh Has New Show About Masculinity". Houston Press. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  17. ^ "Pop culture needs to stop romanticizing stalking – West". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  18. ^ "The Paradox of Humanizing Star Wars' Stormtroopers". Gizmodo. January 31, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  19. ^ "Video Explores Scifi Trope of Women Who Are 'Born Sexy Yesterday'". Gizmodo. April 30, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  20. ^ "How Fantastic Beasts' Newt Scamander Represents a Rare Kind of Movie Hero". Gizmodo. May 31, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  21. ^ "10 YouTube Essays That'll Broaden Your Pop Culture Education". Gizmodo. April 10, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  22. ^ McIntosh, Jonathan (April 23, 2014). "Playing with privilege: the invisible benefits of gaming while male". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  23. ^ Mullis, Steve (April 27, 2014). "Gaming While Male: A 'Privilege' Few Men Recognize". NPR. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
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