Picture from Initial Attempts at BlogDH Post

Monday afternoon, BlogDailyHerald had plans to put up a post about Brian Moynihan ’81′s, CEO of Bank of America, coming to speak at Brown.  Just before we published the post, a variety of writers received an influx of emails from various TA’s, friends, and strangers on the street that the speech, which had been publicized by flyers around the campus, was in fact a hoax.

While this may seem slightly alarming, there is a precedent for this kind of widespread duping of Brown University by Brown University.  In October 2010, a letter was posted in Keeney announcing the impending installation of surveillance cameras throughout the quad. Also a hoax, this experiment had been part of an MCM class, MCM1700: “Techniques of Surveillance“ (taught by Mark Tribe), in order to see how people reacted to knowing they were being watched.

This semester, Tribe is teaching MCM1700P: “Radical Media.” The course investigates the way in which media can facilitate social action and become part of political discourse (lolz, MCM). One of the projects for the class is described on the course wiki page as requiring students take on a “socially engaged project,” record its results on video and post it online. Is anyone else getting déjà vu?

Every now and then, I see a movie I wish I could get my hands on and remake with my own flair.  The movie doesn’t have to be unexpectedly bad, it just needs to be open to some re-envisioning.  Hey, the lives of armchair directors may be comfy and covered with a thin layer of Cheeto dust, but that doesn’t mean we’re wrong.  And since we’re at a school with a rich creative history, we can take our musing a step further and say, “I should totally remake this at Brown.”

So, which popular movies would be vastly improved by a relocation to our campus?  Here are four that would certainly benefit from getting the College Hill treatment: [Read more →]

If you still possess a Netflix account, yesterday you received a sad, sad email from CEO Reed Hastings. Mine began: “Dear Michael, I messed up. I owe you an apology.” The message proceeds to explain that Netflix had not anticipated such negative feedback to its recent change in price structure. It further informs the subscriber that DVDs will no longer be mailed under the Netflix name — now, mail service will operate through “Qwikster.”

The pricing hasn’t changed this time around (both services still cost the same as before, but now cannot be combined on credit card statements), yet the move certainly doesn’t help the company’s image. Especially since the Twitter name “Qwikster” is already taken, and by this guy:

The lovable, hungry-as-shyt Jason Castillo has received over 10,000 followers since Hastings announced the new name. Netflix has offered him $1k for his account, but Blockbuster is probably offering him more to keep it.

Last week we told you we’d keep writing about Netflix because it’s suddenly become an endearing underdog of sorts. This week, we’re gonna retcon all that and instead turn our attention to local, computer-free options for DVD rentals. [Read more →]

A recent article published by the satirical newspaper The Onion cited a study done by our very own MCM department:

According to a study released this week by Brown University’s Department of Modern Culture and Media, it now takes only four minutes for a new cultural touchstone to transform from an amusing novelty into an intensely annoying thing people never want to see or hear again.

Clearly this is fake as the study mentions nothing about semiotics, Walter Benjamin or the gender politics behind Dude Where’s My Car.

Additionally, say what you will about “Friday,” but Rebecca Black is making BANK.

Phoebe Neel / Herald

The title pretty much says it all. At noon today, protesters on the main green were holding signs reading, “Rainbows Not Bodies” and handing out pamphlets with pictures of the Olsen twins, a cow, and a character from The Lion King on the inside. On the inside were lyrics from Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” and on the back were lyrics from Gnarls Barkley’s “Going On.”

Um. Anyone have any clue what this is all about? MCM project? Performance art? Insights very welcomed in the comments.

— Thea Aguiar

UPDATE: Roughly thirteen avant-garde idealists took to the Main Green Tuesday afternoon to exercise their freedom of speech, expressing dissatisfaction and anger about inaction and ineptitude in the ongoing battle against a variety of vague and fantastical causes, ranging from apathy to monarchy. Who were these young visionaries with such excellent taste in glitter makeup? They kept mum, but the exceptional quality of their screenprinted electric pink literature, as well as the words of an anonymous tipster, exposed them as RISD students. Performance art piece? Or well-directed jab at our progressive love for protesting? We’ll never know, but looks like we’ve got competition for the most outspokent institution on College Hill.

— Phoebe Neel