Library
Art, Storytelling and Media
Welcome! Here you'll find a collection of resources on a variety of art, storytelling and media topics.
Click the links below to filter library items by topic. The selected section will stay underlined so you know where you are. If the sorting script doesn't work, you can just search the name of the section with Ctrl+F, Cmnd+F or your browser's "find" or "find in page" option to find things in that section! (And please let me know if it's broken! You might just have JavaScripts disabled, though.)
[Show all library items]
Specific Topic Pages
These are sections for more topic-specific libraries. (Some items listed at these more specific pages may be duplicated from this page for completeness, though.)
"A Brief History of Homestuck"
(Sarah Z, 2021)
A history of the most impactful fandom of the 2010s.
"Chronicles of a Black Lolita" part one and two (Saxon Blues, 2019)
Articles with tips on coord colors and hair styling for Black lolitas.
"Fandom's Biggest Controversy: The Story of Proshippers vs Antis" (Sarah Z, 2021)
Breakdown of the contentious fandom topic and long-standing subject of academic debate of representations of "taboo" topics in fiction.
"For Amusement Only: The Life and Death of the American Arcade" (Laura Jane, 2013)
What it says on the tin: the development and decline of American arcades.
"Game Design as Narrative Architecture" (Henry Jenkins, 2003)
Video game-centered examination of spatial/environmental storytelling, enacted storytelling (gameplay), embedded narrative and emergent narrative (player-generated narrative).
GifCities
Searchable database of images on archived Geocities pages.
"The History of the Gyaru" part one, two and three (W. David Marx for Neojaponisme, 2012)
An in-depth look at the history of the gyaru style.
Lolibrary
A searchable database of lolita items.
OoCities.org
Archive of Geocities pages.
"The Phenomenon of Tumblr Sexymen" (Izzzyzzz, 2021)
Breakdown of a 2010s Tumblr phenomenon.
"So You Think You're the Main Character" (Amy Zimmerman for Electric Literature, 2021)
On the fuzzy borders of autofiction in the information age.
"The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (Walter Benjamin, 1935)
Frankfurt School associate Benjamin's influential essay on the "aura" of art and the impact of the industrial revolution and mechanical reproduction on art. Read carefully; it's common to misread this essay as a criticism of mechanical reproduction and the destruction of "aura" on first read, but a closer read reveals that Benjamin is quite optimistic about what art can be used for when removed from its "aura" -- including revolution against industrial capitalism. However, it can also be used for fascist purposes.