We report a modular
approach toward novel arylazotriazole photoswitches
and their photophysical characterization. Addition of lithiated TIPS-acetylene
to aryldiazonium tetrafluoroborate salts gives a wide range of azoacetylenes,
constituting an underexplored class of stable intermediates.
In situ
desilylation transiently leads to terminal arylazoacetylenes
that undergo copper-catalyzed cycloadditions (CuAAC) with a diverse
collection of organoazides. These include complex molecules derived
from natural products or drugs, such as colchicine, taxol, tamiflu,
and arachidonic acid. The arylazotriazoles display near-quantitative
photoisomerization and long thermal
Z
-half-lives.
Using the method, we introduce for the first time the design and synthesis
of a diacetylene platform. It permits implementation of consecutive
and diversity-oriented approaches linking two different conjugants
to independently addressable acetylenes within a common photoswitchable
azotriazole. This is showcased in the synthesis of several photoswitchable
conjugates, with potential applications as photoPROTACs and biotin
conjugates.
The article discusses the television series The Simpsons in the context of disability studies. Referring to David Mitchell and Sharon Snyder's theory of narrative prosthesis, the argument is that their notion of disability as a metaphorical device falls short of the specific function of disability in satire as both a source of humor and social commentary. As the reading of The Simpsons suggests, the show uses images of the grotesque as a form of graphic humor; furthermore, these images provide potentials of distanciation and critical thinking concerning the objectification of disability in the dominant discourse and the visualization of it in the media.
The cultural climate of the 1990s has rendered irony the dominant mode
of both media consumption and production. This chapter highlights The
Simpsons’ pivotal role as a TV show contributing to the cultivation of what
I dub “meta-television culture” in reference to John Fiske’s key work in
television studies, 1987’s Television Culture. More specifically, I argue that,
by working elements of spectator culture into the parodic framework of
an animated sitcom, The Simpsons has both tapped into and reinforced
a cultural sensibility of meta-media humor, which characterized the
zeitgeist of young adults in the 1980s and 1990s.
An important reason for The Simpsons’ impact and longevity as a media
franchise has been the show’s dedication to representing popular culture.
From film and television history to sci-fi and comics culture, from rock
music to street art—popular culture has provided The Simpsons with a
wealth of figures, narratives, and themes to convert (sub)cultural capital
into commercial entertainment. As this chapter shows, one particularly
prominent domain of popular culture that The Simpsons invested in
was media fandom. Positive depictions as well as mockery of media
fans (including Simpsons fans) created both gestures of affiliation and
discipline that have targeted the tastes of fan consumers as a valuable
audience group for Fox and the Simpsons series.
This chapter traces the concept of participatory media culture as it has
emerged from the field of cultural studies and evolved through the work
of John Fiske and Henry Jenkins. Building on Fiske’s thinking, Jenkins’s
scholarship on media fandom has fundamentally revised cultural studies’
traditional neo-Marxist perspective of (sub-)cultural resistance versus an
assumed dominant ideology. In order to outline a theoretical framework
for this study, the chapter reconsiders the concept of participatory culture
and specifies its political as well as its poetic particularities. In addition,
I discuss popular culture’s participatory character in relation to Fiske’s
notion of popular cultural capital and what I call “popular semiosis.”
One of the main reasons behind The Simpsons’ success was the series’
conflation of fan sensibilities and mass appeal. This chapter traces the ways
in which The Simpsons’ producers created a prime-time television franchise
and merchandising empire that still managed to carry cult status for a
devoted fan community. In this context, I discuss strategies of fan marketing,
transmedia storytelling, audience interaction, and contested claims
of intellectual property. Finally, the chapter examines instances where
the interests and economies of The Simpsons’ producers and participatory
culture have converged, as well those in which they have clashed.
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