1. What brought you to UW Seattle?
The Cinema and Media Studies department brought me here. I was applying for film studies jobs throughout the country, and really loved that our department is equally committed to both research and teaching. I also felt that our faculty were people that I could work well with, and get along with. Thankfully, they felt the same about me!
2. What got you interested in media studies and analysis?
I’ve been interested since I was around 9 years old, actually. I was in a Legoland commercial with my mother, and the producers would not let us share scenes together; they had me pretend another woman was my mother, because we had more similar complexions, and told me that the commercial would look more “authentic” this way. This made me think more deeply about the kinds of images and ideas that are presented to us through media, which eventually brought me to critical analysis of media when I got to college.
3. What is the focus of your research and how have you applied it in the classes you've taught?
My research examines virtual, artificially intelligent assistants like Siri, Alexa, and ChatGPT and how they are tied to and haunted by a history of Black women’s domestic labor in the United States. I’ve applied my work to my classes primarily through CMS 315: History of New Media, which I teach with an emphasis on robots and virtual assistants. In that class we talk a lot about how these technologies both reflect and influence racial, social and cultural norms regarding service, identity, and technology, all of which is central to the work that I do. I also apply my work to my Race and Science Fiction class, which focuses heavily on the interconnections between race and technology in different cultures and parts of the world.
4. I've really enjoyed the films you've selected for CMS 301 and I'm wondering how you decide on what films to have students analyze?
I tend to pick films that I think don’t get enough attention from a critical standpoint, either because they are too independent or too mainstream. I think there’s something fulfilling about both exploring things that many students haven’t seen before and delving more deeply into things students may have written off or not considered as critically. For me, there is merit in both, because there are so many different types of films and it is important to think about what they are all doing.
5. What is the most fulfilling or rewarding part about teaching? Or about researching?
The most fulfilling part about teaching is getting to help students think critically about the media we’re watching. I love hearing how students are thinking and getting to help them think more deeply about the elements of media we might take for granted as casual viewers. The most fulfilling part of research is getting to explore things that fascinate and/or irritate me about media in relation to society. I get to follow rabbit holes and see where they lead me, and to develop expertise in arenas that make me curious. With my current research, that often means going down rabbit holes about AI, virtual assistants, robots, and domestic servants, and finding ways to tie them all together in support of my personal interests and arguments.
6. Are there any shows or films you've been obsessed with recently and want other people to watch?
I always recommend the A24 film After Yang, which came out in 2021. I also really like the show Kaos on Netflix, which came out last year. Outside of those, I watch a lot of reality television, so most of my recommendations are in that genre: I love Rupaul’s Drag Race, The Challenge, Love is Blind (unfortunately), Selling Sunset and The Great British Baking Show. I also highly recommend Hulu documentaries and docuseries in general; one of my favorites is The Ashley Madison Affair, which came out in 2023.