A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet

E.J. White

Published by Stanford University Press 2020

A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet

E.J. White

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503614031

Overview
Contents

About this book

How cats became the undisputed mascot of the internet.

The advertising slogan of the social news site Reddit is "Come for the cats. Stay for the empathy." Journalists and their readers seem to need no explanation for the line, "The internet is made of cats." Everyone understands the joke, but few know how it started. A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet is the first book to explore the history of how the cat became the internet's best friend.

Internet cats can differ in dramatic ways, from the goth cats of Twitter to the glamourpusses of Instagram to the giddy, nonsensical silliness of Nyan Cat. But they all share common traits and values. Bringing together fun anecdotes, thoughtful analyses, and hidden histories of the communities that built the internet, Elyse White shows how japonisme, punk culture, cute culture, and the battle among different communities for the soul of the internet informed the sensibility of online felines. Internet cats offer a playful—and useful—way to understand how culture shapes and is shaped by technology.

Western culture has used cats for centuries as symbols of darkness, pathos, and alienation, and the communities that helped build the internet explicitly constructed themselves as outsiders, with snark and alienation at the core of their identity. Thus cats became the sine qua non of cultural literacy for the Extremely Online, not to mention an everyday medium of expression for the rest of us. Whatever direction the internet takes next, the "series of tubes" is likely to remain cat-shaped.

Author / Editor information

Elyse White is Associate Professor of Digital Humanities at Stony Brook University, and the author of The Republic of Games (2018) and You Talkin' to Me? The Unruly History of New York English (2020). A self-professed dog person, she's now the human associate of Aaron Purr and multiple foster kittens.

Reviews

"Ever-present and infinitely adaptable, cats are among the internet's most enduring memes. Elyse White gives the internet cat compendium its due, outlining the historical, social, and cultural significance of the felines that have long dominated our feeds. A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet is an essential look at life online."—Ryan Milner, author of The World Made Meme

"Engaging and entertaining, A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet traces the emergence of the internet's mascot from punk culture and japonisme, misogyny and trolling. Elyse White provides a definitive overview of one of online culture's least understood phenomena, and a fascinating ride through internet history."—Ethan Zuckerman, MIT Center for Civic Media, author of Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection

"I read the book I must applaud Some parts I ate Some parts I clawed"—Curious Zelda, author of The Adventures of a Curious Cat

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1 The Semiotic History Of Grumpy Cats Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	14
2 The Great Lolcat Massacre Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
3 Extremely Online Felines Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
4 The Three Lives Of Internet Cats Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	76
Epilogue. Late Adopter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	111
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	113

Language: English
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 168
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 3
Keywords: Media studies; history of the internet; history of technology; memes; popular culture; cats

eBook

Published: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 9781503614031