Opening Lecture of the 2024–2025 Spring Term: “The Cultural (Un)Sustainability of Streaming Media

The New Media and Communication (English) undergraduate program hosted Professor Renira Rampazzo Gambarato of Jönköping University, Sweden, as part of its opening lecture for the spring semester of the 2024–2025 academic year. The seminar, titled “The Cultural (Un)Sustainability of Streaming Media,” was moderated by Associate Professor Bahar Muratoğlu Pehlivan, Head of the Department of New Media and Communication (English).

In her talk, Gambarato offered an in-depth discussion of the concept of “infinite media,” warning that streaming platforms’ relentless pursuit of growth and engagement poses serious challenges to cultural sustainability. She pointed to Netflix’s “must-seen” strategy as a striking example of how cultural values are increasingly commodified in the content production process.