Dang! Synesthetic Representations of the Post-Internet in Caroline Polachek’s The Late Show Performance
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Abstract
This paper examines Caroline Polachek’s 2023 performance of “Dang” on The Late Show as a paradigmatic example of post-internet music video aesthetics. Drawing on Karen Archey and Robin Peckham’s (2014) conception of the post-internet as a “state of mind,” the essay situates Polachek’s televised yet digitally remediated performance within the feedback loop between online culture and artistic production. Through close analysis of the video’s audiovisual synchronization, use of PowerPoint mimicry, and ironic engagement with the concept of synesthesia, the essay argues that Polachek performs a self-reflexive dialogue between human and machine. This dynamic is contextualized through Sonya Hofer’s notion of “screenness,” Michael Waugh’s framework of the post-internet musician, and Philip Auslander’s theory of digital liveness. Ultimately, “Dang” collapses distinctions between live and recorded media, performer and interface, and human and technological embodiment, illustrating how post-internet aesthetics reconfigure liveness as both a mediated and participatory experience.
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