Mercè Oliva
Biographic Data
| ID | 3674233 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mercè Oliva |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mercè |
| FAMILY NAME | Oliva |
| SIGNATURE | OLIVA M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Universitat Pompeu Fabra |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6812-737X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 26 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Vulnerable but not victims
Within a platform governance paradigm, the content creator’s role seems to be placed in a position of vulnerability and resignation. This article examines the relationship between content creators and digital platforms, focusing on the views and practices of the former. To this end, in-depth interviews were conducted with eighteen Spanish content creators active on Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube and X. The results show that the participants p…
‘Kids, these YouTubers are stealing from you’
This article's main aim is to analyse public discourses about tax avoidance in Spain by studying the scandal stirred up by the announcement by ElRubius (the most popular YouTuber in Spain, with 40.3 million subscribers) that he was moving to Andorra to pay lower taxes. To fulfil this aim, we use thematic analysis to study the most viewed and commented videos posted on YouTube by both YouTubers and the traditional media, as well as their comments …
Medium Research Group
On MEDIUM Research Group It all started in 2012, when a diverse group of researchers in the Department of Communication at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain) came together to work on a small project about transmedia storytelling funded by the Catalan Audiovisual Council. The group included researchers at different career stages specialised in video games, reality television and celebrities, fan studies, transmedia storytelling and mediat…
‘Me encanta mi trabajo, pero es un trabajo’
El objetivo de este artículo es analizar los discursos de los creadores de contenido en redes sociales (youtubers, streamers, instagramers, influencers) sobre su propio trabajo para entender cómo personifican, conectan y ayudan a construir los imaginarios laborales contemporáneos. Diversos autores han señalado cómo el mundo del trabajo ha sufrido importantes transformaciones que suponen un avance en la precarización, casualización e intermitencia…
From the handshake to the kiss
In the last few years, affect has entered the field of politics through both the media and political actors themselves. This article is based on the hypothesis that the images of affect that illustrate contemporary political narratives in the media reflect different visual motifs which are linked to an iconographic tradition that began in the art world. Through the iconographic analysis of images published in the three newspapers in Spain with th…
Offshoring & leaking
This article examines how the news media framed the allegations made in 2016 against Cristiano Ronaldo for evading taxes through offshores, and how audiences discussed this online, in Portugal, where he is originally from, and Spain, where he played football at the time. These countries were amidst an “austerity culture” justifying welfare cuts, promoting entrepreneurialism as “success”, and presenting neoliberal policies as “common sense”. Our a…
In the end you adapt to anything’
Resilience – the ability to bounce back from hardship – is a concept that has become popular during the years of economic crisis and post-recession. Contemporary citizens are expected to be flexible, have a positive attitude and take care of themselves in a context of heightened inequality and precarity. The objective of this article is to analyze how citizens in post-recession Spain respond to media representations that prescribe these values. E…
Imaginarios de la crisis en la cultura popular española (2008-2015)
Este artículo analiza los imaginarios de la crisis representados en la cultura popular española mediante el estudio cualitativo de base semionarrativa de las series, los realities y los medios del corazón más consumidos entre 2008 y 2015. Estos textos muestran distintas formas de enfrentarse a la adversidad en relación al género de los personajes, y promueven valores neoliberales como el emprendimiento, la austeridad, la resiliencia, junto con ap…
Celebrities also suffer from the economic crisis
During the years of the economic crisis, ‘broke celebrities’ attracted the attention of the Spanish media. The main aim of this paper is to analyse how these narratives of celebrities in bankruptcy fostered a neoliberal definition of the economic crisis and legitimised austerity policies. In these narratives, the crisis was represented as a social equaliser, affecting all social groups evenly; the causes of the crisis were individualised and cele…
From the literary field to reality TV
This article explores ‘downward celebrity migration’, that is, when a celebrity enters a field that is less legitimate than their field of origin. It does so by studying the case of Lucía Etxebarria, a Spanish literary celebrity who participated in a celebrity reality TV show ( Campamento de Verano (‘Summer Camp’)) in 2013. Using Bourdieu’s concepts of field and capital, this article analyses the ambiguous hierarchical position that Etxebarria oc…
Video Games, Dystopia, and Neoliberalism
An ideological analysis of video games should include both the narrative and ludic dimensions, since there can be frictions between these two dimensions and they can even contradict one another. This article's main aim is to analyze BioShock Infinite, an illustrative case study of these conflicts. On the one hand, it is a video game that portrays a dystopian narrative, aligning itself with this genre's critical progressive tradition; on the other…
Videogame analysis
The relevance of videogames in the contemporary cultural ecosystem and their social impact make it necessary to develop theories and analytical models to understand the expressive potential of videogame design, and how videogames work as texts, giving shape to certain values, behavioural patterns and ideological visions. To do so, it is crucial to build a bridge between game studies and contemporary semiotics. Thus, with this aim, we present in t…
Celebrificación del candidato. Cultura de la fama, marketing electoral y construcción de la imagen pública del político
A causa del rol central de los medios de comunicación en la configuración de la esfera pública contemporánea, las estrategias de comunicación de las instituciones políticas tienden a adaptarse a la lógica mediática. Se detecta un acercamiento progresivo de la comunicación política hacia el entretenimiento y el ejemplo más significativo de esta tendencia es la celebrificación de los políticos, es decir, el uso de elementos de la cultura de la fama…
Celebrity, class and gender in Spain
Belén Esteban is the most significant example in Spain of a new kind of celebrity that cannot be linked to traditional definitions of talent and work. She is often talked about with contempt, used as a synonym of ‘trash TV’ and seen as evidence of the loss of meritocratic values in Spain. This article analyses how her celebrity image provides a stage for political struggle that embodies current Spanish tensions regarding class and gender. Belén E…
Fame and Proffessional Success in «Operación Triunfo» and «Fama ¡a bailar!»
The main aim of this paper is to identify the values conveyed by «Operación Triunfo» and «Fama ¡a bailar!». Their popularity (especially among young people) and prescriptive nature (they convey life models by means of identifying problems and proposing objectives and solutions) make them relevant study objects. This paper focuses on how work and fame are depicted in «Operación Triunfo» and «Fama ¡a bailar!», two areas that have hardly been studie…
Videogame analysis
The relevance of videogames in the contemporary cultural ecosystem and their social impact make it necessary to develop theories and analytical models to understand the expressive potential of videogame design, and how videogames work as texts, giving shape to certain values, behavioural patterns and ideological visions. To do so, it is crucial to build a bridge between game studies and contemporary semiotics. Thus, with this aim, we present in t…
Video Games, Dystopia, and Neoliberalism
An ideological analysis of video games should include both the narrative and ludic dimensions, since there can be frictions between these two dimensions and they can even contradict one another. This article's main aim is to analyze BioShock Infinite, an illustrative case study of these conflicts. On the one hand, it is a video game that portrays a dystopian narrative, aligning itself with this genre's critical progressive tradition; on the other…
Celebrity, class and gender in Spain
Belén Esteban is the most significant example in Spain of a new kind of celebrity that cannot be linked to traditional definitions of talent and work. She is often talked about with contempt, used as a synonym of ‘trash TV’ and seen as evidence of the loss of meritocratic values in Spain. This article analyses how her celebrity image provides a stage for political struggle that embodies current Spanish tensions regarding class and gender. Belén E…
From the handshake to the kiss
In the last few years, affect has entered the field of politics through both the media and political actors themselves. This article is based on the hypothesis that the images of affect that illustrate contemporary political narratives in the media reflect different visual motifs which are linked to an iconographic tradition that began in the art world. Through the iconographic analysis of images published in the three newspapers in Spain with th…
Offshoring & leaking
This article examines how the news media framed the allegations made in 2016 against Cristiano Ronaldo for evading taxes through offshores, and how audiences discussed this online, in Portugal, where he is originally from, and Spain, where he played football at the time. These countries were amidst an “austerity culture” justifying welfare cuts, promoting entrepreneurialism as “success”, and presenting neoliberal policies as “common sense”. Our a…
From the literary field to reality TV
This article explores ‘downward celebrity migration’, that is, when a celebrity enters a field that is less legitimate than their field of origin. It does so by studying the case of Lucía Etxebarria, a Spanish literary celebrity who participated in a celebrity reality TV show ( Campamento de Verano (‘Summer Camp’)) in 2013. Using Bourdieu’s concepts of field and capital, this article analyses the ambiguous hierarchical position that Etxebarria oc…
Fame and Proffessional Success in «Operación Triunfo» and «Fama ¡a bailar!»
The main aim of this paper is to identify the values conveyed by «Operación Triunfo» and «Fama ¡a bailar!». Their popularity (especially among young people) and prescriptive nature (they convey life models by means of identifying problems and proposing objectives and solutions) make them relevant study objects. This paper focuses on how work and fame are depicted in «Operación Triunfo» and «Fama ¡a bailar!», two areas that have hardly been studie…
Celebrity, class and gender in Spain
Belén Esteban is the most significant example in Spain of a new kind of celebrity that cannot be linked to traditional definitions of talent and work. She is often talked about with contempt, used as a synonym of ‘trash TV’ and seen as evidence of the loss of meritocratic values in Spain. This article analyses how her celebrity image provides a stage for political struggle that embodies current Spanish tensions regarding class and gender. Belén E…
Celebrificación del candidato. Cultura de la fama, marketing electoral y construcción de la imagen pública del político
A causa del rol central de los medios de comunicación en la configuración de la esfera pública contemporánea, las estrategias de comunicación de las instituciones políticas tienden a adaptarse a la lógica mediática. Se detecta un acercamiento progresivo de la comunicación política hacia el entretenimiento y el ejemplo más significativo de esta tendencia es la celebrificación de los políticos, es decir, el uso de elementos de la cultura de la fama…
Videogame analysis
The relevance of videogames in the contemporary cultural ecosystem and their social impact make it necessary to develop theories and analytical models to understand the expressive potential of videogame design, and how videogames work as texts, giving shape to certain values, behavioural patterns and ideological visions. To do so, it is crucial to build a bridge between game studies and contemporary semiotics. Thus, with this aim, we present in t…
From the literary field to reality TV
This article explores ‘downward celebrity migration’, that is, when a celebrity enters a field that is less legitimate than their field of origin. It does so by studying the case of Lucía Etxebarria, a Spanish literary celebrity who participated in a celebrity reality TV show ( Campamento de Verano (‘Summer Camp’)) in 2013. Using Bourdieu’s concepts of field and capital, this article analyses the ambiguous hierarchical position that Etxebarria oc…
Video Games, Dystopia, and Neoliberalism
An ideological analysis of video games should include both the narrative and ludic dimensions, since there can be frictions between these two dimensions and they can even contradict one another. This article's main aim is to analyze BioShock Infinite, an illustrative case study of these conflicts. On the one hand, it is a video game that portrays a dystopian narrative, aligning itself with this genre's critical progressive tradition; on the other…
Celebrities also suffer from the economic crisis
During the years of the economic crisis, ‘broke celebrities’ attracted the attention of the Spanish media. The main aim of this paper is to analyse how these narratives of celebrities in bankruptcy fostered a neoliberal definition of the economic crisis and legitimised austerity policies. In these narratives, the crisis was represented as a social equaliser, affecting all social groups evenly; the causes of the crisis were individualised and cele…
From the handshake to the kiss
In the last few years, affect has entered the field of politics through both the media and political actors themselves. This article is based on the hypothesis that the images of affect that illustrate contemporary political narratives in the media reflect different visual motifs which are linked to an iconographic tradition that began in the art world. Through the iconographic analysis of images published in the three newspapers in Spain with th…
Offshoring & leaking
This article examines how the news media framed the allegations made in 2016 against Cristiano Ronaldo for evading taxes through offshores, and how audiences discussed this online, in Portugal, where he is originally from, and Spain, where he played football at the time. These countries were amidst an “austerity culture” justifying welfare cuts, promoting entrepreneurialism as “success”, and presenting neoliberal policies as “common sense”. Our a…
In the end you adapt to anything’
Resilience – the ability to bounce back from hardship – is a concept that has become popular during the years of economic crisis and post-recession. Contemporary citizens are expected to be flexible, have a positive attitude and take care of themselves in a context of heightened inequality and precarity. The objective of this article is to analyze how citizens in post-recession Spain respond to media representations that prescribe these values. E…
Imaginarios de la crisis en la cultura popular española (2008-2015)
Este artículo analiza los imaginarios de la crisis representados en la cultura popular española mediante el estudio cualitativo de base semionarrativa de las series, los realities y los medios del corazón más consumidos entre 2008 y 2015. Estos textos muestran distintas formas de enfrentarse a la adversidad en relación al género de los personajes, y promueven valores neoliberales como el emprendimiento, la austeridad, la resiliencia, junto con ap…
Medium Research Group
On MEDIUM Research Group It all started in 2012, when a diverse group of researchers in the Department of Communication at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain) came together to work on a small project about transmedia storytelling funded by the Catalan Audiovisual Council. The group included researchers at different career stages specialised in video games, reality television and celebrities, fan studies, transmedia storytelling and mediat…
‘Me encanta mi trabajo, pero es un trabajo’
El objetivo de este artículo es analizar los discursos de los creadores de contenido en redes sociales (youtubers, streamers, instagramers, influencers) sobre su propio trabajo para entender cómo personifican, conectan y ayudan a construir los imaginarios laborales contemporáneos. Diversos autores han señalado cómo el mundo del trabajo ha sufrido importantes transformaciones que suponen un avance en la precarización, casualización e intermitencia…
‘Kids, these YouTubers are stealing from you’
This article's main aim is to analyse public discourses about tax avoidance in Spain by studying the scandal stirred up by the announcement by ElRubius (the most popular YouTuber in Spain, with 40.3 million subscribers) that he was moving to Andorra to pay lower taxes. To fulfil this aim, we use thematic analysis to study the most viewed and commented videos posted on YouTube by both YouTubers and the traditional media, as well as their comments …
Vulnerable but not victims
Within a platform governance paradigm, the content creator’s role seems to be placed in a position of vulnerability and resignation. This article examines the relationship between content creators and digital platforms, focusing on the views and practices of the former. To this end, in-depth interviews were conducted with eighteen Spanish content creators active on Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube and X. The results show that the participants p…
Political science (11 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Art (9 works) · Gender, Feminism, and Media (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Media studies (6 works) · Narrative (6 works) · Law (5 works) · Politics (5 works) · Aesthetics (4 works)