The Play in the System

“Anna Watkins Fisher's figure of the parasite offers us insight into the contemporary condition in which, due to ubiquitous appropriation and financialization, every oppositional gesture seems to have already been co-opted in advance. Her explorations illuminate the space in which artists and others are forced to operate today and outline ways in which it may still be possible, albeit quite ambiguously, to maneuver, resist, and express opposition.” — Steven Shaviro, author of The Universe of Things: On Speculative Realism

“Brilliant and provocative, The Play in the System explores the question: what subversive possibilities might a complicit subject—the parasite—hold? In the era of constant co-optation and coercive hospitality, the citizen is increasingly framed as a parasite. Rather than simply condemn this situation, Anna Watkins Fisher bridges new media and performance studies to understand how parasitical tactics, from hacking Amazon previews to harassing patriarchy, operate as subliminal dissent. This book, however, does not glorify the parasite: it profoundly deals with its limitations and possibilities—its dangerous voraciousness and its refusal to respect boundaries.” — Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, author of Updating to Remain the Same: Habitual New Media