A film and podcast about social bots, early modern witches, and how infotech reveals them all.
Produced and directed by Heather D. Freeman
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The Film and Podcast
Research for Familiar Shapes began in 2016 while I was reading about both the earlier modern witch trials and disinformation on social media. I noticed something interesting: the malicious social bot and witch's familiar had a lot in common.
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Over the next two years, I interviewed dozens of experts in history, computer science, sociology, and communications studies. With the help of Photography Advisor Hamilton Ward and eleven UNC Charlotte student interns, I began constructing my first feature film.
The 2020 global pandemic forced a pivot, however. I revised an earlier edit of the film into a serial podcast, released every two weeks from April through September 2020. Proud of the UNC Charlotte students' hard work, I revised the film into a 20-minute short, which is currently being submitted to film festivals.
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You can learn more about this journey, the interns, and the interview subjects on the Familiar Shapes Blog.
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