Essays for the Gooniverse by Robert Fawley

Essays for the Gooniverse is a series of short-form videos sharing knowledge about how contemporary technologies (like social media, short-form content and AI) are reshaping culture and society.

A black background, with a man wearing a suit, in place of a head there is an image of the Earth.

BA Design student Robert Fawley is interested in how technology itself is reshaping the way we think, and what we can know. Inspired by John Berger's 'Ways of Seeing' - which used the medium of television documentary at a time when that was the dominant medium reshaping society - Robert realised he could explain how the dominant media of 2026 reshape culture through the increasingly dominant format of short-form content.

I want people to notice that the way we consume media isn't neutral; it shapes what we're able to know and think about. Not as a warning, just as something worth being aware of.

Robert Fawley, BA Design

The project required him to act as a designer, director, actor, editor and software engineer. He taught himself to code to build a scraper to gather data from tens of thousands of TikTok videos, in order to gain a thorough understanding of the medium. He then created a character to front the videos he created; the 'Goon Guide' who wears a suit and has a green-screen orb for a face.

A man in a black suit but over his head he is wearing a green orb. There is a ring light on a stand and he is holding a small microphone.

What started as a fairly abstract question about culture ended up as me, in a suit and an orb, translating dense theory into videos for a feed.

Robert Fawley, BA Design

Re-engineering the essay to fit into a format that is not compatible with traditional essay style, the resulting videos are not intended to tell people what to do. Rather it is an acknowledgement that modes of media consumption are changing - and have changed. Robert explains, "There's a lot of work out there about how short-form content is wrecking our attention and fragmenting how we think. But almost all of it either despairs about the problem or tells people they should just read more (or something equally as naive). My work recognises that our modes of consumption have been irrevocably changed and that instead of shouting into the void about why that change is 'bad', we instead need to approach these new mediums and work within them to make them the most productive spaces they can be."

The project allowed Robert to step outside his comfort zone and learn more about video production, gaining a diverse set of news skills in the process, like filming, lighting, editing, after effects, and voice-over. "I am lucky that I have been able to work on something I find interesting. It makes my world a brighter and more interesting place!" he added.