Up to code: geopolitics and its influence on cultural production on the Internet

As cultural production increasingly moves online, the forces that are pushing this shift forward must be interrogated. This thesis proposes that American neoliberalism shapes the Internet and creates a biased value system that extends to online cultural production. This conceptualization of the Internet as ideological mediator has geopolitical ramifications that affect how this communication network is experienced. The geographic borders of the United States and Mexico act as a frame for this argument. This binary allows for an analysis that compares a country that benefits from the prejudices built into the Internet, as with the U.S., to a country like Mexico, that is left to assimilate into this value system. These biases will be considered in an inquiry of the cultural products that refer to the Internet but exist within the context of contemporary art, with specific attention placed on Post-Internet Art and the practices of Mexican artists working with art and technology.