Education
Degrees
2022
Doctor of Philosophy
Queensland University of Technology | Brisbane, QLD
Thesis title: Exploring the 'Brazilian-ness' of Brazilian YouTube: New voices, new platforms, new television? Supervisors: Prof. Jean Burgess and Dist. Prof. Stuart Cunningham
​
This thesis analyses the culture of YouTube in Brazil and its role in the broader Brazilian media environment. It closely examines three highly popular Brazilian YouTube channels: Canal KondZilla, whinderssonnunes and Porta dos Fundos, as well as their cross-over productions for television. The analysis shows that these channels combine the culture of YouTube with existing television references and Brazilian popular culture expressions to produce more progressive representations of class, race, and regional identity, and to discuss controversial topics from new perspectives. The thesis argues that Brazilian YouTube represents Brazilian culture in new ways, helping to change how the nation sees itself.
​
​
2018
Master of Philosophy
Queensland University of Technology | Brisbane, QLD
Thesis title: The 'Zoeira' Never Ends": The role of internet memes in contemporary Brazilian culture Supervisors: Prof. Jean Burgess and Assoc. Prof. Stephen Harrington
​
This thesis uses the concept of the "zoeira", a particularly Brazilian form of humour, to undertake a cultural analysis of Brazilian internet memes and their role in contemporary culture. Through a close textual analysis of three memes, it details how memes represent specific aspects of Brazilian culture and how Brazilian meme culture relates to the broader popular culture of the internet. It concludes with findings about the social and cultural meanings of humour for Brazilian digital culture, showing that Brazilian memes work as tools for political protest and for building a shared cultural identity.
​
​
2013
Bachelor of Communication (Advertising)
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul | Porto Alegre, Brazil
Publications
Book Chapters
Cunningham, S., Mehta, S., Lunardi, G., & Healy, G. (2022) (2nd ed). YouTube: The interface between television and Social Media Entertainment. In D. Johnson (Ed.), From networks to Netflix: A guide to changing channels (2nd ed., pp. 213-222). Routledge.
Lunardi, G. M., & Burgess, J. (2020). "É zoeira": As dinâmicas culturais do humor brasileiro na internet [“It’s zoeira": The cultural dynamics of Brazilian humour on the internet]. In V. Chagas (Ed.), A cultura dos memes: aspectos sociológicos e dimensões políticas de um fenômeno do mundo digital (pp. 427-457). EDUFBA.
Blog post
Lunardi, G. (2017, July 13). Meet Gretchen, meme queen of the Brazilian Internet. Medium - DMRC at large. https://medium.com/dmrc-at-large/meet-gretchen-meme-queen-of-the-brazilian-internet-675cf587364