Michael Grabowski

Overview

Michael Grabowski is Director of the Game Design & Production major and Professor in the Communication, Sound, and Media Arts Department at Manhattan University. He is the author of Ethics of Virtual Reality: Technology and Experience, editor of Neuroscience and Media: New Understandings and Representations, and has written several articles and book chapters on media. His work on documentaries, feature films, commercials, music videos, and news has played at the Guggenheim, the Smithsonian, several film festivals, and on TV networks, and has won two Emmy Awards. Grabowski explores how different forms of mediated communication, including virtual reality and AI-generated media, shape the way people think and act within their symbolic environment.

Education

• PHD, New York University
• MA, New York University
• BA, The Ohio State University

Courses Taught

ART 134          The Culture of Games
ART 407          Senior Game Seminar
COMM 222      Introduction to Story and Postproduction
COMM 301      Media Theory and Research
COMM 308      Studio Television Production
COMM 350      Field and Post-Production
COMM 365      Game Design and Development
COMM 375      Internship for Juniors
COMM 409      Senior Seminar
COMM 419      Advanced Television Production
COMM 461      Independent Study in Communication
COMM 475      Internship for Seniors
DASH 310        VR: Perception and Production

Research & Scholarly Activities

Grabowski studies the perception of media, cognitive theories of film, the convergence of video games and movies, ethics of AI image generation, and the poetics of VR. He is currently working on a book about our perception of the real world through virtual environments.

Publications

Grabowski, M. (2025). Ethics of Virtual Reality: Technology and Experience. New York: Lexington Books.

Grabowski, M. (2018). "A Cognitive Approach to Producing the Documentary Interview." In C. Brylla and M. Kramer, Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Grabowski, M. (2016). Foreword. In L.R. Antunes, The Multisensory Film Experience: A Cognitive Model of Experiential Film Aesthetics. Bristol, UK: Intellect.

Grabowski, M. (Ed.). (2015). Neuroscience and Media: New Understandings and Representations. London & New York: Routledge. 

Grabowski, M. (2014). "Boomers in the Global Village." In Baby Boomers and Popular Culture, eds. Brian Cogan and Thom Gencarelli, 67-81. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2014.

Grabowski, M. (2014). "Resignation and Positive Thinking in the Working-Class Family Sitcom," Atlantic Journal of Communication, 22:2, 124-137, DOI: 10.1080/15456870.2013.842573

Naaeke, A., Kurylo, A., Grabowski, M., Linton, D., and Radford, M.L. (2011). "Insider and Outsider Perspective in Ethnographic Research," Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association: Vol. 2010, Article 9. Available at: http://docs.rwu.edu/nycsaproceedings/vol2010/iss1/

Grabowski, M. (2010). “Books 1.0: The Enduring Legacy of the Printed Word.” In D. Harmon (Ed.), Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Grabowski, M. (2008). “Lessons in Appealing to the Young Non-voter: Michael Moore’s Slackers Uprising Tour.” In B. Cogan & T. Kelso (Eds.), Mosh the Polls (pp. 95-118). New York: Lexington.

Grabowski, M. (2002). “Merchants of Cool.” Rushkoff, D. (Prod./Dir.). Explorations in Media Ecology, 1 (2), 154-155. [Review].

Conference Papers:

• "Reality Status Assertions of Documentary VR." Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, June 2018

• “Bordwell’s Poetics and Perception of VR: The Problem of Medium.” Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland, June 2017

• “Perception and Poetics of VR Documentary.” ZDOK17: Being There, Zürich University of the Arts, Switzerland, March 2017, https://intern.zhdk.ch/index.php?id=113453

• "Press Play: A Media Ecological Analysis of Gaming YouTube Videos.” Media Ecology Association 2016 Annual Convention, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, June 2016
• "The Cognitive Study of Direct-address YouTube Videos." Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference, University of London, London, UK, June 2015.
• "An Ecological Model of Time in the Brain and on Film." National Communication Association, November 2012.
• "Understanding PECMA: Joining Media Ecology and Embodied Cinema." Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, June 2012.
• "Neurophysiological Correlates of Perception within Symbolic Environments." Media Ecology Association 2012 Annual Convention, Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY, June 2012.
• "The Voices on the Screen Become the Voices in Our Heads: An Ecological Model of Mediated Narratives." National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA, November 2011.
• “Biases of Digital Communication: Obscured Realities and the End of Frontier.” Media in Transition Conference 6: Stone and Papyrus, Storage and Transmission, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, April 2009.
• “Honesty, Ownership and Justice: Understanding the Cultural and Social Mores Influencing Students’ Perceptions of Copyright.” Media in Transition Conference 5: Creativity, Ownership and Collaboration in the Digital Age, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, April 2007.
• “Appealing to the Young Non-voter: Michael Moore’s Slacker Tour.” Eastern Communication Association, Pittsburgh, PA, April 2005.
• “Understanding Media Teaching: Effective Strategies For Integrating Theory And Production.” Eastern Communication Association Conference, Boston, MA, April 2004. [Short Course].
• Moderator & Presenter: “Digital Video vs. Film: A Technical Comparison.” New York New Media Association DV Expo, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, June 2003.
• “See It Now: Creating a Political Community through Television.” Eastern Communication Association, New York, NY, April 2002.
• “Public Service or Nuisance? Television Newsmagazine Programs and their Audiences.” National Communication Association, Atlanta, GA, November 2001.

• Spring 2008 Scholar-in-Residence, New York University Center for Neural Science

Professional Experience & Memberships

Producer, director, editor, video/broadcast/new media consultant, videographer, audio production, gaffer/grip for feature films, broadcast and cable television, music videos, regional and national commercials, and corporate video/multimedia.

Memberships

• Media Ecology Association
• National Communication Association
• Society for the Cognitive Study of the Moving Image
• University Film and Video Association