The Social Life of Human Beings Keeps on Transforming - Essay Example

Audio Culture Introduction The social life of human beings keeps on transforming using different modes of communication. Their social presence also depends upon shared understanding of the world. Therefore, the study of culture and various modes of mediations of culture are very important. Radio is found embedded in the inter-media world today. With changes in technology, the social and cultural function of radio and the way of presentation have been also transformed. Previously radio had a paradigmatic status in the electronic medium before the Television programs started to get on the air. In those days, radio content was most based on speech programming later by the introduction of Television media radio diverted its major entertainment towards musical programming (Crook, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to analyze different radio texts to present a discourse by evaluating the social, cultural, political and economic contexts. Four different audio programs have been selected for the analysis of radio based on programming, production, audience and cultural context. The analysis will be categorized broadly into Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis focusing on a use of music, sound, text and technology in different sorts of programs by different presenters. Conversation Analysis is defined as a method of analyzing the audio or video tapes for discovering how the participants of the conversation in the audio understand each other’s points and respond accordingly with the main focus on generation of sequences of action (Wooffitt, 2005). Or in other words the purpose of Conversation Analysis is to reveal the tactic reasoning procedures and sociolinguistic capabilities triggering the production and evaluation of the audio conversation in an organized sequence of interaction (Hutchby, 2006). Discourse Analysis or Critical Discourse Analysis is a method of understanding how social power (radio) is used or abused in relation with spoken or written languages. The method particularly focuses on studying the dialectal relationship with the discourse aspect of the social practices and the structure of society (Tolson, 2006). Victoria Derbyshire: (BBC Radio 5 live show) It is a news show presented by Victoria Derbyshire. The show includes news on social and cultural issues, political news and sports news in the United Kingdom and all around the world. Based on the conversation analysis the presenters interact with each other only when it’s necessary, like to hand over the conversation from one person to another. The news show is led by Victoria Derbyshire dominantly as she goes on with delivering the news to the audience. The show has significant social and cultural impact because it presents the current and latest news related to the society. Debershire presented the news on child abuse specifying the rising sexual issue in society. The social impact of the show is related to its capability to deliver information. The discourse presented by the presenter in the show is well written and specific. The use of language and dialogs was appropriate and ethical according to the cultural requirements. The presenter also indicated political news where a person was abused by some political entity. The channel however did not reveal the name of the politician and his political affiliation with the party. Derbyshire also included an interview in the show to highlight the criticality of the issue. The use of sound and music in the news show is also very appropriate. Since it is not a musical program or a drama no thematic musical pieces were required in the show. The audience of the show includes from young individuals to old age. The show is designed to increase the information of the audience on current issues. The show presented the child abuse issue, therefore, the audience includes government officials, police department executives, parents, and children as well. It is found that the show is constructively participating in highlighting a social issue of child abuse and letting the listeners participate in the show to present their views. Thus, the news show is not merely based on one-way communication but allows two-way communication (Godfrey, 2006). The show is believed to be serving as a platform for letting people to discuss how they feel about such a social dilemma, and they may suggest related solutions to the child abuse issue raised by the presenter. The presenter also asked the listeners to share their stories related to child abuse so that their voice could reach millions of people. Therefore, it is analyzed that the news show can contribute the society in creating awareness about the social problems in public, encourage people to raise their voice to masses, and warning the political leaders and police department officials about controlling the social issues prevailing in the society. The contribution of the show with respect to social and cultural representation is found significant. Under Milk Wood: BBC Radio. Dylan Thomas Under Milk, Wood is a radio drama by Dylan Thomas. Radio plays are stories told via narrative and dialogs using the characters. Unlike television media, the viewers cannot understand the story by looking at the characters in radio plays. The producers of radio plays have to deliver the essence of the story by using music and sounds. In radio dramas the tone, voice and dialog delivery is very important. The characters have to make the listeners imagine the entire scene through the story telling and the way of presenting the dialogs (Crook, Radio Drama, 2002). In the drama, Under Milk Wood the narrator presented the scenes with the variation in his voice letting audience imagine how it would appear in practical. The role of sound is very important in radio drama. The way, discourse is written, is extremely crucial in radio dramas because the author has to explain every feeling related to the characters, expressions, emotions and flow of a story through words. Like stage dramas radio dramas are based on conflict using the characters with a clear beginning, middle, and the end. The story slowly progresses towards the climax of the drama where sounds are used to show the feelings and pace of a drama (Wooffitt, 2005). Under Milk, Wood is one of the most successful radio dramas presented by BBC Radio. The producer has used very distinctive characters with varying sounds so that the audience can enjoy the drama without getting confused (Nightingale, 1984). Initially, the drama continues with a narrator telling the story with swiftly shifting his voice with the ups and downs of the scene. The narrator started with a slow, impact full voice saying “It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible black” to let audience perceive how dark the night would be in a small town. It indicates the importance of sound in radio plays. The author has written a wonderful piece of art with so much emotional and detail description of the feelings and attitudes of the characters as well the atmosphere. In the radio play Under Milk Wood, the narrator successfully depicted the horror, loneliness and silence of the night. The Drama let the audience hook them with the story. The discourse used in the play was very interesting and grabbing. However, it is found that the producer of the radio play did not use any musical instrument for making the narrative more interesting. Incorporation of music and background sounds greatly facilitate in expressing the story and let the audience perceive the scene easily. The selected piece of audio lacked this character in its presentation. By incorporating music in the background, the audiences might have enjoyed the drama more. Radio Reunited by Damon Albarn Radio Reunited is a 3-minute piece of audio containing chunks of different programs. On the 90th anniversary of BBC Damon Albarn, a 3 min piece of history broadcast of the BBC radio was created. The idea was to recognize the importance of radio and its remarkable success throughout the years. Damon Albarn mixed various chunks of messages compiled as one audio tape revealing the importance of radio and sharing information for staying together in the future. The messages were addressing the future generation that has to appear after 90 years. The speakers presented their fears, hopes, expectations and observations about the unborn generation. The piece of audio was broadcasted on November 14th, 2013 at 5:33pm (Martin, 2012). The audience targeted was all the listeners of the radio who enjoy different sorts of programs on radio including news, dramas, music shows, political shows and public shows. The audiences enjoyed the creative attempt by Damon Albarn as he utilized sound and music both to deliver his message. The ultimate message of the audio was to let people rejoice the success of radio and understand its importance in their lives. He mixed different musical pieces with the background sound of people delivering messages to the next generation full of emotions and desires (Davey, 2012). The audio started a message from a child stating "Hello future, I hope music still matters because music is everything. Without it, theres nothing. Just silence. (Martin, 2012) “Followed by this, a complex compilation of advices, hopes and dreams in the form of messages from multiple common people were also observed. The artist has tried to link the radio source and its success with common people showing that radio brings happiness in their lives. People chat and interact with the world with radio and can send messages to the future generations by using radio programs. The message was simple and unique, focusing on the wide audience and showing how important they and radio are for each other. The concept of this type of creation was also to keep the historical audio pieces in record in a three minute audio so that after 90 years someday somewhere on BBC radio may dig out the tape and play it for the generation and the messages recorded in 21st century will be delivered to the generation of 22nd century. The idea emphasizes on the advancement of technology and also shows how culturally and socially people are related to each other with the radio transmissions (Davey, 2012). Freakonomics Podcast: Podcasts are episodes of different audio, digital radio or PDF files that are subscribed to be downloaded or listened by uploading through the internet on a computer or mobile (Geoghegan & Klass, 2005). Freakonomics Podcasts develop different audio files that are accessible on an internet. The recorded audio tapes contain information on selected topics in the form of interviews, discussions, and surveys. The topics covered in these podcasts are usually linked with social issues and dilemmas highlighting the education problems, health problems, financial issues and social issues like drug abuse in the United States. The podcasts can be categorized in the genre of information media (Feed Burner, 2014). The objective of Freakonomics Podcast is of great importance for the society. The radio is fulfilling its social and cultural responsibility by indicating various issues faced the people for increasing awareness and presenting solutions to the identified problems. The production of these podcasts entails detailed research first to identify the social, ethical, economic and educational issues and then present them in front of the audience after getting information from credible resources. The podcast selected for analysis indicated a social issue of money saving in Americans (Scott, 2012). The researcher declared that half of the people in the United States do not have money saved in banks to survive any collapse. The podcast is very informative and presented the information with evidences clearly to the audiences. The podcast is thought provoking and letting the audience evaluate their financial conditions based on the facts revealed by the researcher through his survey. The use of sound and music in the background of the podcast is also suitable according to the requirement. Since while listening to the podcast, the audience will be more interested in understanding the facts revealed and concluding the solutions of their problem. Therefore, unnecessary use of music would hinder with the attention of the audience. As it is discussed that the social impact of Freakonomics Podcast is huge, its cultural importance cannot be ignored. The podcast also highlights cultural issues and problems faced by people like racism. Another advantage of podcasts is that it is feasible for audience to select the podcast they would like and after downloading it they could listen to it repeatedly unlike the other online radio transmissions that do not allow the listener to listen to them again. List of References Crook, T. (2002). Radio Drama (latest ed.). New York: Routledge. Crook, T. (2011). The Sound Hand Book (latest ed.). New York: Routledge. Davey, T. (2012, September 10). Radio Reunited: BBC Radio at 90. Retrieved January 8, 2015, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio/posts/BBC-Radio-at-90 Feed Burner. (2014). Freakonomics Radio. Retrieved January 8, 2015, from http://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio Geoghegan, M. W., & Klass, D. (2005). Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting (latest ed.). New York: APress. Godfrey, D. (2006). Methods of Historical Analysis in Electronic Media (latest ed.). New York: Routledge. Hutchby, I. (2006). Media Talk: Conversation Analysis and the Study of Broadcasting. Glasgow. Glasgow: Open University Press. Martin, C. (2012, November 15). Hear Damon Albarns BBC Radio Reunited Broadcast for the Future. Retrieved January 8, 2015, from http://www.spin.com/articles/hear-damon-albarn-bbc-radio-time-capsule/ Nightingale, V. (1984). Media Audiences, Media Products. Australian Journal of Cultural STudies, 2(1), 1-16. Scott, D. (2012, October 25). The 30 Best Podcasts Right Now. Retrieved January 8, 2015, from http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/10/the-30-best-podcasts-right-now/ Tolson, A. (2006). Media Talk: Spoken Discourse on TV and Radio. (latest ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Wooffitt, R. (2005). Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis: A Comparative and Critical Introduction. (latest ed.). New Delhi: Sage Publications. Read More