What Is Modern Media - Coursework Example

Do new media forms and technologies require the re-thinking of our conceptions of audiences and media consumption? Introduction Life would have been much easier a few decades back for media analysts compared to the proliferation of diverse media that is seen today. Take a day during the 1950s, when the radio, movies, and TV were probably the only medium worth analyzing. The number of channels with regard to TV was just a handful. The emergence of new media today has drastically changed man’s perception of what the media is and what it conveys to the audience. Not only have new media emerged, but they have converged over the years to such an extent that there is no clear cut boundary as to what defines a particular one. For example, the mobile phone can be defined as a media of communicating with another person, but can also be used to listen to music and news, watching videos and movies, and even to browse the internet. The diversity and convergence of media has also resulted in changed perception about many technical terms that are used to explain its relationship with the viewer and the audience. The new media has affected the society in many ways and it includes culture and social relationships. Terms like cultural cargo, media flow, media text, interaction, and a host of others cannot be explained in the same way as it was done a few years ago. New terms like docusoap have also emerged along the way. This has been succinctly put by Mark Poster as quoted in the book, New Media, by Mark Lester. Poster says that “if modern society may be said to foster an individual who is rational, autonomous, centered and stable…then perhaps a postmodern society is emerging which nurtures forms of identity different from, even opposite to those of modernity. And electronic communications technologies significantly enhance these postmodern possibilities” (Lister, 2003, p. 253). This is to say that new media has definitely changed and probably even corrupted the society is some way. There also exists an opposite view that the term ‘new’ is in fact an extension of the old media that was in existence. It indicates that the change in the postmodern society is not due to the newness of the media, but due to any other factor, probably a natural change that was bound to happen anyway. This paper is an attempt to judge which of the above views are more accurate with regard to new media. In the process, it tries to analyze the changed perception of many of the technical terms that is used by analysts in the media world with regard to the audience. The paper also puts special focus on several major media revolutions which have had an effect in the audience, interactivity, and how these changes have shaped and extended the perception of the people towards media. The influence of the media on culture and its power to corrupt There have been countless instances where media has been held responsible for negative effects and acts by members of the society. The controversy of the OJ Simpson case where the jury was being influenced by an all pervasive media is an apt instance in this respect. As Ruddock cites this instance in his book : “ The murder trials of former American football star O.J.Simpson and British nanny Louise Woodward have raised questions about whether the trial by the jury system, a system whose integrity relies upon the ability to sequester a jury from external influences, can survive media-saturated societies” (Ruddock, 2001, p. 19). There had been so much publicity and hype over the trial especially in the TV that it was impossible for anyone to miss it, including members of the jury. In the same way, during the 1992 US elections, vice presidential candidate John Stockdale appeared to be confused and dimwitted during a live televised debate. This was because of a hearing problem that was inflicted by a wound during his tenure in navy. There are some who claim that Ross Perot was defeated (at least to some extent) by this apparently poor performance. Media influence has led people to acts which are more gruesome in nature. A film titled Natural Born Killers has been accused of inducing people to kill fellow human beings. In fact fourteen murders across the globe have been blamed due to the bad influence of the movie. The uncensored internet in such an instance can equally influence people to act negatively; since it has been more or less proved that media has the power to corrupt people. Activities like voyeurism are now easily accessible on the net, with hidden cameras in spaces like toilets and bedrooms capturing intimated or private acts. With proliferation of media, its convergence and availability, the influence is now more widespread than ever before. The role of the audience The role of the audience has immensely been increased with the emergence of the new Media. From being a passive viewer or listener, the audience role has now evolved dramatically to even influencing the outcome of programs. According to Holmes, “when it comes to TV programming, this has been most visibly witnessed with the rise of reality TV, and even the most cursory survey of reality formats would seem to suggest that the TV viewer has never been so ‘empowered’. Phrases such as ‘You decide!’ (Big Brother), ‘But this time you choose!’ (Pop Idol) and ‘If you want to have your say’ (The Salon) proliferate in contemporary TV, insisting pressingly upon an increased participatory (and, above all, dialogic) relationship between viewer and screen” (Holmes, 2004, p. 214). The script writer, producer, or the director no longer holds the key (to a large extent) to the plot in such instances. In shows that require audience’s votes to decide the outcome, this power is totally transferred. What is to be noted here is that the voter may not be a person to make a qualified judgment. Ultimately, the person who wins a contest cannot be said to be the most deserving candidate as the whims of a lay audience play significant part in the selection process rather than that of the informed decision of a more knowledgeable section of the audience. In many instances, the audience takes on the role of actors as well. This is also one strong example of interactivity in the TV environment. According to Holmes (2004), shows such as Big Brother and the Salon come under the genre of docusoap, (a new terminology). The actors in such shows are auditioned to play a part (Salon) or let themselves be filmed in their natural settings (Big Brother). Incidentally, the name Big Brother could have been borrowed from Orwell’s classic 1984, where the population of the world was always under the watchful eyes of the government, which is given the same name. There are too many roles that can be played by the audience to be mentioned here. But one more role, that of an online critic is also mentioned here to illustrate the sheer variety of the medium. The popular site jumptheshark.com is an example. Jumping the shark refers to a situation where the quality of any activity or show begins to decline after a peak. This can be with regard to movies, music, soaps, serials etc. A popular soap can wander off course for want of quality content just in order to keep it running. Jumptheshark.com is a viewer contributing site that criticizes TV serials and soaps. Convergence, interactivity, and control An instance of interactivity has been mentioned in the previous section. This concept was virtually non-existent in the old media. Of course, limited levels of interactivity did exist previously, especially with regard to phone in programs on radio and TV, but not to the extent seen today. The advent of the digital technology and internet has brought about a totally new level if interactivity between the user/viewer and the medium. An instance of control, interactivity, and choice in the analog media was the introduction of the revolutionary Sony Walkman. In his book about the product, authors Du Gay et al says that this one product has successfully encompass all the five cultural processes that is used as a yardstick to measure the impact of anything on culture: ‘The five major cultural processes which the book identifies are: Representation, Identity, Production, Consumption, and Regulation” (Gay, Hall, & Janes 1997). The product for the first time gave options to the listener to hear music as he pleased irrespective of the environment. Steven Miles in his book “Consumerism” speaks about the influence on culture, brought about by the Walkman, with reference to the book by Du Gay and his co-authors: “the Walkman is closely allied to the culture of late modernity through the nature of its design. The walkman is designed to be worn as a lightweight appendage to the human body through which an individual can express aspects of his or her self image” (Miles, 1998). Probably one of the first technologies that can be called interactive and convergent in the digital world of TV was introduced by TiVo. This was the introduction of the DVR or digital video recorders. Till that time, the VCRs could be programmed to record a given program at a preset time. But that was all it could do and viewers could watch the recorded material at their discretion. But the DVR gave a higher level of control to the viewers through this convergence. TV programs had to rely on advertisements for profit and had to schedule their programs in a particular way to entice viewers: “the role for programmers is to construct programming that routinely attracts audiences to sell to advertisers. Viewers participate through viewing both the programming and the advertisements, entwined through the practice of flow” (Carlson). The introduction of the DVR and its market leader TiVo threatened this media flow to such an extent that broadcasters were highly concerned and suspicious of it. The technology challenged four basic TV broadcasting practices including the two mentioned in quotes above (media flow and watching ads). The other two were “the necessity of third-party ratings to support audience metrics and set advertising prices, and the airing of unprotected, copyrighted materials without mass copying. While past technologies have assaulted individual practices, DVRs are unique in that they challenge all four aspects simultaneously” (Carlson). Audience now had the control of the many features that it offered including avoid the recording of commercials. The technology could also effectively record audience viewing practices without the help of professional rating companies. Dallas Smythe as quoted in Shaun Moore’s Interpreting Audiences says that the role of the media (TV industry) is “delivering audiences to advertisers” (Moores 1993). If the power of the audience to control media through convergence and interactivity is rising, then the above statement needs rethinking. The role of the audience, the media, and the advertisers are changing in the era of the new media. Convergence can happen in different ways and formats in the media today. Take the internet and one can see streaming video, text, audio, and still image in a single page. According to Dan Harris in the article titled ‘Watching the Internet, one can see “these previously discrete screens being merged, particularly in relation to current efforts to fuse both computer and television screens into integrated, interactive entertainment spaces” (Harris P. 1). Youtube is one among the many examples. Viewers can upload videos of their choice (even though there is content restriction with regard to pornography, racism, violence etc) which incidentally is also an instance of interactivity. They can also view or even download the thousands of videos on the site. Here viewers can also become producers and directors (change of role) because they can upload home made videos and some of them have even become extremely popular based upon the number of views that is given alongside each video. Convergence can also happen by partnering of two different Medias. For example, popular movies and TV shows have dedicated websites that provide details of the story, the cast, technicians, and even the background of the making of the movie. Take the case of the popular serial Dawson’s Creek and its dedicated website: “A couple of clicks from the front page of the official show website, dawsonscreek.com, takes the visitor to capeside.net, which constructs a simulacrum of the show’s fictional locale as if it were a real place with a web Presence” (Brooker 2001). A page link to a ‘slam book’ is also viewable where visitors are encouraged to provide their demographics, likes and interests, and other relevant and trivial data. This is one of the drawbacks of the intractability seen on many websites. Visitors are, in most cases, required to provide personal details in such interactive sites. For example, when a visitor needs to register themselves on such sites, compulsory information like age, sex, address, and other relevant details have to be provided. Harries also mentions the cultural changes that have brought about the practice of channel surfing (TV) and mindless web browsing. He muses that he is often a victim to both practices and feels that mindless browsing is an extension of channel surfing. Channel surfing occurs when the viewer is bored and when there are plenty of channels available. Mindless web browsing usually occurs when the viewer is not particularly interested in any one site and browses the web simply because of the huge volume of content available online. Harris terms this practice of viewing and browsing as ‘viewsing’. It would be worthwhile to understand the modes of engagement (with the media) and the different reasons why people engage in one of these modes. Audience will play, explore, experiment, or intervene with the media. These can be extractive, immersive, or registrational. In case the purpose is to find some information, then it is extractive. Virtual reality experience is an example of going immersive and registrational indicates the contribution of the audience is some form or the other. It can be the filling up of personal details or introducing content into sites like wikis. Interactivity and convergence can be used to educate and inform in effective ways. The role media method of using text and pictures now can be extended to more interactive approaches. The role of the internet can be used effectively for this purpose. There are many educational sites that users can access (most sites require payments) for gathering information for the purpose of academic studies. The internet can also be used to effectively inform people about past horrors where users have the choice of selective viewing through interactivity. An example would be the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles where the horrors of the Nazi holocaust have been dramatically depicted (Reading 2003). ‘The medium is the message’: The perceptions of theories of Marshall McLuhan deserve mention here as they substantiate the power of the new media and at the same time repudiates its power. What is striking about his thinking is that his writings were done during the 1970s when digital media and the internet were unheard of. Even the computer during that time was mainly a piece of equipment used by corporations who had the means, resources and needs for large computing power (by the standards that existed at that time). But with whatever information he had about computers and the level of penetration of TV and radio at that time, McLuhan propounded that technology is only an extension of one of the senses or some faculty of humans. He says that all technology, in whatever fields they emerge are developed solely for the purpose mentioned above. In his bestselling book, McLuhan proclaims that “We again meet the wheel as an ‘extension of the foot’, while the book is ‘an extension of the eye’, clothing is an extension of the skin, and electric circuitry is an extension of the central nervous system. In other places he speaks of money or gunpowder as a medium. In each case, then an artifact is seen as extending a part of the body, a limb or the nervous system” (Dovey, J & Lister 2009). Bearing this idea in mind, every invention and innovation is an extension to improve man’s faculties and senses. Hence the internet and the computer screen is an extension of the eye, interactivity is an extension of the mind, the TV is again an extension of the eye and so on. The argument is that the screwdriver betters whatever tasks that had been done with the fingers, the hammer betters whatever tasks that had been done with the hand, and the internet improves whatever tasks that had been done with the eye and the mind. This argument dilutes the power of the media to a certain extent since it essentially says that every media has been developed for human use. But McLuhan adds that certain media has more power than others and that media is more powerful than the content it conveys: “McLuhan is especially insistent that an analysis of media content is meaningless—misses the point—since it is the medium which carries the lion’s share of the communication. Simply put, the medium affects the body and the psyche in relatively unconscious ways; thus it is more powerful than the message, which largely appeals to the conscious mind” (Soules 2007). So watching a movie on a big screen in darkness may influence a person more than when he or she reads a book on which the above mentioned movie is based. The interactivity and convergence of technology in the internet may influence a person more than what viewed on the TV screen or the pages of a book. Even though technology is developed for benefit or improvement, some of them can be more influential than others. McLuhan spoke his mind nearly forty years ago, but his foresight and lingering influence even today cannot be denied. He could foresee that the communication capability of the new media will be able to make the world smaller and was the person who coined the term ‘global village’. His influence among media savvy persons can be seen from the fact that Wired magazine had adopted him as patron saint in 1996 (Shachtman 2002). Conclusions The new media is radically changing the way people perceive and use it. The technology that has developed over the years has now resulted in high levels of interactivity, convergence and control with regard to the audience. The argument of McLuhan that technology is only an extension of human senses and faculty is relevant here. Even so, McLuhan has stated that some forms of technology are more effective than others. In other words, technology and the medium still have tremendous power to influence and corrupt. But the roles of the players are continuously changing. The audience is now more than ever active especially when considering internet (blogs, wikis, and social networking sites). By all appearances, this evolution and extension will continue in the coming years also. There may come a time when there is only one media in the world and it will have everything from sound, audio, video, interactivity, and text with so much clarity and speed that all other forms of media like TV, print, movies, and videos will cease to exist in isolation. 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