media theory: My response to PART B # 2 and # 3 http://media210theory.blogspot.com/2007/03/my-response-to-part-b-2-an...

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Final Exam :)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Compared to newer forms of media such as the Internet, traditional media

such as radio and TV broadcasting, popular print (serials, romances,
magazines) and film seem to move slower in terms of shaking off
dominant ideologies that oppress more people than they actually benefit.
Classical Marxist theories explain that the mode of material production
(base) within a society determines the nature of relationships between
people (superstructure). And because the economy of capitalist societies is
built upon gain or profit, cultural texts (art, music, film, literature) follow
suit in privileging ideas that would gain the producer or owner more profit
from the consumer. Dominant ideologies—and the accepted patterns,
narrative conventions, codes, significations within cultural texts, for that
matter—therefore perpetuate themselves in traditional media. Needless to
say, representations, such as characters and events, will most likely be
consistent to established icons, images and themes.

Furthermore, gate-keeping and agenda-setting theories shed light on

actual media practices wherein produces, owners and financiers hold sway
over content and representations in media texts. Narratives such as those
exploited in telenovelas and fantaseryes follow familiar patterns, use the
same old linear and chronological sequencing of events, showcase typical
characters by typecasted actors, and even recycle old “twists” and
“surprise” endings. The proliferation of and our exposure to these texts
make audiences unable to appreciate texts that attempt to break such
narrative conventions (ex. Putot, 21 Grams, Babel), and the failure of such
“avant-garde” texts to sell in the market all the more maintains the status
quo.

I apologize if I seem to make hasty generalizations and other fallacies in

reasoning; but the state local TV programming has led me to considerably
lessen my TV viewing since 2003. Perhaps for others, for the people whom
television programming had been geared at, the familiarity of olds patterns

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and conventions brings respite from the harsh realities of life (“opiate of
the masses”); but more often I had found it disappointing how TV has
failed to provide people with alternative characters, ways of thinking,
situations, realities—new heroes that might somehow lend insight into the
dilemmas of modern life. Going by the Uses and Gratifications theory, by
refusing to watch TV I have refused the idea that someone like Ally
McBeal or the characters in Friends and in many other programs were
representative of me and the life I lead. I felt alienated by experience,
taste, culture whenever I watched most of these shows. Just recently
however, because of the advancements in technology and subsequently in
piracy, I developed this knack for watching foreign sitcoms/tv series by the
season (its amazing how a whole season of series such as Desperate
Housewives, Sex and the City, CSI can fit into a single DVD). Sex and the
City (which I have just started to watch a couple of weeks ago) is slowly
turning out to be a let down for me. Despite the great humor, the creative
story-telling device and great visual/narrative hooks, I felt that it did not
represent me nor the majority of modern women I know. Their idea of
“liberated women” was problematic. I thought that the series became sort
of a backlash against women’s lib in general, that being liberated for
women primarily meant being sexually liberated. Sure it is entertaining,
but at the end of each season you find the lead characters back in the rut
(the same rut you had originally been in): depressed and unhappy had
earlier on been perceived as “new, liberating opportunities for women.” In
the end they still long for the security of being in an ‘ideal relationship’
with the ‘ideal man;’ in Sex and the City it was Mr. Big, the elusive alpha
male who goes for the ‘uncomplicated woman’.

Because of what I said earlier about the Internet I believe that more
alternatives are available for me online. The Internet culture has changed
so much over the past few years due to opensource software and many
other venues for online collaboration. I have been fascinated by the
amount of disclosure and obstinate attempts to reach out to others that
people put into blogs, vodcasts, networking sites, etc. Surfing the
net—made easier by keyword-selection skills, tagging and bookmark
organization—is a rich source of alternatives and a freer venue for
managing identities. Unlike watching TV, personal/personalized websites,
blogs, podcasting, vodcasting (or video-casting), and photosharing on line
opens you up to various perspectives, experiences, tastes, cultures,
insights, attitudes, ideas, art, images and new icons. The stories people
share online have actually opened my eyes to so many possibilities; for

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instance, there are actually a lot of women who are happy being single,
who are fulfilled and empowered by their profession or their art, and who
are passionate about empowering other people as well.

The non-profitability of zines and their independence from dominant

modes of production have given their makers a lot of leeway in
self-expression. Layouts are freer, texts and graphics can be as varied (or
vulgar) as one needs it to be without being filtered by a profit/reputation-
conscious editor. Zines are therefore appealing to individuals who want to
manage their identities as they can use these texts to represent themselves.
This process of representation involves the use and manipulation of signs,
codes and symbols to bring about audience effects. For instance, a zine
chooses to cut and paste texts and graphics from a magazine and rearrange
them unto a page in her zine. One doesn’t have to be a semiotician to
perceive how the items she has selected and the way she has placed them
onto the page (as in a montage) would reflect her preferences, personal
politics, body image, desires or fears. The fonts, spaces (silences), colors,
are as potent in meaning as extra-textual aspects of the zine such as the
quality of its production (printed, photocopied, risographed), the number
of copies produced, the price, and instances or venues of distribution.

In the same light, the availability of the Internet and online resources (free
blogs, networking, audio/visual streaming) to a greater number of users,
the slowly changing dynamics of software (user friendly interfaces, drag
and drop, presets, options, etc.) and hardware (plug and play,
everything-USB, firewire, etc.), and more accessible media formats (digital
video, photo, mp3, 3gp, flash/JAVA script presets) made easier to recreate
one’s image and express one’s self online. Perhaps people who have been
attempting to define or capture the essence of Postmodernism have been
thinking of the Internet because it could very likely be a very liberating
tool for transcending established truths and relations.

To be more specific, I’d like to share observations I have made on how

people construct their images on line. Blogs (Blogger, Livejournal) and
network sites (Friendster, My Space) and hybrid sites that combine both
such as Multiply make it possible for their owners to manipulate page
elements easily to be able to express themselves as freely as possible. One
can customize their otherwise standard-layout profiles by changing
background colors or graphics, adding photos, rearranging component or
adding, classifying their audiences and regulating access to their website
(termed “protection” in Friendster and Flickr). Even showcasing who

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regularly access their sites (readers, followers, friends) contribute to the

identity of the owner.

The following are screenshots of customized profiles and blogs that, as I

understand using the semiotic method, promotes the author’s personality
or aspect of personality that the owner chooses to highlight:

My student Alex Staley’s Friendster profile exhibits a basic choice of changing the site’s
background. The choice of choosing this pattern over the standard blank background for
her profile page suggests an attempt to express her personality.

Ska band Barrio Morning Glory’s Friendster account, which they primarily use for
self-promotion, announcement of gig schedules, and interaction with fans. The bottom
right side of the image shows their membership in other groups. This linkages may
contribute to their image as a young, hip music group.

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This online gamer’s use of graphics from Tekken could be seen as an attempt to attract
fellow gamers by disclosing what currently interests her of what she is a fan of.

And this is how another student, Yvanich Agno, chooses to reinforce her image of
“young, rebellious rocker.” She used the following elements as signs for her personality:
a photo of rock icon Avril Lavigne, an X-mark in red, terms such as “mistfit,”
“confessions”, the font used (courier) resembles that of an old typewriter (used
frequently in punk zines to mean ‘old school’ or DIY), and the white background to
provide dramatic contrast.

The following screenshots show how blog titles and graphics can be used
to create or, in the case of my student Joey (egoy), reclaim identity by
negotiating new meanings for previously derogatory terms.

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Joey Trinidad’s Egoy writes… is a way of ‘writing back’ to those who used to discriminate
him by his physical attributes.

Peachy Herrin’s Pinay G-Spot is an apt and witty title for a blog about women
empowerment. The color and graphics represent life, growth, abundance and fertility in
terms of ideas and potentials.

A screenshot from my own blog below shows how one can use
widgets—placeholders for third party sites and external applications
within your own page—to construct and promote identity. The widgets
located on the left side of the screen may show aspects of my personality,
my interest and even my profession.

The activities the people engage in online to express and continuously

construct identities, especially the younger generation, are clearly
applications of post-structuralist and post-modern thought (or at least the

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attitude). I have not even begun to scratch the surface by presenting what I
perceive. The internet and other similar activities off-line (zinemaking,
indie filmmaking, independent music production, formation of radical
movements or special interest groups, etc.) are indicative of the “chaos”
that needs to be expressed, and there seems to be no traditional
framework that could contain it. Audiences of media texts these days are
as empowered as the makers because they have the ability to produce their
own texts. I would like to cite what my classmate quoted from Habermas
for his/her report on the Frankfurt School of Media Studies...“No aspect of
life is interest free. An emancipated society is free from unnecessary
domination of any one interest, and everybody has equal opportunity to
participate in decision-making.”

The way we generate meaning from our reading of the text,

however, still calls in semiotic or structural frameworks. We are still
dealing with signs and symbols…can we say that they are as stable as
before? I feel that the Internet has managed to lessen the potency of what
were once dominant codes of meaning; some hardly exist anymore. When
we express ourselves on the net through any far-reaching new media
(digital), one is aware of the infinite ways in which people can interpret [or
misinterpret] our messages, and we open ourselves to new meaning we
might chance upon when we share knowledge. Perhaps this is the essence
of the new generation, to know that the number possibilities are as infinite
as the variety of perspectives and cultures that abound.

Posted by Ruby Soho at 9:08 PM

Labels: media and identity formation, post-structuralism and
postmodernism, semiotics and structuralism

3 comments:

betsyenriquez said...

Ok, I think I follow what you're saying, and you've made some very interesting
points.

Can we assume that the new generation, as you call it, is now free and unfettered
inside and even outside the web?

What happens to those who have yet to gain access and, perhaps more
importantly, the skills to access well and therefore be able to discover, disclose,

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connect and co-create?

What about the older generations, including older generations of

scholars/students/writers/journeyers/etc. (to which I belong), who may not be
equipped with the non-linear thinking abilities required to understand the web?
How do we drag them (us) along?

How do we empower ALL so that no one, as Habermas would put it and as you
quoted, unnecessarily dominates and so that everyone would have an equal
opportunity to participate?

9:04 PM

Ruby Soho said...

hi ma'am betsy, thanks so much for posting your comments here. is this your
first?

yes, the dilemmas that you have brought up are relevant and prevalent issues
regarding the internet. but, would you believe ma'am that the person who has
encouraged me to explore and radically changed my view on the internet is
actually older than me? (sorry sir joel, mukha ka pa namang bagets, hehe)...he's
in his mid-40s already, i think. so, it would not really be a matter of age but of
willingness to venture into something new. besides, the internet is becoming
more and more surfer-friendly.

and yes, not everyone has access to the internet, but i'd like to get my hand on
recent studies about internet accross different classes in the philippines (if you
know of any timbrehan niyo po ako). because i suspect that even those in the
lower income brackets have some kind of access to the internet, even if its just
email, friendster, YM, etc.

i think it just takes encouragement to get people to explore, even from the older
generations, to motivate themselves to teach themselves and gain skills...as long
as they discover something worthwhile and interesting, i'd like to believe that the
rest will follow.

di bale po, i'll give it more thought and then write more entries on this blog. will it
be ok to share it with my classmates?

6:26 AM

betsyenriquez said...

Sure, it's ok to share it with anyone. That's the idea, right?

Yes, this is my first time to participate in a blog. :) I've been meaning to wade into
the many blogs I find intriguing, but haven't had the time to do so. Ok, poor
excuse. Anyway, you got me in and that's great. Thanks.

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Concerning older and lower-income (for want of a better term) people, I didn't
mean the terms purely in their literal sense. While there are quite a few who are
older than you and even me (am much older than sir joel) who are very good at
this, I think they are more the exception than the rule. Anyway, I'm more
concerned about "older" habits of thinking, which may hinder some to appreciate
the benefits of the non-linearity and the open-endedness of the net. Well, maybe
I'm unjustifiably pessimistic. Maybe someone should study how the 50 and older
are using or not using the net. That should be an interesting study. Some quanti
data might be helpful so we know how many are alredy in the net, just lurking, or
refuse to go in and why.

Concerning the lower-income netizens, I'm sure their number is greater than I
would have been willing to believe five years ago. Physical access to computers
and the net is so possible now through net cafes and the like so one does not have
to have a computer and a connection at home. Also, thankfully, schools and
workplaces are more and more making this access something we can take for
granted. And this is fantastic! But I suspect they come from the urban areas. (I
have quite a bit of anecdotal data to support this, but it's anecdotal for the
moment.) Which leaves a huge number - those in the vast rural or less urbanized
areas - behind. Or maybe I'm being pessimistic again. So there's another study
that should be made.

I'm sure you've also heard a lot of cynicism about the potential of the net to let
everyone have the ability to claim space and voice, especialy as capitalist interests
have been obviously quick to plunge in to mine it for its commercial value, given
the numbers out there. But you and I and probably many others think that in
spite of the attempts to co-opt the net (which is to be expected and, indeed, there
has been success along that line; after all, as Habermas put it, no aspect of life is
interest-free), its potential to emancipate society from unnecessary domination of
any one interest (Habermas again) remains.

Thanks for getting me into this. :)

6:44 PM

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My response to PART B # 2 and # 3

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