In our contemporary society, “access to the media is a vital component” (Deitz 2010) to all aspects of our lives, including the social, economical and political scape. The media has become the central being of our existence. This has seen the evolution of the theory Media Ecologies. Bridging from the biological study, media ecology is “about understanding the complex web that life weaves” (Rawlings 2011). No one component is exterior and unbiased to another, we and the media we consume are interconnected and interdependent.
In media theory, there are two main streams.
- North American Standards: a focus on the singular environment a media inhabits, while still exploring an introspective and an extrovert study. It discerns the simple cause and effect system, focusing on the affect (how we effect and are effected) and the perception and feelings created. Key theorists: McLuhan and Neil Postman
- European Standards: a focus on the way ecologies have become dynamic systems, and how they integrate and intersect into one another, ecologies are no longer separate from one another. There is less focus on the actual object/media, and more on how it exists in the ecology and the interdependencies created. Key theorists: Bateson, Guuttari
With the contemporary societies heightened importance to “the concepts of transparency, participation and collaboration [a] profound culture change” has occurred (Rawlings 2011). No longer are the private and public sector so separate from one another. This can clearly be seen in the liberation of the film and video industry, with youtube in 2009, uploading 20 hours of video every minute (Junee 2009). This is also noticeable in the video game industry, with the shifting and integration of the private sector with the public sector. Indie games and ’Mods’ preformed by the public sector on private sector games have grown enormously with the continued growth of the internet as a communication medium. The ecology of both video games and film have expanded exponentially, creating further change in the media environments in which we exist.
By Wayne Blair, z3290795
References:
- Deitz, Milissa (2010) ‘The new media ecology’, On Line Opinion: Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate, accessed on 18th March 2011, <http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=11410&page=1>
- Junee, Ryan 2009 ‘Zoinks! 20 Hours of video uploaded every minute!’, Youtube Blog, accessed on 18th March 2011 <http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/05/zoinks-20-hours-of-video-uploaded-every_20.html>
- Rawlings, Thomas 2011 ‘Games as a happening, as a service (Notes from my Talk at Goldsmiths)’, A Great Becoming, accessed on 18th March 2011, <http://agreatbecoming.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/games-as-a-happening-as-a-service-notes-from-my-talk-at-goldsmiths>
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