media and culture

Today I'll blog about the Media and Culture section in the text as it provides a framework for the two chapters we're covering this week. Also, there are questions on the quiz from these pages.

In this section, Griffin discusses the six defining features of postmodernism, using the film Blade Runner to illustrate those features. The first feature highlights the notion that the modernistic ideology postmodernism rejects is faith in science. Second, "we have become tools of our tools" means that people shape the media and the media shape people. Third, "in a postmodern world, any claim of truth or moral certainty is suspect" means that there are interpretations and no facts because all knowledge is relative. Fourth, "images become more important than what they represent" refers to the idea that the media are more real than real--a hyperreality. Fifth, "with a media assist, we can mix and match diverse styles and tastes to create a unique identity" means that we're in an age of individualism. Sixth, postmodernism represents "a consumer society based on multinational capitalism," which leads to the conclusion that people are what they consume. This feature is particularly relevant in light of the current global economic crisis.

~ Professor Cyborg