Blog Post 3: 2nd Articulation - Taylor Randerson
Hi everyone,
For this week’s response, I will demonstrate the concept of media assemblages by examining how two media texts gained mass attention in varying time periods. Slack and Wise (2007) explain that assemblages draw attention to the affective nature of societies’ network of connections. Thus, I will dissect how a medium’s means of production affects the mode of communication, affect, and accumulation.
For instance, before the internet, media had different modes of circulation through society. The means of producing media primarily consisted of copying and printing
Contrastingly, social media has allowed media content to obtain mass attention through digital spaces. The idea of memes being copied and redistributed over the internet is similar to the production of Martin Luther’s 95 theses. This concept is reflected in the popularized meme “Women Yelling at a Cat” where it received a lot of attention of Twitter, “Twitter user @MISSINGEGIRL made a post containing both images, writing ‘These photos together is making me lose it’ The tweet gained over 78,900 retweets and 276,800 likes in two months” (Know Your Meme, 2019). Thus, the internet facilitates the virality of content as it can move more quickly through space and time than physical objects. Also, a meme's existence in a virtual means allows users to manipulate and change the meaning of the original message. Essentially, memes act as a format where people can change the written words to apply the images to a different situation. For example, people have changed the heading of the “Women Yelling at a Cat” meme to convey various relatable situations where someone is being yelled at. Overall, I think that memes can reach a broader audience than written material, however, the impermanence of memes makes them less meaningful. In other words, memes over time lose their societal relevance which is reflective of the “Women Yelling at a Cat” meme. In 2021, this meme is rarely seen or talked about online which demonstrates its lack of meaning long term.
Question:
Do you think internet content or physical artifacts have a greater impact on society?
Hi Taylor, your blog post was great to read and I love the question you ask! As we know, social media allows works to travel across far distances, while at the same time having permanence. As for physical artifacts, they are tangible which allows for powerful authenticity. The internet has allowed for massive amounts of participation and information to be spread, which is a great thing. With that being said, there is something very valuable about originality and giving credit to original creators which is easier to do with physical artifacts, than internet content. I have seen this “Women Yelling at Cat Meme” many times, but I never knew where it came from or what its original purpose was. Having original context is crucial when manipulating something. Internet content has a great impact on society, due to its powerful reach. This impact can be positive or harmful, as messages are not filtered. When more people can be critically engaged with content it leads to a stronger society. If a physical artifact, like a painting or statue, is stuck in one place it will not be able to leave an impression on a lot of people. Internet content reaches more people but does not leave as strong of an impression, whereas physical artifacts create a stronger impact but only within fewer people. I hesitantly lean towards the claim that Internet content has a greater impact on society.
ReplyDeleteHi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. To answer your question, I think that physical objects and other forms of media have a greater impact on society than internet content. Internet trends move so much quicker especially those on TikTok. Whereas, television show, movie, music, and other media or physical objects tend to remain popular for longer. For example, "The Renegade" was popular for only a short time on TikTok last year and never really appears anymore. Contrasted with the continued popularity of Grey's Anatomy which has been on television for 18 seasons now. This is why I think that non-internet media and things are much more popular than internet content.
- Amelia Arlen
Hi Taylor!
ReplyDeleteI found your post extremely easy to read and very knowledgable. I really like how you made note of how the meme's collaborative has driven it even further in the digital realm. To answer your question, given the state of modernity that society resides in, I believe that internet content has a greater impact on society than physical artifacts. My thinking behind this is supported by how quickly information is able to be spread through space and time on the internet. Internet content tends to come and go but is always humbled by its constant true meaning, to connect. Things like television and cinema do still create a large impact on society, however we see their popularity dying down in 2021. For example, more people are using streaming services such as Netflix instead of traditional cable. While there will always be the presence of cable tv, advancements in technology have allowed the media to be presented in a more accessible form. Thus, it is not the media that is necessarily impacting society, but rather how it is distributed and mode of distribution.
Thanks!
Kitt
Hey Taylor!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post as it focuses on the second articulation of media assemblages. I chose to do mine on the third articulation so it was extremely interesting seeing another viewpoint on the relation between Martin Luther and the "Woman Yelling at the Cat" meme.
It is truly an interesting aspect to study in media culture the impact that memes have within society. As you mentioned in your post, society does tend to get an emotional attachment to posts that go viral. I believe this is largely due to the fact that people feel connected and bonded through these images and videos that become widespread on the internet. It creates somewhat of a subculture that draws in people from all across the webspace no matter their boundaries.
To answer your question at the end, I would argue that internet content has more of an impact on our current contemporary society than physical objects. This is largely because of the rate that information and memes can be spread is much faster and wider than physical artifacts can.
Hi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post!
I think you raised a really interesting question. I think that throughout our history physical artifacts have always had a massive influence on society. Many people travel the world to visit artifacts such as buildings, monuments, artworks, etc due to the impact and widespread love of these physical objects. On the other hand, however, I also think that as we move towards life on the virtual/ digital frontier, internet content has proven to have a significant impact on society as well. The difference, however, is that this internet for the most part comes and goes- it may hold significant power and influence for a short period of time but eventually the next trend with capture the attention of society. As a result, this once-famous internet content will essentially die off. We have seen this happen numerous times with websites such as Vine or video games such as Club Penguin that once held so much power and popularity, yet people eventually lost interest and they died off. Its important to note that some of the content- such as profiles on Club Penguin or videos from Vine- still exist. I am not arguing that this internet content has vanished forever. Instead, I am trying to suggest that, unlike a classic art piece or monument that never loses its value or societal appreciation, internet content does loose its impact on society.
Overall great work, I would love to know your further thoughts on this!
-Sophie