Blog Post #3: Articulation 3 - Cassidy Bradshaw
In this week's blog post, we will be looking at two examples of media texts that are “going viral” in different time periods and how the third articulation of media assemblages or media ecologies is manifested in these two examples. The third articulation involves looking at how media messages are being created and spread through culture and society. It also takes a look at how they are manifested in the dynamics of three categories. The relations of creativity and production, relations of distribution and circulation, and relations of consumption and reception.
The first example is Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and the second is the women yelling at the cat meme. Martin Luther created his 95 Theses as a way of condemning the Roman Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences (Mohn, 2016). Luther’s use of the printing press, along with both text and art in his message is what made people today appreciate his use of new media. The author of this article states “Luther made extremely good use of the new media at his disposal.” (Mohn, 2016). Forms of media such as pamphlets were distributed to citizens of multiple cities and read-aloud for those who couldn’t read. The spread of his message and the popularity was the thing that pushed the Reformation. The third articulation is manifested in this example as we see how it was the distribution, circulation, and consumption of Luther's message that made it so popular. Luther distributed his message across multiple cities to ensure it was being consumed by as many people as possible. The circulation of his message is what made it so popular and heard by so many. Along with this, many people thought his creativity to include the new media he had at his disposal aided in the popularity of his message.
A more current trending media text that has been going viral is the women yelling at the cat meme. As seen in the photo below, the meme consists of a woman screaming, and a cat making a funny face. One of the most interesting things about memes is that the text can be changed each time it is posted. The text can be altered to fit whatever is popular or trending at the time. The third articulation is manifested in this media text as we see how production, distribution, and consumption are important roles in the popularity of the meme. As I said earlier, anyone can change the text on this meme and repost it to whatever social media platform they desire. In relation to this, the distribution and circulation of memes have become an easy task that almost anyone can do. Anyone with a social media account and access to the internet can repost and send a meme to anyone on the internet. Finally, the fact that these photos can be posted anywhere only aids the fact that these memes are consumed by millions of people.
-Cassidy
References
Mohn, T. (2016, October 28). Long Before Twitter, Martin Luther Was a Media Pioneer. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/arts/design/long-before-twitter-martin-luther-was-a-media-pioneer.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=wide-thumb&module=mini-moth®ion=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&_r=0
Hi Cassidy,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog post! I was extremely engaged throughout the entirety of your post. I specifically enjoyed the part where you discussed the fact that in our modern world, we can send and receive, not just memes, but messages in seconds. It is crazy to think that the way we distribute and consume such memes relates to Martin Luther's 95 theses. You would think that 'back in the day' the way we use and consume social media would not relate to the way messages and such were sent, so long ago. I also really enjoyed how you included how Luther distributed, consumed and circulated his messages, and included it in detail. I can tell you really understood this assignment and enjoyed it as well!
Thank you!
- Victoria
Hi Cassidy!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. You made some excellent connections between articulation 3 and Martin Luther’s 95 theses and the woman yelling at the cat meme. I do agree with you that anyone can make new text for a meme (using the same image as an existing one) and post it to whatever social media they like. As well as anyone who has a social media account can But, it is another thing entirely to get people to see it, like it, and then share it themselves. Not everything gets super popular super fast, sometimes it takes time or it is not simply what people are enjoying to view right now. If the person posting the meme wants it to go viral, they have to put in a fair amount of work. This could include, for example, posting it to more than one social media account and telling your friends before you post it to share it with as many people as they can. In terms of Martin Luther’s 95 theses, they would have never travelled and spread as much as they did if he didn’t have beautiful art and easy to read and translate (to other languages) material. This was something that everyone could connect with because most people back then were religious (Catholics or Protestants).