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A little post on the ubiquity of media in all its forms.

The things that come to mind when we hear the word ‘media’:

Last class was all about reshaping the way we view media. To see it not as a ‘thing,’ but rather a ‘place’ that we inhabit, as media surround us, shaping our identities and our environment.

Media texts exist as sites where meaning is generated through the manipulation of materials and codes (semiotics). In our media saturated world, media texts exist as part of the reality they represent; they do not simply reflect the world, but play an active role in shaping it. Interaction with media and it’s artefacts is constant in the modern day, with the process of ‘inscription’- leaving written, or otherwise, traces of ourselves – being nearly inescapable. 

Media has become, in large part, about the representation of personal identity, whether that be representing yourself through images online, or on a broader scale, the collective cultural phenomenon that occurs when a national identity is created from these individual acts of self-expression.

The existence of an unremitting stream of media brings up an array of questions: is interacting with the world through media texts a valid way of experiencing it, or is direct contact a better way of communication? Is an authentic representation of the self created in mediated experiences? Is this even possible? Why is representing only certain parts of ones self online regarded as inauthentic? Who owns the majority of media? How can you retain ownership of something online? 

At the end of this week’s lecture, we were given a task to observe the many different forms that media can take within specific social spaces. Our group was sent out to document the Emporium shopping centre. Here, it became apparent just how much media is about communicating representation. Whether this takes the form of self expression via mobile phones, laptops, tablets, or the representation of brand values through advertising, or even the depiction of exits through neon lights. Media is first and foremost a method of communication. It is a tool used to spread messages, to connect. And it is everywhere.

Moreover, mediated communication is evolving constantly. Originating in the form of letters and posters, then moving to phones, radio, film and television, and now to the post-broadcast era of online social networks, websites and interactive digital media, the evolving nature of media is what makes it such an exciting field to be in, as new ways of artistic expression, communication, self representation and advertising are constantly being created. 

Below are just a few examples of the mediated communication we observed in the Emporium.

All the shops had their own music playing, but one song stood out…