Wednesday, November 14, 2007

After Our Mind Having Been Messed Up

During the whole semester, I have been trying very hard to organize what I have read. The more effort I put into thinking, the more eager I want to get an answer upon this question: who are you in this technologized world? I think people have already critized technology very much in the past decades. However, this is an issue that is so much related to Zizek. Zizek believes that people are aware of what it is going on in our life but still have to live the way it is. When Jenkins has voiced so many points that we can criticize, he actually draws our attention to how much the scholars and internet usuers/technology fans are walking in the same direction in contemporary world. Since there isn't a way to flee away, why shouldn't we just think about the positive side of the commercialized technology, Jenkins hints. We can abuse information, and make fun of the media products feeded to us by the industry and government.
However, can't Jenkins and others notice that we are at the same time directed by the topics provided by the industry and government during the process of desigining our "abusement"? How can people raise up a discussion on the topics that are "invisible" in the public sphere that are created by media?
While going to so many "cool" websites, I can't express how much I appreciate the neat and tranditional websites that are still existing on the internet. Didn't we notice that the revenge or creativity that are taken as convergence culture by Jenkins, at the same time, reduce the power of the "real" language or words? How much can people express ourselves as clear as our ancesors do now and in the future? This question might be answered very well by the comment on the cover of his book that Henry Jenkins really shares some commonality with McLuhan. He is so much focusing on the power of technology medium instead of the tranditional means of rhetoric in the society. But as we all know, the tranditional means, are still very important in influencing our thoughts and behaviors.

No comments: