Friday, October 17, 2008
Continuing on Poster
At the end of Poster's thoughts in Postmodern Virtualities, he brings about two questions of multiculturalism. The first being "what is the relation of the second media age to ethnicity? And is the relation between the multiculturalist critique of modernity and the challenged to it by the second media age? The fist question he answers very brief, but raises the point that the "new technologies, even after two decades of the new social movements, are likely to have been conceived, designed and produced by white males." He then gives the example of the video game, but not going any further because Poster believes that this second media is still being constructed. The second question I think is very relevant because as we have discussed in class what modernity is thought of, and concluding that the ideologies of white masculine males are the elite or have the power and material wealth. But with the raise of the second media that Poster talks about, how does this fit in with post-modernity, and this notion of focusing on social and political changes, all that seem to me to bring about diversity, or at least should. The medium theorists, McLulan said that technology would bring about a "global village". I'm a little bit more pessimistic then he, but at the same time I think is rings about some truth. I think technology does create social classes based on those who can afford say the internet and those who can't. But, in terms of 'global village' the 'communication superhighway' does allow for people from all over to not only communicate but exchange information. This is important because this can be a stepping stone for as Poster says "as these technologies emerge in social space the great political question will be what forms of cultural articulation they promote and discourage. One needs to keep in mind the enormous variability of the technology rather than assume its determining powers". This is what we need do to with the power of the second media and emerging technologies to avoid a Marxist world.
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I also found this section interesting. I feel that understanding the impact that technological innovation has on multiculturalism (or even the concept of culture) is an integral part of understanding the postmodern era. Heidegger talked abut this topic quite a bit. He viewed technology as the death of cultural diversity. He saw the space/time continuum shrinking because of technology and saw that this was melding individual cultures. In modern day, the internet is the global “melting pot” so to speak. The web is where the world collides in instantaneous exchange. This new technology has facilitated cultural transformation around the world. Heidegger would say that the internet is erasing the individual cultures on earth and replacing them with a meta-culture. Globalization in general has facilitated this concept of the meta-culture. This is why you can find kids in Japan dressed in hip-hop garb and listening to 50 cent. Back to Benjamin, we are losing the individuality of the many cultures on earth, but we are also gaining something: a sense of global community. Is it worth the price? Heidegger would say no. Is the “global village” a positive progression, or will it erase heritage?
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