I found Vincent Mosco’s reading “Myth and Cyberspace” to be of great interest. In regards to this past weeks topic, the Histories of Materialities and Imaginaries of Informational capital I found it to be quite insightful to examining the transformation of communication technology. In Mosco’s reading he tells readers that myth is fiction in its relationship with cyberspace and that a myth with remain alive upon human interaction. Further, a myth gains its popularity in the digital economy and within digital space.
As I have slowly broke this down, I instantly thought of when a news website makes a claim about a situation, which leads the reader to interpret it and then support the authors claim. With this, the myth becomes an agreed upon reality between the reader and the author and thus, proceeds into the future. Mosco says that myth lifts us out of the banality of everyday life and into the sublime. For this reason we make a new world “… that has far more allure than extending an old one” (Mosco 21). Further, I think this is why we seek comfort in news websites such as Enews. The website E! provides users with a window into the glamorous lives of celebrities. E! news is a source where users have the option to look at the latest news, hottest styles, TV ‘scoops’, Red Carpet looks, events and so much more. In my own perspective, I think today the everyday person easily becomes bored of their everyday life. Which is why journalists on websites such as E! are constantly producing information regardless if it is true, about celebrity lives. Journalists know very well that readers will not become skeptical of the article about the celebrity. Instead, journalists have learned that a simple readers interaction with the article will give life to the ‘myth’ itself and allow the story to prevail.
To briefly reiterate, the journalists on entertainment news websites or gossip columns provide us information so we remain informed. As much as they produce, we interpret. We are responsible for going back to such websites in order to stay informed about the lives of others.
Knowing that we are responsible for sustaining myth in the realm of the news industry, What are your thoughts? What do you think this reveals about our society and the use of technology today?
In case you have not visited Enews website here is the link. The website is filled with an abundance of celebrity information and it is very easy to procrastinate on!
http://www.eonline.com/ca
Relating Myths to the celebrity world is a great example. My first thought was picking up a tabloid and reading about a couple "broke up" or are "having issues" and I believed it and would keep picking up that same tabloid to stay informed on the situation. Meanwhile, the story wasn't even true. It existed but was false. This shows how much myths can take part in our lives. It is important to stay aware of truth from myth as we can be manipulated into turning myths into a commodity.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to Myth, the online phenomenon of 'Clickbait'. Online post that usually involve intriguing intriguing headlines with multiple pages of photos, appearing on sites like Twitter and Facebook. It usually will appeal to our interests and likes such as "Top Most Fit Celebrities" or "Best Sports Cars". These articles may not fool the experienced social media user, but I could image a first time social media user such as a parent or a grandparent would click and comment on the articles. As a result the user would receive more recommendations that do not add any value other than fulfilled curiosity. 'Clickbait' articles question the legitimacy of Myth and the things that we see, we must remain aware of what we see online.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about myths I feel as if they are a result of poor communication. In regards to your example of celebrities I can definitely see the relation to Mosco's reading. It is interesting because I feel that myths or rumours are highly relevant in sports. When talking about teams, players, injuries and owners either hiring, firing or trading the previously mentioned myths/rumours come to the forefront because nobody really knows how much truth there is behind a story. If a report comes out before a big game that a star player is said to have an injury but the team does not release the statement it could have a direct effect on the teams ticket prices and/or profit from that game. Jersey sales can also be affected because people may not want to own a jersey of a player who is constantly hurt or constantly in the news involved in negative stories.
ReplyDeleteGreat connection Olivia! I personally believe that what Rachel previously mentioned in the comments above could not be more true in that we as individuals can be manipulated into transforming myths into a commodity. This idea connects back to my blog post on the Facebook, LinkedIn and the commodification process. Specifically, the celebrity new stories that we become so invested demonstrate Schiller's theory that information can be both a resource and a commodity. This is applicable to your example of E! news as the gossip and rumors are transformed from information to so-called “knowledge”. We exercise this idea when we take this information and share it as knowledge with our peers saying "This celebrity is bankrupt or this celebrity is pregnant". While these news outlets hold a use value for its readers there is undoubtedly an exchange value present. This is demonstrated as magazines are able to accumulate capital due to us constantly 'buying into' or believing these myths, so much so that we will financially support these companies. This, as mentioned in your post, is how we as individuals give life to these myths.
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