scholarly journals Beyond Metropolitanism and Nativism: Re-grounding Media Theory

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 471-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gholam Khiabany ◽  
Sreberny Annabelle
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
The West ◽  
Third Way ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Political Intervention ◽  
Media Practices ◽  
True Alternative

AbstractWhile de-Westernisation is an interesting political intervention in media theory, analytically it offers little. We critique this approach through six inter-related arguments. The first point of critique challenges the putative singularity of the West. The second line of enquiry raises questions about the emergence of new academic disciplines and their intellectual offerings. Our third point is that the call to de-Westernise Media Studies is naïve, ignores history and the long patterns of global interconnectedness that have mutually formed the West/Rest. The fourth argument is that “de-Westernisation” suggests that the theory and methods of Media Studies offer nothing of use outside their original birthplaces, while the fifth argument is the conceptual danger of nativism. The sixth critique centres on the problem of essentialising culture as a determinate object. Examining the contemporary media practices of the Islamic Republic of Iran, we suggest that the true alternative to a repressive theocracy is its internal challenge by women, students and other parts of civil society that offers a critical third way beyond the binary divide.

scholarly journals Deconstruction and the Archival Revolution: on the Relevance and Reception of Archive Fever in New Media Studies

2021 ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
Zvonimir Glavaš
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
New Media Studies ◽  
The One

The paper focuses on the reception of Derrida’s Archive Fever among (new) media theorists and its relevance for the ongoing discussions in that academic field. Although this Derrida’s text is often described as the one in which he provides a statement on the pervasive revolutionary impact of new media, its reception among media theorists remains scarce. Several media scholars that tackle the text, however, have an ambivalent stance on it: they appreciate some of Derrida’s theses, but regard them largely obsolete. The first part of the paper analyzes these critiques and argues that many of the objections on Derrida’s behalf are caused by the misinterpretation of important features of the deconstructive thought. In its second part, the paper firstly deals with certain weaker points of Derrida’s reflection and then proceeds to examine his insights pertinent to the problems of contemporary media theory that were neglected in earlier reception. Finally, paper reaffirms the claim about the need for a more profound exchange between the deconstruction and media studies, albeit one that would avoid the examined shortcomings.

Space Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Réka Patrícia Gál ◽  
L M Wilkins ◽  
Yuxing Zhang ◽  
Marie-Pier Boucher ◽  
Tero Karppi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Contemporary Media

This article proposes the notion of space media as a way of defining media that connect humans with outer space. It is suggested that six areas related to contemporary media theory are particularly relevant to understanding space media: epistemology, anthropogenesis, planetary mediums, infrastructure, imaginaries, and remains. The article further suggests that the field of media studies needs to take account of outer space and, as a result, alter its own current practice.Cet article propose la notion de médias de cosmos comme une façon de définir les médias qui relient les humains à l’espace extra-atmosphérique. Il est suggéré que six domaines liés à la théorie contemporaine des médias sont particulièrement pertinents pour comprendre les médias de cosmos: l’épistémologie, l’anthropogenèse, les média planétaires, les infrastructures, les imaginaires et les vestiges. L’article suggère que la domaine des études sur les médias doit tenir compte de cosmos extra-atmosphériques et, par conséquent, modifier sa propre pratique actuelle.Mots clés : Cosmos; Médias de cosmos; Théorie des médias

Opera as Hypermedium

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tereza Havelková
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Politics Of Representation ◽  
The Media ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Media And Technology ◽  
Media Practices ◽  
Louis Andriessen

This book deals with contemporary relationships between opera and the media. It is concerned with both the use of media on stage and opera on screen. Drawing on the concept of hypermediacy from media studies, it situates opera within the larger context of contemporary media practices, and particularly those that play up the multiplicity, awareness, and enjoyment of media. The discussion is driven by the underlying question of what politics of representation and perception opera performs within this context. This entails approaching operas as audiovisual events (rather than works or texts) and paying attention to what they do by visual means, along with the operatic music and singing. The book concentrates on events that foreground their use of media and technology, drawing attention to opera’s inherently hypermedial aspects. It works with the recognition that such events nevertheless engender powerful effects of immediacy, which are not contingent on illusionism or the seeming transparency of the medium. It analyzes how effects like presence, liveness, and immersion are produced, contesting some critical claims attached to them. It also sheds light on how these effects, often perceived as visceral or material in nature, are related to the production of meaning in opera. The discussion pertains to contemporary pieces such as Louis Andriessen and Peter Greenaway’s Rosa and Writing to Vermeer, as well as productions of the canonical repertory such as Wagner’s Ring Cycle by Robert Lepage at the Met and La Fura dels Baus in Valencia.

scholarly journals Deep Times of Planetary Trouble

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jussi Parikka
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Politics ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Temperature Control ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Media Culture ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Contemporary Media

This introduction to the special section on mediated geologies contextualizes the articles that follow within recent discussions concerning cultural politics of the environment, ecological contexts of contemporary media, and debates concerning the Anthropocene. The special section approaches the topics from the angle of media studies and argues for new ways to understand media culture as read through a materials focus: from waste to building materials and from temperature control to more conceptual developments concerning new materialism. The introduction discusses these ideas as extensions of material media theory and addresses how they can complement already existing ideas in the field.

Encounters with Western media theory: Asian perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-157
Author(s):  
Dal Yong Jin
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Global Media ◽  
The West ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
Asian Society ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Western Media

The academic discourse on the West and the East is not new, and it has been commonly believed that non-Western countries must learn from the West in order to develop their own societies. Here, comprehending the notion of the West is considered significant, as it offers a model of comparison. While it is not necessary for the perspectives and process to be radical, it should be convincing to grasp Asia as a formation of a changeable force to the West. Of course, media scholars have to avoid limited perspectives emphasizing only intra-Asian dialogues; instead they must analyze Asian perspectives in the globalization context. What non-Western scholars must contemplate are not only paradigms that are unique to Asian society but also general trends and norms that apply to the globe so that they can identify new trends and directions, which provide fundamentals to advance new theories and norms in global media studies. This certainly contributes to a broadening of media theory and comprehension in a way that takes account of the practices of non-Western countries outside the Anglo-American sphere.

Contemporary Qur'anic Studies in Iran and its Relationship with Qur'anic Studies in the West

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-72
Author(s):  
Morteza Karimi-Nia
Keyword(s):  
Islamic Law ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
The West ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Religious Learning ◽  
The Status ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The status of tafsīr and Qur'anic studies in the Islamic Republic of Iran has changed significantly during recent decades. The essay provides an overview of the state of Qur'anic studies in Iran today, aiming to examine the extent of the impact of studies by Western scholars on Iranian academic circles during the last three decades and the relationship between them. As in most Islamic countries, the major bulk of academic activity in Iran in this field used to be undertaken by the traditional ʿulamāʾ; however, since the beginning of the twentieth century and the establishment of universities and other academic institutions in the Islamic world, there has been increasing diversity and development. After the Islamic Revolution, many gradual changes in the structure and approach of centres of religious learning and universities have occurred. Contemporary advancements in modern sciences and communications technologies have gradually brought the institutions engaged in the study of human sciences to confront the new context. As a result, the traditional Shīʿī centres of learning, which until 50 years ago devoted themselves exclusively to the study of Islamic law and jurisprudence, today pay attention to the teaching of foreign languages, Qur'anic sciences and exegesis, including Western studies about the Qur'an, to a certain extent, and recognise the importance of almost all of the human sciences of the West.

Deepfaking Keanu: YouTube deepfakes, platform visual effects, and the complexity of reception

2021 ◽  
pp. 135485652110304
Author(s):  
Lisa Bode
Keyword(s):  
Film Studies ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Digital Rhetoric ◽  
Visual Effects ◽  
After Effects ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Media Creation ◽  
Media Practices

On July 14, 2019, a 3-minute 36-second video titled “Keanu Reeves Stops A ROBBERY!” was released on YouTube visual effects (VFX) channel, Corridor. The video’s click-bait title ensured it was quickly shared by users across platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. Comments on the video suggest that the vast majority of viewers categorised it as fiction. What seemed less universally recognised, though, was that the performer in the clip was not Keanu Reeves himself. It was voice actor and stuntman Reuben Langdon, and his face was digitally replaced with that of Reeves, through the use of an AI generated deepfake, an open access application, Faceswap, and compositing in Adobe After Effects. This article uses Corridor’s deepfake Keanu video (hereafter shorted to CDFK) as a case study which allows the fleshing out of an, as yet, under-researched area of deepfakes: the role of framing contexts in shaping how viewers evaluate, categorise, make sense of and discuss these images. This research draws on visual effects scholarship, celebrity studies, cognitive film studies, social media theory, digital rhetoric, and discourse analysis. It is intended to serve as a starting point of a larger study that will eventually map types of online manipulated media creation on a continuum from the professional to the vernacular, across different platforms, and attending to their aesthetic, ethical, cultural and reception dimensions. The focus on context (platform, creator channel, and comments) also reveals the emergence of an industrial and aesthetic category of visual effects, which I call here “platform VFX,” a key term that provides us with more nuanced frames for illuminating and analysing a range of manipulated media practices as VFX software becomes ever more accessible and lends itself to more vernacular uses, such as we see with various face swap apps

scholarly journals ‘I realised then how “Parisian” Egypt was’: challenges and rewards of de-westernising travel journalism

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1151-1166
Author(s):  
Andrew Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
The West ◽  
Travel And Tourism ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Newspaper Articles

Bypassing the dominant Western bias in journalism scholarship is a challenge; it raises the question of what might replace it. Similarly, to evade the Western post-imperialism orthodoxies recurrent in cultural studies scholarship into travel and tourism would require other perspectives. This study combines the two and attempts to circumvent the Western bias in scholarship on travel journalism, given that its constituent parts are – for different reasons – becoming de-centred from the West. Textual analysis of Singaporean newspaper articles in Mandarin and English shows that questions of privilege and power remain but need not be associated with narratives of post-imperialism. Instead, destinations are textually constructed to justify the writer’s decision to travel. The intention for this article is to suggest ways that dominant Western perspectives in media studies may be balanced by other viewpoints which still expose issues of power and privilege but offer a less hegemonic, more culturally neutral starting point

scholarly journals A (premature) eulogy of broadcasting: the sense of the ending of television

Matrizes ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Milly Buonanno
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Broadcast Television ◽  
The World ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
The Way

The vanishing centrality of broadcast television has turned into a key issue within contemporary media studies, thus making the end of television a familiar trope in scholarly discourses and opening the way to a redefinition of the present-day phase in terms of post-broadcast era. Besides recognizing that there are plenty of places in the world where the broadcast era is still alive, this article makes the claim that the discoursive formation of the passing of television as we knew it may offer media scholar-ship the opportunity to assume the viewpoint of the end as the privileged perspective from which the broadcast era can be looked at anew, eventually acknowledging the reasons why it is liable to be praised rather than buried.

scholarly journals CULTURE FACTOR IN THE POLICY OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-71
Author(s):  
Marina Kameneva ◽  
Elena Paymakova
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Islamic Republic ◽  
The West ◽  
The Public ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
Cultural Expansion

The article notes that the theme of culture and cultural policy for modern Iran is not a marginal issue. Culture is seen by the country’s leadership as an important component of its state political and ideological doctrine. There is analyzed the role of the Islamic factor and cultural heritage in the cultural policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran over four decades of its existence. Particular attention is paid to the role of the theory of the dialogue of civilizations proposed by M. Khatami as well as to the changing attitude towards it in the public consciousness of Iranian society. It is emphasized that the theme of “Iran and the West” is becoming particularly acute in the country today, contributing to its politicization. An attempt is being made to show that Iranian culture is increasingly becoming an important factor in the foreign policy activities of the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, contributing to the strengthening of the country’s position in the world arena as a whole and the country’s leading role in the region, the realization of the idea of exporting the Islamic Revolution and implementing Iranian cultural expansion outside the country.

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