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Final Reflection

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Week 2: New media’s rise has coincided with the rise of digital media, but the two are not interchangeable. What distinguishes new media is largely that it is free from the regulations of established mediums, therefore making it much more open and egalitarian, which in turn makes new media particularly attractive to marginalized groups.

Week 3: Each medium distinctly shapes any and all media produced in its form. The notion of “the medium is the message” addresses the idea that how a tale is told can be just as important as what is being conveyed. I believe the case is more so “in the medium, there is message” rather than the medium being the only point worth noting.

Week 4: Though Google has had a long history of posturing itself favorably to customers through campaigns such as “Don’t Be Evil,” Google is ultimately competing in the same capitalist economy that values financial success to the utmost. As such, wariness should consistently be exercised, especially in what one decides to share with Google.

Week 6: YouTube in some ways can be seen as the darling of Internet bootstrapping. If your content is consistently attracting attention, you can make a living. However, YouTubers still ultimately have to comply to the Google overlords and YouTube’s revenue system is based on intrusive, sometimes predatory ads that do not bode well with the average viewer.

Week 7: In Amazon exists a prototypical beast with a million arms, with specific single arms capable of pushing aside whole industries. And it continues to grow with no end in sight. Ultimately, nothing short of government regulation has been capable of stopping the monstrous platform from invading into every part of daily life, and now us UMass students are finding ourselves being pulled in even closer in its grasp.

Week 8: Neoliberalism promotes a lackadaisical, non-interactive world community and such a culture may very well have its benefits in economic sectors but I believe that there’s much potential for societal harm.

Week 9: The desire to play a computer game for recreation is not overwhelming favored by one gender over the other, as research has shown. With this in mind, it seems as if the mainstream developers are lagging behind the times by limiting the spectrum of character representation in their works.

Week 11: The web series is definitively a feature of new media but what I believe makes it one of the most fascinating is that it most closely resembles its old media cousins.

Walking Outside the Walls

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(of Google and other New Media Paradigms in Race, Gender and New Media)

The irony of this class for me is that I signed up with the narrow-minded goal of developing career-oriented technological skills. I expected these to include audio and video-editing, and the production and presentation of online content. Broader, more humanistic goals like developing digital literacy also occurred to me, but were simply items on a list, the kind of which you might find (and which I actually did plan to include) on a resume. The irony, of course, is that my original mode of thinking is what digital literacy seeks to problematize and expose to critical debate. Therefore, this class became, not a covetous, last-chance-before-I-graduate dip into a vocational skills bag, but rather a reflection on my relationship to technology, education, race, and gender.

Speaking of which, my most important takeaway has been a realization of my own privileged relationship to technology, and an awareness of how people with less privilege relate to technology in their lives. Essentially, by virtue of my race, class, and gender privilege, as well as my privileged access to education, I experience most of technology’s good side while being spared most of the bad. For instance, while I still have cause to be concerned about companies like Google tracking my data, for the present I am more likely to feel the effects of that practice in the form of more personalized and convenient web-searches, than in the form of data-packet discrimination based on perceived purchasing power. In general, I now have a much more concrete sense of how exploitation occurs in technology-mediated spaces–the gist being that traditional inequalities and prejudices are perpetuated.

This last point has had a major affect on how I’ve come to view New Media and the rhetoric surrounding it. Public conversation is saturated with uncritical and fawning messages about how “revolutionary” technology has become. Of course, they mean “revolutionary” in the PR sense of the word, in which the implied change is really only a new facade for old relationships of power–like new forms of consumerism, for instance. Basically, new media technologies (and the cultures growing around them) have so far been a disruptive force, but they have not been revolutionary. They do hint at the potential for big changes, and positive ones too, but those won’t just come about by themselves. The technologies of the internet, like automobiles and airplanes before them, are neither inherently good or bad, so they don’t only create either good or bad changes; they just make change. Right now we have an opportunity to direct the transformative power of New Media with a little more foresight and productivity than, say, we did with automobiles, and we should take advantage of it.

My Digital Reflection

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In the reflection I wrote on my experience of YouTube at the beginning of the semester, I described it as ‘a platform whose very purpose is to democratize the exchange of ideas and give voice to the otherwise average citizen.’  In light of what I have learned during the course, I can identify aspects of this evaluation which can be problematised.  While earlier I viewed YouTube as an example of the power of new media to redistribute power more fairly than traditional media, I am now more aware of ways in which race and gender permeate this seemingly new and neutral institution called “New Media.”

I have learned through the readings, our class discussions, and through my own research in my group’s project on web series that YouTube’s “democracy” does not always equal meritocracy; that the government of YouTube by the consent of the governed is results in many of the same problems found in traditional media.  YouTube is like the company of which it is now a part, Google, in that promoted the most popular content, which is consequently viewed far more often than most unusual or transgressive content.  It gives people what they want (or what they think they want).  I learned that this type of popular consumerism is a major concern for the creators of webseries (not just on YouTube but on all platforms), whose content often deals with persons of colour, women and LGBT people.  The need to hold the attention of the masses means that those who want to create challenging material are taking a risk, and may ultimately fall prey to homogenising effect of mainstream culture which tends to either remove nonconformity by natural selection or simply absorb and compromise it.

This was a growing and sobering realisation for me over the course of the semester.  I, who had always thought of myself as critical of consumer culture, began to point my attention more towards new media, which I had thought of as the haven and weapon of the kinds of people who would not reduce racial minorities to offensive stereotypes, who would not reduce women to mere sexual objects and who wish for a more fair and inclusive system for distributing opportunities and protections.  Over the course of the semester I was forced to think about how technology has affected my life and influenced my decisions.  I confronted the fact that I have allowed Google to wield so much power over me since I was old enough to consider myself “computer literate” that I now picture the face of George Orwell’s Big Brother whenever I think about this seemingly harmless, benevolent organisation.  This Sunday when I sit down to watch my favourite network television show, Game Of Thrones, I will be more troubled than ever by the fact that all of the major characters seem to be white, heterosexual and conventionally attractive.  I wonder what it would take for the stories being told in web series about the less visible people in our society so reach such a large and rabid audience.  Ultimately, I understand that as a society and as individuals we can choose to use and interact with new media in ways that dismantle the power of homogeny in our society, or we can allow the resistance to be crushed by the heavy hand of consumer culture.

ENG 302 – Race, Gender, and New Media Final Reflection

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Before this class, I didn’t know it was possible to analyze the thing that we refer to as “new media” in any kind of academic setting.  It has undoubtedly opened my eyes to the fact that everything and anything that we experience in our every day lives is important, and affects us greatly.  When I say this, I mean every time that I log onto Facebook or Twitter and click on a link, I see a meme.  Instead of just laughing at its ridiculousness and mindlessly closing the page, I think about what it actually means.  This class has taught me that our means of storing and exchanging information is evolving rapidly, and must be acknowledged.  The new ways in which people can make money, become famous, or create viral content that is so culturally impactful and relevant is astounding.  I never would have taken the time on my own to learn about how powerful of a company Google is in terms of its social ubiquity and corporate control.  Even YouTube (also being controlled by Google), being a cultural necessity by means of its monopolizing video platform, was something that I had taken for granted as a simple accessory of the Internet every single day of my life.

The mere fact that this class exists and was successful in terms of our analysis is a testament to its subject matter’s newfound importance in today’s society.  One cannot simply disconnect from technological services such as Google, YouTube, or Facebook without the consequences of being ignorant of current events or culturally relevant information that can be applied to everyday life.  For that matter alone, it is necessary for us to begin analyzing our collective societal behavior when dealing with this online content.  I feel that it is a new concept that may take some getting used to for some, considering sites such as these, and other forms of social media, are not generally applied and observed in an academic setting.  Though, without such research, it will be difficult for us to study social behavior as it is now evolving into this new digital era.

I feel that the group-based work, as well as the classroom setting to accommodate it, was conducive to my own understanding of the material.  It has taught me the ways in which other people utilize this new media, and that there are many more uses for these tools that I would not have been cognizant of otherwise.  The classroom itself made me feel as if I were immersed in this new media setting, as it would have been impossible to conduct our research without actually using forms of new media to do so.  My skills for working and communicating with others have been refined in addition to this, while having to stay connected to my group members, as well as interviewing people I have never spoken to before in order to gather the information necessary to participate in the class.  All in all, this was one unique class that has had a large impact on my perspective of what we refer to as “new media”; I will no longer consider sites such as Facebook or Twitter to be simple cures for boredom or just for fun, but as outlets that also document our society’s developing behavior and use of new media.

The Lack of a Webtopia

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When the internet was just beginning to experience wide use, it was heralded as a new ground for total inequality.  Surely without the actual body of the person speaking in front of listeners, ideas would be judged for their own value and not for any characteristics of their originators.  Words do not have race or gender or sexuality or religion, so it was briefly believed to be possible that an online community could function without regard to these things.  The obvious problem with this ideal is that people do not simply shuck off their cherished identities—or their prejudices—just because they have entered a new space.  The space may be neutral for a moment, but as soon as it is filled with people, those people will inevitably color it with their own selves.

Prejudices did not disappear.  People continued to be the same people they had always been, whether they expressed themselves with their voices or with their fingers on a keyboard.  No one made an effort to less obviously belong to any group in order that their words might be accepted at face value.  People continued to hate and discriminate against others for the groups to which they belonged.

As a response to the maintenance of offline power structures, many people approach the internet like the Pilgrims approached Massachusetts—they’re not really interested in equality or freedom of expression, they just want to be the group in power instead of the oppressed.  Likewise, they are frequently eager to try their hands at becoming the oppressors for a change, which they feel balances the universe of intolerance.  They replace slurs against minorities with slurs against majorities, and when anyone confronts them about their own hatred, they either take a firm “eye for an eye” stance or claim that without power in society, they cannot possibly cause real pain to other groups and therefore have the right to fire whatever shots they please.  The bullying incites even more scorn and hatred from the majority groups, who are then less inclined to respect the minority groups both online and off.  The imaginary webtopia is quickly poisoned, until absolutely no one is safe from attack.

Final Reflection

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star-wars-darth-vader-sense

Coming into this class I had no idea what it was about but signed up for it because it fit into my schedule and fulfilled one of my major requirements. Since the first day of this class I have been so happy that I took that leap of faith. I love team based learning and found much of the course material interesting and surprising. As someone who is still living in the Dark Ages when it comes to technology, this class challenged me to learn more about new media and think critically about it. My team, The Bacon Party, showed me that working in a team doesn’t have to mean pulling other people’s weight on my own, but that if we all contribute and work together, we can accomplish so much more than we could on our own. I was also challenged to learn more about video games, which I don’t play and have trouble understanding. I really enjoyed watching Anita Sarkeesian’s critique of video games and I’ve been thinking a lot more about representation and it’s effects on society. Working on the video project also made me aware of the Digital Media Lab and everything that it offers. It actually inspired me to try to make a short video on my own, using the library’s resources. Overall, I enjoyed my time in this class and my the time I spent working with my group. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about topics that are very relevant to my life and to the future of new media.

My New Relationship with Digital Media Technology

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One of the best things about this class is how it allowed me to break out of the “normal” class room strata. At the beginning of the class when we were choosing the group versus individual work, it was evident that most students were very hesitant to put more weight into group work. I feel that at start of the semester, none of us had the opportunity of team learning and teaching. Now, however, team learning has had such a tremendous impact on the functionality of this course. I feel like everything came back to team “love” and team discussions. Even the individual readings, for example, were not solely individual because we still had the opportunity to discuss them within our groups and collectively create discussion points made from each reading. The team learning was a major influence for how I absorbed and retained information for this course.

I was attracted to this course because it dealt with new digital media and new technologies. Previously, technology and I had a bumpy relationship. For example, I did not even know how to properly operate Microsoft Word (as I’ve always used Mac Pages). This class allowed me to dive into new technologies through learning and reading about them. I am very proud to have been able to take part in the computer aspect of my group’s final project. It was an amazing feat that I sat in the library and operated iMovie to help edit our project.

The content of this course, too, will be a really big help in my future as an educator. It has taught me more than I ever thought I could learn about Google, YouTube, and video games. I also really enjoyed the team based learning system and want to implement into my own classroom in the future.

 

Final Reflection

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Over the course of this class I have realized that I have been mostly concerned with the future of new media. Although it has been interesting to study specific elements of new media such as terms, memes and how the YouTube partner program works…I can never stop myself from thinking about future possibilities and consequences. I have adopted a cynical view of society ever since I first became exposed to classes that analyzed technology and new media. This class however, helped me to focus my attention on the present use of new media, even if just for a moment.

My favorite topic of the semester was Google because I learned a shocking amount of information. It is sad that I was previously unaware Google owned YouTube. I still remember the point that has resonated with me the most over the semester as it of course pertained to the future of Google. We, as a society, need to openly discuss new media in a critical space. When I interviewed Sut Jhally for our project, one thing he said was, “People think there is entertainment/media and reality. The two are separate things. However, there is no way to actually separate the two as the shape and create each other.”

If anything this class merely supported theories and ideas that I have been thinking over since I stepped on to this campus. Now that I am about to graduate, I am hoping I will keep a critical eye on the media, the internet and that damn Google Giant! I will be a socially conscious producer AND consumer of the internets. I will question the media I interact with, and I will probably discover a few important key terms on my own.

In conclusion, I am glad that I had the opportunity of meeting in a collective space and talking about relevant issues that seem to escape public airways. Hopefully, academia will keep on this path and increase new media and technological studies as the internet has become a shared global nation. The information provided by this class in combination with the Media Justice lecture I attended, pushed me to realizes that stopping unfair Net Neutrality laws and getting people to understand that the Time Warner/Comcast merger CANNOT HAPPEN is what is truly important to me.