Mediated
Encyclopedia
Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live in It is a non-fiction book by anthropologist Thomas de Zengotita
published in 2005 by Bloomsbury about the effect of the media in the Western world
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The basis of his analysis is that the opposite of reality is not phony or superficial, it's optional. We choose between options to determine who we are, to make statements to the world about who we are. People, he argues, have always done so, but the difference with today's situation is that we have a lot more options. In terms of options, comparing the modern world with the post-modern world is like comparing a breeze with a hurricane.
The media forces at work since the fifties have contributed to expanding our options greatly, making the self "aware" of the possibilities to be who it deems worth being.
We have become method actors, constantly flattered. Deception is luring as it is the inherent condition of the flattered-self. So we seek new ways of satisfying our selves. These are the true forces at work behind what de Zengotita calls the virtual revolution.
stated "Reading (...) Mediated is like spending time with a wild, wired friend, the kind who keeps you up late and lures you outside your comfort zone with a speed rap full of brilliant notions".
Thomas de Zengotita
Thomas de Zengotita is an author and contributing editor at Harper's Magazine. He holds an anthropology Ph.D from Columbia University and teaches at the Dalton School and New York University. His most recent book is called Mediated: How the Media Shapes your World and the Way you Live in it . De...
published in 2005 by Bloomsbury about the effect of the media in the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
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Summary
Essentially, Mediated aims at creating awareness rather than offering ready-made solutions to remedy the intrusion of too much media in our industrial societies. Rather than writing yet another pamphlet against the media, the author chooses to focus on the mechanisms and the processes of our mediated society.The basis of his analysis is that the opposite of reality is not phony or superficial, it's optional. We choose between options to determine who we are, to make statements to the world about who we are. People, he argues, have always done so, but the difference with today's situation is that we have a lot more options. In terms of options, comparing the modern world with the post-modern world is like comparing a breeze with a hurricane.
The media forces at work since the fifties have contributed to expanding our options greatly, making the self "aware" of the possibilities to be who it deems worth being.
We have become method actors, constantly flattered. Deception is luring as it is the inherent condition of the flattered-self. So we seek new ways of satisfying our selves. These are the true forces at work behind what de Zengotita calls the virtual revolution.
Reviews
With Mediated, Thomas de Zengotita received critical acclaim outside his field of study. The Washington Post called it "A fine roar of a lecture about how the American mind is shaped by (too much) media". O, The Oprah MagazineO, The Oprah Magazine
O: The Oprah Magazine, sometimes simply abbreviated to O, is a monthly magazine founded by Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Corporation.-Overview:...
stated "Reading (...) Mediated is like spending time with a wild, wired friend, the kind who keeps you up late and lures you outside your comfort zone with a speed rap full of brilliant notions".
External links
- Official site
- Review of Mediated by Peter Preston of The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Interview by James Westcott for Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...