Author / suzidavenporttechno

by suzidavenporttechno

Is Twitter Changing the Political Landscape?

 

Image result for donald trump on his cell phone

Video still taken from this Washington Post article.

 

Since the creation of Twitter 11 years ago, there has been an ongoing discussion and debate about how, and if, the platform has changed American politics. Though there are some detractors, I do believe that Twitter has changed the American political landscape in at least three ways.

First, Twitter has changed the way journalists write and report politics. According to Associated Press political editor Liz Sidoti, “When everything is in 140 characters, it gives a skewed version of reality, and that impacts how editors think about what reporters should be covering, and it impacts what reporters think is important.” Though the character limit has been raised to 280 characters, the sentiment remains true. Only the most spectacular and sensational stories gain traction on Twitter, so reporters have adapted by only reporting on spectacular and sensational events and people. In addition, Twitter’s constantly updated feed has shortened the news cycle, forcing reporters to constantly find and report on new content in order to stay relevant. Twitter’s short-form content also decontextualizes the stories being reported, often leading misconstrued narratives of events. This has, in turn, led to politicians sensationalizing themselves in order to get news coverage. Take, for example, the 2016 presidential election. Donald Trump used his Twitter to share his often controversial views and opinions, and as a result, he was constantly in the news cycle. This near constant coverage translated to him doing well in the Republican polls and helped him to win not only the primaries but the presidential election.

Next, Twitter has helped political groups on party fringes to rise to greater prominence. Take for example the Tea Party. According to an article in The Atlantic, “The Tea Party was … arguably the first movement to fully harness the power of Twitter to bind and amplify groups of people who were geographically distant but ideologically similar.” The Tea Party was the first in a long list of political groups and movements that have gained traction on Twitter, and have recently grown even stronger in the public sphere. Activists on both the far right and the far left have united over Twitter, emphasizing the already polarized American political climate.

Finally, and more positively, Twitter has changed the access ordinary citizens have to politicians. It is now easier than ever before for constituents to contact their representatives, and for representatives to hear from their constituents. For many people, this represents a positive change in American politics. According to The Atlantic article, “Twitter democratizes and shakes up the genteel inertia of modern political dialogue…and shifts much of the power once hoarded by political establishments back into the hands – or voices – of people.”

In conclusion, yes – Twitter is changing the landscape of American politics. As with any new medium, people have a range of opinions on whether the changes are good or bad. And as with every medium, the changes are a mixed bag of the good and the bad. Yes, Twitter has further shortened the news cycle and changed the way we receive and react to the news. But it has also provided a more democratic way of interacting with our politicians and allows everyone a platform to gather with like-minded people and make their opinions heard.

 

by suzidavenporttechno

Why We Should Care Where Waldo Is

In the 2013 episode of Black Mirror, “The Waldo Moment,” an animatronic bear named Waldo becomes a political candidate in a parliamentary election. While this idea may seem far-fetched – how could a cartoon character ever become a real political candidate? – the concept that drives the episode is firmly rooted in an idea that has been circulating for decades – politics is increasingly becoming a form of entertainment.

Waldo represents what people respond to in politicians – humor and honesty. At the beginning of the episode, Waldo provided humorous commentary on the politicians and their ideologies. The audience responded well to this commentary, and the television producers decided that they would register Waldo as a real candidate to bring more attention to Waldo’s show. Surprisingly to the producers, Waldo did well in the polls due to his honest opinions on the state of modern-day politics and his ability to entertain and relate to the public. Waldo’s honesty is borderline brutal and his humor often crass and juvenile. While the premise of a comedic cartoon bear attaining political power sounds outlandish and silly, this episode sheds light on very real fears and realities that we are facing in the current state of our politics.

This episode is focused around the anxiety of the power of social media in society. This episode came out before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and a lot of the anxieties around that election reflect the anxieties of this episode. While Donald Trump is a real human, many on the left saw him as a caricature, a joke that would never make it past the primaries. But, they were wrong. People connected with his populist position and his sensationalism and attempts at humor on social media. To the surprise of many, he won not only the primary, but the general election, and became the president of the U.S. So, in many ways, we have seen the anxieties of this episode play out in real life.

Furthermore, sensational messages are given the foreground in news media channels and therefore gain the most attention from the public. Waldo’s candidacy was depicted as being both shocking and thrilling. His disconnect from humanity and the stereotypical politician is appealing. Waldo represents much of the common discourse around politics that can be seen on social media platforms, such as Twitter, and the media in general. To quote Ronald Reagan, “Politics is like show business.” The public is drawn to drama. Thus, a dramatic politician, such as Waldo or Donald Trump, is going to gain a lot of attention. While many of Donald Trump’s tweets are jarring, comedic, and sometimes even disturbing, he has 55.2 million followers that eagerly await his next one and media channels that prey on them.

This episode of Black Mirror calls attention to the dangers of the societal thirst for entertainment and controversy. Rather than letting the media and this thirst govern us, we should be tuned in to the intellectual capabilities and true leadership properties of our social leaders and confront the persuasive aspects of digital/visual media.

 

written by Coleman, Suzi, and Abby

by suzidavenporttechno

The Mysterious Magic Lantern

A few weeks ago, our Media and Technoculture class went to our school’s Communication Museum and had the opportunity to examine several communication artifacts. Coleman, Abby, and I were drawn to the Magic Lantern immediately because of its unique shape and coloring, and because we had no idea what it was or how to use it. After talking to one of the museum curators, we learned that it was an early projector popular in the late 19th century. It started out as a children’s toy and was eventually used for education and entertainment in large theaters.

The Magic Lantern is a unique communication artifact because it can still be operational today – it relies on technologies that we still have today: it is gas powered. As can be seen in the above photo on the right, the orb detaches from the body. This allows a person to light a wick that is in the base. Then, when the orb is put back on, a person can insert a glass slide into the red portion of the device, and the image is projected through the magnifying glass by the light from the flame.

As a device used principally as a children’s toy, the glass and fire features seem problematic.

The storytelling and child-like-wonder-sparking capabilities of the Magic Lantern have led to the development of projection technologies made for captivating audiences. We were struck by the clear way this technology has influenced so many technologies we use today, in a variety of fields. For example, this is an evident predecessor to the slide projector and most recently, PowerPoint. These technologies are used in the professional and educational fields to display images and text.

Jussi Parikka helps us understand the relation between PowerPoint and the Magic Lantern through his discussion of Media Archaeology. This analytical method of “excavating the past in order to understand the present and the future” can be applied by digging up the Magic Lantern to better understand the roots of the ‘magical’ and visually persuasive characteristics of the PowerPoint technology (Parikka, pg.2). Unlike the Magic Lantern, the integration of PowerPoint has transformed the way stories are being told in academic and business settings as opposed to the casual environment that the Magic Lantern has thrived in. Parikka explains that “new scientific and technological innovations contribute to the changing cultural landscape and even our basic ways of being in the world: seeing, hearing, thinking, and feeling” (Parikka, pg.7). The integration of PowerPoint has clearly impacted the cultural landscape of the business and academic domains.

While the clear characteristic that the Magic Lantern and PowerPoint technologies have in common is their positions as platforms for storytelling, a recent article by Forbes challenges the effectiveness of PowerPoint as a medium for storytelling.

“Using a real-world business scenario, PowerPoint was rated (by online audiences) as no better than verbal presentations with no visual aids.” In a culture that is so influenced and reliant on visual modes of communication, PowerPoint does not inspire the same kind of wonder that the Magic Lantern did when it was first introduced. Because we have focused so much on moving imagery – television, motion pictures, gifs – static imagery is less appealing and engaging. It also does not allow for as much creative control as video or other forms of storytelling, and therefore cannot provide as much interest to modern audiences.

Though the modern visual technologies inspired by the Magic Lantern are no longer as appealing to audiences, one cannot deny the impact that the Magic Lantern had on visual technology in general. The Magic Lantern was the precursor not only to PowerPoint but to motion pictures, which are still a very popular form of visual technology.

 

authored by Coleman, Suzi, and Abby