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Book of demons torrent2/27/2023 ![]() Greed may fuel the speed and plenitude of the media, but the torrent’s synergy, he suggests, transcends profit. Gitlin does not conjure up any particular explanation for the media torrent, nor, despite his seemingly disapproving tone, does he offer any solution other than to urge the reader to become aware of the media wash.Īs Jeffry Scheuer, author of The Sound Bite Society writes of the book, “Gitlin seems reluctant to follow the traditional explanatory path of the left to follow the money. In his effort to keep his work short and sweet, the result is a bit scattershot. Gitlin sets himself up for a difficult project when he takes on the intimidating goal of “Grasp the totality of the media”. Undoubtedly the reader is drawn into the discussion here by identifying with one or more of Gitlin’s characteristics. ![]() works with aversion ” The Paranoid, “a negative monotheist” whom Gitlin himself calls “admirable ” The Exhibitionist, “a positive paranoid ” The Ironist, who is “amused to be amused ” The Jammer, “who believes that images are power and thinks that he can redistribute power ” The Secessionist, who “turns her back ” and the Abolitionist, “who refuses to accept existence as a good argument for why they should continue to exist.” Without using facts or figures, this is the chapter in which Gitlin gets the most concrete. Though at times Gitlin’s point in itself is difficult to pin down, one truly fascinating element of Media Unlimited is the chapter “Styles of Navigation and Political Sideshows,” where Gitlin determines the different ways people “have recourse as the torrent washes over us.” He discusses personifying characteristics as coping mechanisms, detailing elements such as: The Fan, who has an “emotional, visceral” link to the star at hand The Content Critic, who, “like the fan, steers with preferences. He opens up a whole new can of worms when he postulates that lower-class children seem to ingest more television than middle and upper-class. ![]() His sketchy measurements of the ever-shortening sentence in American novels over the years are unsubstantiated. Some of Gitlin’s data and facts are difficult to swallow. For instance, the cost of entertainment has gone down substantially over the decades, from more than a day’s full wage for the theater in the 18th century to 1/100th of a day’s wage for cable television. Gitlin theorizes that people are becoming increasingly distracted and he presents some interesting data to back up his thesis. He adds, “Each hot, breaking, unsurpassed, amazing, overwhelming event fades, superseded by sequels each ‘crime of the century’ dissolves into the next, only to be recycled in the form of TV collages, magazine and movie of the week ‘specials’, instant books, branded sound bites and video clips, chat groups and instant polls, each cross-referenced to previous spectacles, each assigned meanings by choruses of pundits and focus groups, each instantly labeled unique, unforgettable.” Gitlin, author of several books on mass media and contemporary culture, writes in his latest volume that we live in “the age of disposable feelings”. The issue at hand is whether we are even remotely aware of how much the media bombards us with data, endless streams of it. The beneficial nature of the information churned out by the media does not concern Todd Gitlin. It’s not so much that it’s difficult to escape as it is easy to pick up. From the car radio to the bus advertisement, we absorb more information than we even know. ![]() Our culture is more awash in information and entertainment than ever before. “Modern man lives under the illusion that he knows what he wants, while he actually wants what he is supposed to want.” ![]()
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