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The advent of the Information Society has had a revolutionary impact on culture (Mackay, 2001, p.67). In particular, the proliferation of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and mass media has resulted in distinctive changes to the way of life of citizens within the information society.
Mass, strategic media, a key component of the information society, is responsible for a majority component of citizens cultural knowledge - indeed, for some citizens it is their only source of cultural knowledge (Slevin, 2000, p.67). The cultural impact of this media comes from its inherent, though not always apparent, authorship (Barney, 2004, p.15). The representations communicated through these media are therefore not neutral channels of informational flow, but themselves contribute and create constructions of cultural knowledge.
The representations and constructions conveyed through these media may serve the interests of a particular person or group. This affecting and shaping of mediated culture is known as the 'politics of representation' (Hall, 1976, p.221). Different media producers may simultaneously construct opposing representations and often counter-strategies are used to re-imbue or reclaim negative representations. An example of this was during the 1960s when the Western media used the term 'black' in a negative, derogatory way. Civil rights activists purposely sought to recreate this term, launching the black nationalist 'black is beautiful' campaign and reclaiming the representation.
The politics of representation result in cultural discrepancies, as conflicting media producers broadcast differing representations to their communities. As an individual's construction of identity is partially dependent on their experiences of culture (Castells, 1997, p.7), the impact of mass media on culture is theorised as reaching as far as the construction of the self (Mackay, 2001, p.69).
ICTs play an important role in the usage and articulation of cultural knowledge, a concept known as cultural transmission (Thompson, 1990, p.132). ICTs, in particular the internet, serve as a technical medium for this transmission. In this mediating role, the material components of ICTs act as producers, transmitters and receptors for cultural information (Slevin, 2000, p.62). Academics suggest that the cultural impact of ICTs must take into account the physical technical role of the technology, as the nature of the social or cultural interaction may be shaped or influenced by the form of the medium (Thompson, 1990, p.173).
ICTs may also serve as an institutional apparatus of the cultural transmissions (Slevin, 2000, p.66). Related to the notion of the 'politics of representation', cultural knowledge conveyed via ICTs is subject to authorship, and may be influenced by "a determinate set of institutional arrangements within which the technical medium is deployed and the individuals involved in encoding and decoding symbolic forms are embedded" (Thompson, 1990, p.167). This effect is analogised as gatekeeping in a cultural context (Ess, 2001, p.7). ICTs may further effect the distribution and transmission of cultural knowledge through technical mechanisms for restricted cultural infromation flow or by controlling distribution of cultural knowledge through selective diffusion (Slevin, 2000, p.67).
Barney, D. (2004) The Network Society, Great Britain: Polity Press. ISBN 0745626688
Castells, M. (1997) The Information Age, New York: Blackwell. ISBN 0631215948
Ess, C. (2001) Culture, Technology, Communication, New York: Satte University of New York. ISBN 0791450155
Mackay, H. (2001) Investigating the Information Society, New York: Routeledge. ISBN 041526832
Thompson, J.B. (1990) Ideology and Modern Culture, Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN 0804718466
Slevin, J. (2000) The Internet and Society, Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN 0745620876
Webster, F. (1995) The Information Society Reader, London: Routeledge. ISBN 0415319285
--Jessica Larsen 11:47, 6 Sep 2005 (EST)
