On Media Reading Response

The constant progress of media advancement brings about a logical side-effect that certain aspects of culture (especially media culture) and societal influence by media are changing as well.  With advancement, ultimately comes the dis-use and discarding of old technology and old methods. The article names several instances of media advancement and what new benefits were brought and what “old” practices were cast aside.

With the invention and widespread implementation of photography, for example – the painting of certain scenes is no longer a celebrated art form. And this is, in my opinion, a bit sad. The article names battle paintings as something that has gone as a result of the photograph which just shows the blunt, bloody, and factual side of war instead of highlighting the glory and heroism of painted artwork. This is also an instance where mass production/printing has changed society’s interaction with such media. In the past, an artist would paint a mural or a painting depicting scenes of battle and great victories (perhaps glossing over the massive loss of life) and then people would gather to see one or maybe two reproductions of the painting – celebrating the battle and interacting with each other. Now, we can just pull up the images on websites or in newspapers without ever having to collectively honor and glorify the actual art of war.

The ongoing debate is whether or not these changes should be categorized as good or bad… or a bit of both? While one can always argue that the invention of new modes and methods and discarding the old is a travesty to history and we should stay with the traditional ideas – it is inevitably a consequence of “moving with the times”. Perhaps then, we are better off not confronting new ideas and methods with hostility and doubt, but rather embracing them and focusing on the future – while also maintaining the ways of old into our museums and historical archives, so that proceeding generations can learn where we came from and how we got to where we are today.