Sections > Articles > Volume 1 (July 2009)
Reconceptualising ‘Time’ and ‘Space’ in the Era of Electronic Media and Communications
Panayiota Tsatsou. London School of Economics and Political Science and Swansea University, United Kingdom
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Abstract: This paper examines to what extent electronic media and communications have contributed to currently changing concepts of time and space and how crucial their role is in experiencing temporality, spatiality and mobility. The paper argues that media and communication technologies play a complex part in shifting conceptions of time and space, without diminishing to insignificance the concepts of time and space or subjective experiences of them. On the contrary, by challenging established conceptual approaches to time and space, electronic media could be considered to 'mediate' time and space, problematising the multi-layered significance of how they are experienced today. The paper is divided into three sections. First, it presents theoretical approaches to time and space, and it discusses the two seemingly contrasting approaches of 'time-space distanciation' and 'time-space compression'. Second, it develops a historical analysis of the ways in which media have empirically modified the concepts of time and space, and it discusses the examples of 'internet time' and new 'electronic spaces' to challenge the argument of temporal simultaneity and non-significance of space in the new digital era, respectively. Viewing the historical changes of space in particular as intimately linked to the shifting conceptualisation of place, the third section examines the emergence of a perception of place as 'non-place', whilst it argues in favour of the counterthesis of a mediated sense of place. In this regard, the paper espouses the thesis that electronic communications have succeeded in interconnecting remote places without eliminating their importance.
Key words: time, space, place, electronic media, compression, distanciation, mediation
Cultural Deterritorialisation: Communications Technology, Provenance and Place
Aleksandra Bida. Ryerson University and York University, Canada
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The deterritorialisation, or uprooting from time and place, of culture through communication technologies can be explored through John Tomlinson's idea of globalisation as "complex connectivity". This paper aims to cover various areas of research to highlight the ways in which cultural deterritorialisation continually permeates cultural experience. The analysis is grounded in an understanding of globalisation as both a homogenising and differentiating force. Three aspects of communication's "complex connectivity" are looked at in greater detail: control, speed/ease, and the idea of a global village. These are discussed in terms of ownership and market concentration, and notions of "direct connectivity" and "indirect connectivity". Adapted from Tomlinson's "complex connectivity", "direct connectivity" focuses on interpersonal relations and deterritorialisation on individual scales through personal global contact, while "indirect connectivity" enlarges the scale with a focus on mass cultural production and global consumption. Finally, a discussion of possible kinds of reterritorialisation will consider the impact of these aspects of communication's "complex connectivity" on cultural flows. Rather than concepts such as transterritoriality which are not rooted and remain deterritorialised, reterritorialisation is explored as a means of balancing global trends in the cultural and communications sectors of global and local villages alike.
Key words: communication, "complex connectivity", culture, deterritorialisation, global village, globalisation
Presumed Innocent: The Paradox of 'Coming of Age' and the Problem of Youth Sexuality in Lolita and Thirteen
Fleur Gabriel. Monash University, Australia
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Abstract: This paper uses a post-structuralist perspective to articulate the conceptual limits of the discourse of 'coming of age' as a means of examining concerns about the representation of young female sexuality in the media. Through analysis of the content and production contexts of the films Lolita (1997) and Thirteen (2003), it argues that the discourse of 'coming of age' is grounded in a contradictory logic that produces conflicting aims: a desire to preserve the innocence of youth and a simultaneous expectation that they 'grow up'. Using techniques of Derridean deconstruction, the paper examines the effects that this logic produces in terms of how key aspects of 'coming of age' contradict what the discourse sets out to determine and how this contributes to perceptions of youth sexuality as problematic. It will be shown that these conceptual contradictions remain unseen in attempts to make sense of the controversial aspects of the two films: the issue of pedophilia in Lolita and the problem of teenage rebellion in Thirteen. Importantly, the deconstructive reading suggests that it is the paradoxical underpinnings of this approach to youth identity that enables the discourse to be thought at all. By working to recognise this, it is possible to move beyond the limits of the discourse and think differently about youth in response to the perceived threat posed to young people by media representations of adolescent sex and sexuality.
Key words: deconstruction, youth, sexuality, media, coming of age
When the 'Other' Becomes 'Us': Mediated Representations,'Terrorism' and the 'War on Terror'
Rut M. Sanz Sabino. De Montfort University, United Kingdom
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Abstract: The aim of this paper is to elaborate on the use of one of the rhetorical techniques employed in the political and mediated representation of 'Islamist terrorists' by the British print media in the aftermath of the London bombings of July 7th, 2005. This technique consists of the emphasis on making 'terrorism' and its perpetrators look 'foreign', by creating an opposition between the Nation and the 'Other' (Said, 1997). This opposition is questionable from, at least, two perspectives. On the one hand, this polarisation depends on the position of who produces the discourse. The British reaction to the bombings was a patriotic one which sought to protect the British Nation against the 'foreign enemy' (Bulley, 2008). On the other hand, though, taking into account that the bombers of July 7th were actually British, it is possible to question the actual meaning of 'us' and 'them', as well as the term 'foreign', since the 'Other' is, in this context, also a part of 'us'. The consequence is an ambiguous division between 'known' and 'unknown', 'good' and 'evil', which does not only occur in rhetorical terms, but which is also visible in ongoing conflicts, and ha an impact on the 'clash of civilisations' concept.
Key words: terrorism, media representations, 'Otherness', 'war on terror',
'clash of civilisations', identity
Constructing European Identity through Mediated Difference: A Content Analysis of Turkey's EU Accession Process in the British Press
Agnes I. Schneeberger. University Of Leeds, United Kingdom
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An ever expanding and constantly intensifying mass-mediated environment means that we are surrounded by a variety of narratives that shape our sense of identity through mediated notions of difference. The lack of clear boundaries demarcating Europe have made discourses of differentiation particularly important for European identity formation. In the case of European identity, which has been defined historically in contrast to the Eastern frontier, the East continues to be used as an important point of reference for the construction of an opposing Other vis-à-vis Europe today. The empirical part of this research explores the role of mediated Othering in forging European identity, through a quantitative content analysis of British newspaper texts centred on Turkey with a European dimension; in particular, it looks at Turkey’s bid to join the EU. Results show that although the British press communicate an inclusive interpretation of European identity, it continues to portray Turkey in connection with persistent exclusivist perceptions.
Key words: British press and Turkey, European identity and media, narrative, difference, Eastern Other
