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2007年03月7日

因為反對所以存在--媒介環境學

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      "Ecology is about balance" 今天的主講人林文剛在演講的結尾如是說。「我們家沒有cable TV，I cut the damn cord!」他揮舞的右手比劃出剪刀的動作。簡單的來說，他所謂的平衡表現在以下的行為：當全世界的人都在上網、看電視、聽iPod、玩NDSL的時候，我們可以選擇關機、拿起書架上的書來閱讀。這也是他在NYU時期的恩師 Neil Postman在 "Teaching as a Subversive Activity" 書中所傳遞的想法。

      林文剛引用了Postman對於「媒介環境學」(media ecology) 所下的定義："the study of media as environments...it tries to find out what roles media force us to play." 也就是說，媒介並不為我們所用，而是我們一旦使用了媒介，我們就身在媒介的環境之中，反倒有點像是「我們被媒介給使用了」。
      這個學門就我看來，倒有點Luddite的味道。馮建三在演講之後的問題提到了media ecology 與 technological determinism之間的關係，我想他的意思應該是，如果media ecology 跟所有與科技有關的媒介對立，不是就落入了科技決定論的框框裡頭？林文剛的回答也妙，他並不否認，而是說每個人總是要採取某個立場，"if media ecologists are technological determinists, then Marxists are economy determinists, Feminists are gender determinists...everyone is deterministic!" 以上這段話雖也不無道理，但是還是沒有解決media ecology立論略嫌薄弱的事實。 
       林文剛自己也爽快的承認："We media ecologists don't really prove anything; we just theorise." 在他的解釋下，媒介環境學者其實不完全是「學者」，反而比較像是社會批判者 (social critic) 。這也許可以解釋當Postman被學界批評他做為一位學者，道德立場過於強烈時，他回答：I'm not a scholar; I'm a social critic. 
  
    Media Ecology Association

Posted by kwangyin at 樂多Roodo! │23:30 │回應(2) │引用(0) │小花捲看傳媒
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I enjoy reading your blog and I, as the speaker whose ideas you commented on in your blog, I truly appreciate the good reading and insight you injected in the "conversation."

"Are you a luddite?" I've been asked by my students in New York this rhetorical questions a number of times over the years. Well, I'm the first person in my entire neighborhood who drove a Prius, the hybrid car by Toyota, who my auto mechanics told me has been pacted with an incredible amount of high technology. I frequently fly short and long distances on airplanes (mind you, with my life put on the line for it). When I bought my 256MB flash drive, it cost me USD130 because it was the first of its kind when it came to the consumer market (and I still am using it to date). I can go on and on with my tech choice and use. Oh, as I'm typing this response, I'm using a pretty high-tech laptop that's hooked up to a 22" HD compatible LCD on a wireless DSL set-up. I can go on and on with these tech stuff. So, Kwangyi, am I a Luddite? I'm sure you can figure it out now :-) So, if, and only if, I'm not a Luddite, what or who am I? A media ecologist, someone who would like to exercise his critical judgement in matters relating to the use of media technology in creating and maintaining a balance symbolic, informational and sensorial environment for himself (and for his family). Best, Casey Lum
Posted by Casey Lum at 2007年04月22日 10:45
Thank you for the kind response! (next time I'd like to try writing about Edward Norton, maybe he'll respond as well :D)

I guess it was an oversimplification to call media ecologists luddites. From now on I'll focus more on the "ecological balance" aspect of this discipline!

Thanks again, Mr Lum.
Posted by Kwang at 2007年04月23日 23:27


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