Copleston Media: 2011

Democracy = 'Many hands'
Remember in this context, we are not just talking about democracy in its political sense - voting systems and government etc. We are talking about the idea of things being opened out to the people - things that previously were only available to an elite, now being open to the majority, 'many hands' being involved in things that previously only included a (usually rich and powerful) few. These things may be film-making, viewing, or distributing, the acquisition or sharing of knowledge, the reporting or shaping of 'news' events and agendas, the ability to make 'your' voice and opinions heard on a global scale.

We Media and web 2.0 can generally be treated as interchangeable terms.
Very basically web 1.0 encouraged us to just watch, read, listen to or otherwise consume content - web 2.0 actively encourages our involvement and participation in creating, amending, contributing to or responding to content.
Below is a 'tag cloud' from wikipedia presenting web 2.0 themes, and the definition that wikipedia offers.

File:Web 2.0 Map.svg

"The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatoryinformation sharing, interoperability, user-centered design,^[1] and collaboration on the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators ( prosumers) of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (consumers) are limited to the passive viewing of content that was created for them. Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharingsites, hosted services, web applications, mashups and folksonomies."

Here is lecturer David Gauntlet's useful little video to help clarify the term;

Media and Everyday life (improved verstion)

Obvious examples of we media include youtube, facebook and the various other social networking sites, twitter, wikipedia, blogging and google. Remember the importance of writing about 2 different media forms in your response - i.e. video making and uploading (youtube) and sharing of information (wikipedia), or blogging and social networking etc. Remember also the importance of discussing what things were like before, and what the future implications might be.

At the heart of this unit is the DEBATE - is we media really democratic, and is it a good thing.

At first glance it may seem obvious that getting more people involved in things they were previously excluded is a good thing, but things are rarely that simple. The two commentators at the heart of this debate are DAN GILLMOR and ANDREW KEEN.

Dan Gillmore

Gillmor's book 'We the media'

Remember, Gillmor is an advocate of these new technologies. Basically, he sees it as a really positive thing that ordinary people can get involved in this new media world, and that the previously all powerful traditional media are now being challenged.

Arguments in favour of this technology include;

Diversity of views is good for democracy
Previously unheard voices can now be heard
The 'strangehold' the old media had on news and information (and arguably power) is now broken
More debate is possible, on things that the old media never had time for
WE participate in the debate, rather than just being told about the way things are
Personal freedom is now available - all tastes can be catered for
Content is free, or at least prices have been driven down.

Remember, Gillmore put his money where his mouth is - the book 'We the media' is available for free via download.

Andrew Keen

Keen's book 'The cult of the amateur'

Keen is critical of these new technologies and new developments.

He sees them as damaging to the traditional industries (citing various examples of job losses in the film, tv and print media industries, with no new jobs being created in this new way of doing things), which in turn is bad for democracy. He argues that traditional journalists and news gatherers and film makers and so on are professionals - that is why the content they create is better and more worthwhile i.e. a big budget feature film is 'better' than a video of a skateboarding cat. By eroding this professionalism, we are losing something that once gone, we will never be able to get back.

As well as the copyright theft endemic in this new world, he also argues more controversially that just because anyone CAN now get involved in this creative new world, not everyone SHOULD.

He also argues that the anonymity provided in these new media forms is open to abuse - from big companies masquerading as something they're not, through to individuals having no responsibility for their words or actions by hiding behind this. These things, he argues, are not good for our democracy, but dangerous and a threat to it.

Below is a video of him in action;

The video below, also featuring Andrew Keen, neatly encapsulates many of the debates and issues that underpin this unit as a whole.

The teaser Trailer

The official Trailer

The official video, for 'Another way to die' by Jack White (not Black!) and Alicia Keys. Note the imagery borrowed from the film.

The trailer for the videogame - again, note the imagery (and sound) borrowed from the film itself, and the new elements included for the gaming market.

Product tie-ins - the advert for the Coke Zero campaign, again note the borrowed elements from the film, and the use of the official logo at the end.

The Sony Bravia TV ad, featuring Daniel Craig, and an approximation of the destruction of the 'villain's lair' from the end of the film.

Great little video this - various clips from Casino Royale and Quantum of solace emphasising the product placement in these movies - absolutely shameless!