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01/06/2006 Archived Entry: "Critique"

Point of New Media Critique: Or Why I Still Can't Consider The "Left" a Viable Option

A Washington Monthly piece I found via Arts & Letters Daily led me to the blog I never read, the Daily Kos, and this thread which shows little interest in condemning Chavez's anti-Semitism. If anything, we see how the leftist bloggers who comment here revise traditional tropes of anti-Semitism themselves (with the exception of a few voices who make that point as well).

Meanwhile, I begin the semester's task of re-reading (for 7020), and start with McLuhan's observation that the information overload we experience via new media does not necessarily lead to expanded perceptions in terms of awareness, but rather foregrounds tension, conflict, i.e., the global village. Technology re-tribalizes, McLuhan writes.
No better example than this thread. In the age of information technology and information overload, political blogs claim that they bring greater awareness to the "people." This awareness assumes either a democratic move or, at the very least, a move to increase awareness (what big media fails to tell you, we tell you). But the effort feels fruitless in that sense. What we experience instead is not awareness ("now we know more about others so we can get along better, so we can understand geo-conflict better, so we can better prevent injustice") but retribalization of fear, prejudice, hate, and the ignorance of the other which prevailed pre-Internet.

This is not a condemnation of my lovely Internet (nor of the Daily Kos). I find McLuhan very useful here in understanding how the increased exposure to texts, ideas, others, etc. which the Internet generates does little to alter specific kinds of perceptions, notably the tribal fears which prejudice rests upon. I also am reminded of the failure of political argument to bring awareness, particularly as online work makes political argument more pronounced. Even with the various outlets of ideas available for making connections (for crossing boundaries, as McLuhan also writes), few connections seem to be made; the same positions are maintained as is. Is this awareness? Or confirmation of already held "tribal" belief systems?

And my remarks are really directed towards the comments section of a blog (though one can say the same about the individual or group which maintains a given blog).
When a political topic hits Metafilter, for instance, I see similiar patterns occur. A typical ad campaign for Microsoft (or any other clone) might ask "Where do you want to go today?" On the political weblog, do we go anywhere? Just inward. Back into ourselves.

Posted by c-m @ 01/09/2006 07:04 PM EST

Hi, Jeff. I agree with you, even if that agreement is poorly articulated. I shouldn't have implied that this was something inherent to Daily Kos. the same thing happens at Atrios and Powerline (or talk radio for that matter).

This was one of the conclusions we reached in my Rhetoric and Democracy course last fall when we looked at political blogs & noticed the ways in which they produced the tension and tribalism you describe.

Posted by Chuck @ 01/08/2006 09:57 PM EST

Hi Chuck
What the threads in general make me think is not about the one who runs Kos or whatever board or blog, but McLuhan's point about what is really a paradox: if there is more information which is more available for us at faster speeds etc shouldn't awareness result? I.e. shouldn't we be more aware through exposure/connections to the Other, to the various forces which cause various conflicts/situations etc.?
The McLuhan answer is "no." We implode/not explode. We return to the village, to the tribe. In place of awareness, there is more tension, more conflict, more distrust. The village is not a peaceful place; it is a place of tension.
Now, we may believe that we are more aware, but I have doubts. Being "activist" or "critical" is not evidence for me. Threads like the one I draw attention to are but one example of how the project of "being aware" through technology fails.

Posted by jeff @ 01/08/2006 09:50 PM EST

That is a frustrating thread. I do consider myself a leftist and would be resistant to defining the Kossaks as "leftist," for the most part.

There is certainly a tribalist vibe over there, at least as McLuhan uses that term. Whether that's due to Kos's military roots (doubtful in my opinion) or to something inherent about the mixture of DC hardball politics is another matter.

Posted by Chuck @ 01/08/2006 09:41 PM EST

I couldn't agree more. Right on.

Posted by Xilliam @ 01/08/2006 04:46 PM EST

If anything, we see how the leftist bloggers who comment here revise traditional tropes of anti-Semitism themselves.

You can also substitute anti-feminism in that same sentence when it comes to the Kos network -- or the blog I stopped reading long ago.

One can never forget Kos' miltary roots -- imho, those roots underwrite the tribalism or us/them mentality you are noting. Politics is a war game to most of them -- which never contributes to cross-cultural understanding.

Posted by c-m @ 01/08/2006 12:46 AM EST

Yes, well the romanticized political arena is quite depressing when examined closely. What passes for activism today is tribalization (if we agree with McLuhan). What depresses me is that I would rather be with the left, but cannot for these reasons and others.

Posted by jeff @ 01/07/2006 03:33 PM EST

A good analysis, but a depressing thought.

Posted by John @ 01/07/2006 01:27 PM EST