MEDIA QUASI-RITUALS OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
MEDIA QUASI-RITUALS OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

Summary/Abstract: Most research on mass media, multimedia, even new media, has been moving away from the paradigm that reduced them to a communicative function. Having a theoretic starting point in Van Gennep’s analysis and the points of view of Birmingham group , the attention has shifted to more actors and contexts creating different meanings in the forums/fora. Thus, a possible way of enhancing the content of media concept is to associate it to quasi-rituals/daily media routine (observing how media/multimedia/new media influence human practices, program, habits, etc.) and to the contexts in which various ceremonies, forms of worship or mere rituals are mediatezed. The latter get transformed when conveyed through media and we comment upon this aspect. Due to this approach and further studies, the main benefit might be an insight into how creativity and constraint are combined inside this rather new cultural frame. Everyday use of the media can be seen as an integral part of a kind of magic spell coming over the world. One of the recurrent dilemmas in media studies refers to the extent in which media may determine and manipulate the audience. Is there any more “freedom” in the process of interpreting media messages? The powerful and subtle mediatic manipulation and the viewers’ unconditioned „faith” collaborate and create daily addiction. By linking freedom to constraint, the approach provides an appropriate framework to tackle the question of how contemporary media are involved in the social construction of virtual realities, communities, and identities.

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