This is an essay I wrote back in the Fall 2017 semester, analyzing a character from the book 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman. I used an excerpt of this for my University of Houston's Honors College application.
Damian Kao
Dr. Laurel Lacroix
ENGL 2332
13 November 2017
New God, Media:
Reception theory applied
In Neil Gaiman’s book, American
Gods, there exists a world in which takes place a battle between the gods
of old and new. Among the new gods, one is referred to as ‘Media’; who is the
god of all modern-day media and commonly known as the television. This
fictional god plays a role in trying to convince the protagonist, Shadow, to
join forces with her, the new gods, and to also leave behind the old gods of
yesterday (Gaiman 156). Although fictional, Media serves to prove a powerful
and valid ideology, that modern day media is vast in content, has a tremendous
influence over our lives, and much that would give media qualities of a god
that we sacrifice a significant portion of our lives to, which in return, make
it more powerful and essential.
The birth of Media in a
television sense, was probably when the first television was invented by Philo
Farnsworth in 1927, but electronic mass media would see its beginnings with the
invention of the radio in 1895. In terms of divinity, media would be a
shapeshifter without limits, a master of deception, and also full of temptation
and information. Whichever deity we wish to see and understand, Media could be
all of them, all at the same time. However, that which is Media’s greatest
power, also comes her greatest limitation; her ability to deliver information
to the audiences is limited by their ability to interpret them. It must also be
noted that in reality, the media through which people receive messages, is
regulated and controlled not by a deity, but by regular people themselves, and
it is these people who transfer their ideas using media as a medium. For this
reason, it would be best to use Reception theory to understand the workings of
media, and how it has been able to influence people all across the world at the
magnitude it has done so over the past century.
Reception theory as
mentioned by Wolfgang Iser, is “a belief that in reading we should be flexible
and open minded, prepared to put our beliefs into question and allow them to be
transformed” (Eagleton 69). The reception theory developed by cultural theorist
Stuart Hall describes that in communication, meaning is encoded by the sender,
and is then decoded by the receiver, and the decoded meaning can sometimes
contain information that can be interpreted in various ways (Hall 507). This
variation from sender to receiver is what decides the outcome of one’s personal
opinion when exposed to media, and this decoding which is done by the receiver
can be categorized into three positions: Dominant, Negotiated, and Oppositional
positions. The Dominant position is when the viewer's interpretation of the
message is identical to what the sender intended, thus creating less
misinterpretations, and more conformity between the two parties (Hall 515). The
Negotiated position is when the receiver agrees to the meaning behind the
message, but would have to adapt them to fit their beliefs (Hall 516). The
Oppositional position is when the audience rejects the message expressed by the
sender (Hall 517). These three positions greatly influence our ability to
perceive the different forms of media available today.
In the American Gods,
Media is first introduced in chapter seven as a character from ‘I love Lucy’, a
popular American TV show from the 1950s (Gaiman 155). In the series, she plays
as Lucy Ricardo, as she tries to persuade Shadow through the television screen.
Her ability to show Shadow whatever he would wish to see, is a strategy that is
very commonly implemented in media to attract people into action, whether it be
a convincing advert for a new sofa, a suspiciously affordable insurance plan,
or a political campaign message. However persuasive these messages may be, they
will be received differently by different people. Like Shadow, some people
might openly oppose the intended message as it does not agree with their
beliefs. A strong republican would not waver at the sight of a persuasive
democratic campaign commercial, or vice versa. A person who disagrees
wholeheartedly about the existence of global warming would reject any awareness
measures about global warming shown on television. Other people might be
more easier to convince at the hands of persuasive media. Someone who has legal
issues might call the number on screen that connects them to a lawyer for no
additional cost, or the little children who after watching a Ninja Turtle movie
would be convinced that they were potentially crime fighting ninjas. Then there
are also those who negotiate with what they see on screen; which could be a
gory movie that displays actions that would be morally wrong if committed in
real life, but is personally entertaining to watch as it is ‘just a movie’. All
these responses are examples that are dependent upon the circumstances and
mindset of the person who is watching that form of Media.
Neil Gaiman’s Media
calls the TV her altar to which people sacrifice their time, and time is
irreplaceable thus making it a valuable sacrifice. In reality, this is evident,
as a large amount of people do spend hours of their time glued to the
television. According to Nielsen, The average American adult spends
approximately five hours and four minutes every day watching television
(Koblin). This is a little over one fifth of the day spent on watching TV.
These numbers have actually decreased over the years, gradually being replaced
by the consumption of digital media, but nevertheless still plays a major role
in day to day life. This change in trends would further add to the importance
of the Media and Technical Boy duo from Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, as
they seem to blend in unison as time and technology progresses, as Neilsen
states that the average time Americans spent on all forms of media, TV and
internet combined in one day is ten hours and thirty-nine minutes in 2016
(Koblin).
In the early days of the
black and white television, these numbers were much less, and the television as
a medium was perceived differently as compared to the modern day. “In a nation
once marked by strong regional differences, network television programming
blurred these distinctions and helped forge a national popular culture” (U.S.
History). Right after WW2 when televisions became more commercially affordable,
nearly two thirds of US households owned a TV. Politicians began to use the
television to broadcast speeches, debates and advertisements. Politics was not
the only influencing factor of the time, as popular TV series such as ‘Father
knows best’ would create the view of an Ideal Family, and showed this to the
viewers, of whom only a few families could live up to (U. S. History). During
this time, the TV was very influential in this manner, as the messages received
by its audiences were taken more as instructional and informative, compared to
entertainment, which did exist, but not at the scale it is today.
As with any first
generation phenomenon, media had its limitations and drawbacks; visual and
audio quality, special effects, screen acting techniques were under constant
revision, and were therefore not as effective as they are today. Despite these
technical limitations, the media of the mid twentieth century played a pivotal
role delivering information to the public, in ways it could never have done
before. It was a time when cartoons, especially those made by Walt Disney
productions became very popular. Over the years, Disney would produce countless
animated movies that would serve to entertain as well as educate children.
However, some of these stories, such as Snow white, and the Little mermaid,
were originally stories that held a much darker context. For instance, Hans
Christian Andersen’s version of the Little Mermaid describes the mermaid as
throwing herself into the sea and turning into sea foam because she is unable
to bring herself to kill the prince (Triska). This plot is very different
compared to Disney’s version, and rightfully so, because the audience these two
stories were made for are completely different. Not only were they for
different age groups, but they were also created for people living centuries
apart. Disney understood their intended audience, a family with small children,
and thus shaped the story so that it would be appropriately received by them.
If they instead created a ‘children’s movie’ using the exact same story as that
written by Hans Andersen, for starters it would not have even been considered
appropriate for children, and would on many levels be required to be censored,
which is an example of the oppositional position in reception theory.
If hypothetically, such
a movie was made, there are some observations that can be made when comparing
that different form of media; the movie to its original material. The quality
with which the story is received when reading the story, and when watching it
as a movie, even though are the exact same with regards to plot, will still be
very different. The written story will induce imagination within the reader as
they would have to imagine the sequence of events as they read though the
story, whereas the movie viewer would be at the mercy of the movie producers,
actors, and animators to receive the desired picture the story is supposed to
portray. Both the audiences will receive the story in different ways, but the
movie viewer would be more restricted as they would only be able to see what
the creator of the movie wanted them to see visually, and base their opinions
on not only the quality of the story, but also the medium in which it was
presented.
In chapter thirteen of American
Gods, Media forces onto Shadow the live feed of a trapped Mr. Wednesday
being questioned and then getting shot in the head (Gaiman 362). Media then
goes on to loop the footage, repeatedly broadcasting the assassination of Mr.
Wednesday. During the 1960s, Television media played a major role in live
broadcasting, taking the place of the popular radio. Those who owned a
television at the time were able to witness live the Apollo 11 moon landing of
1969, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 (Allen). These moments
were received by the viewers as outstanding, and tragic respectively, each
sending their own message to the public. One would create a feeling of hope and
potential for the human race, whereas the other would be received as anything
other than positive human potential. But there are those who would be
indifferent to both these events as well, such is the result of a diverse
population. There are also those, who would simply reject both these events to
be fake, and would consider them to be conspiracies with a hidden agenda, such
as the flat earth theory, because that is what its believers agree upon.
Whichever conclusion the people made, there is no doubt that these broadcasts
were what effectively induced them. The added visual element in television that
the radio lacks, adds another level of realism for the viewer, making them feel
closer to the event being displayed.
The influence television
broadcasting had on people was evident at the time, and therefore become a
common medium through which not only news was delivered, but also a rising
amount of commercials. As the number of households with televisions grew, so did
the opportunity for companies to advertise their products using television. “By late 1948, over 900 companies had bought television
broadcast time for advertising. By 1950, sponsors were leaving radio for
television at an unstoppable rate” (U.S. History). However, one might
question the quality of broadcasted information, as the broadcasting networks
are able to pick and choose what they want their audience to see, in order to
receive the reactions they expected from their viewers.
In fact, this technique of
‘telling the audience what they want to hear’ has been used countless times
across television history, especially with politics. US president Richard
Nixon, as Republican candidate, televised his ‘Checkers Speech’ in 1952, which
greatly appealed to the public. The Checkers Speech, was about Checkers, who
was Nixon’s pet dog. In much recent times, US President Donald Trump during the
presidential elections, made utmost use of mass media, in bluntly telling his
intended audience what they wanted to hear about immigration laws, and its
proposals. His ideas however radical, were received in many different ways.
Some people wholeheartedly disagreed with his ideas and methods, whereas others
found them promising and appealing, thus resulting in the election to finally
turn to his favor, an election that was greatly influenced by President Trumps
use of mass media to spread his message. Also at President Trump’s disposal,
was a form of media that would not be seen until the 21st century, which was
social media.
With respect to the
deities from American gods, Social media would be the true combination
of Technical boy and Media; the Internet and media. Social media is powerful as
it allows unregulated flow of information, instantly, to and from any part of
the globe. What makes it truly unregulated is that there is no governing body
that decides what information is shared and what is not, as anyone with access
to the internet has the ability to share their opinions on any topic. One
example of how social media allows this is the use of Facebook, which is a
social media site on which people can post information of any kind.
With regards to news,
social media works best with breaking news, as within as short as five minutes
of an incident, one would find multiple entries and postings of said event
online, posted by people who happened to be at the scene. This is very
different from traditional news broadcasting methods, which would require a
cameraman and news reporter to be at the scene to be able to record or describe
anything at all about the event. What social media creates is a very
instantaneous method of sharing information across not just a group, but
everyone on the planet. What this essentially does is blur the line between the
sender and receiver of the message. “Some audience members have become
‘produsers’, that is consumers and active producers of content at the same
time. This is reminiscent of the idea of ‘prosumers’ who are consumers who
critically engage and tinker with technical products” (Procter et al 471). It
allows for all people to be able to openly give the world their views, without
the filter of a broadcaster. However, at this point it can be assumed the
individual is the broadcaster who has control over filtering their information.
But this filter means very little when put side by side with multiple postings
about the same incident. Having an array of information to choose from, people
would decide to go with the most consistent result, which can be detrimental to
those who wish to filter their information. This is why news stations that do
chose to filter their information can be found out relatively easily because
there are now multiple people who are observing and posting about the exact
same incident. The stereotypical idea that news stations are biased and either
hide or alter some of their stories is one that negatively impacts their
reputation, as people tend to not trust them, and favor the raw information
that can be otherwise found on social media.
The quantity of raw
information available online however, can unfortunately reduce its quality as
well, because of the ability for people to remain anonymous when posting
information. The lack of credibility can lead to suspicion, and in some
instances depict multiple views on a particular topic that some of these views
could potentially be very misleading. This wide array of ideas could prove
useful when trying to understand an argument about a topic, but for the light
user who simply wants to know what is going on in the world through a social
media perspective however, it is an issue. There is a high chance that they
would take the dominant position when receiving the first online posting they
see, under the assumption that the person(s) who posted the information was a
reliable source. This lack of reliability is what encourages caution when using
social media, and creates this sense of distrust with regards to the
information being received on behalf of the viewers.
Social media and
advertising is another example where the audience should exercise caution with,
as random online advertisements can sometimes be spam or other methods of
fraud. This stems from the ambiguity surrounding the adverts, and everything
that can be seen online, as anyone from anywhere can pretend to be whatever
they want to be from behind their screens. Therefore, online advertisements
would be received with much more caution and suspicion. However, this would
only be the case if the viewer knew in advance the potential for fraud that
exists online. Those who are unaware, (the small children and the elderly who
are new to the internet) are more likely to receive any and all advertisements
that appear online as authentic and would proceed to inspect it. This however
doesn’t stop legitimate companies from promoting advertisements online, because
social media is simply a great way to reach the masses in a short amount of
time.
Another form of media
that greatly influences the public is music. Music is available in a multitude
of genres, each targeting specific audiences, while others appeal to the
overall majority. Top hits of each year would be listened to by millions if not
billions of people, which makes it a very effective method of delivering people
specific messages. With the advent of music videos, people could watch their
favorite singers perform on screen. This to many people took away the necessity
to personally watch a live stage performance, but many people still do visit
such concerts. But what media does best in this case, is allow people to view
these performances that happened in the past, which is something that could
never be done in person. People are able to listen to their favorite tracks
whenever and wherever they wanted to.
With regards to music
and how it is perceived by the public, like social media, is open to various
criticisms. People who listen to songs, not only judge them for the quality and
message of the song, but also the lifestyle and character of the people singing
and performing it. No matter how good a song is, many people would respond to it
negatively if the singer had a bad reputation, and no matter how terrible a
song is, people would receive it openly because they believed that the singer
was either a great person, or was simply trying their best. Even among the
different genres of music, there are those who would accept and listen
wholeheartedly to music from a specific genre, whereas there might also be
those who hate it with a passion, because the music simply did not appeal to
them. Music is a unique form of media that can express messages without being
limited by language, much like pictures, and this is important because it shows
that reception theory is applicable even to non-language based forms of
messages and media.
Even though media is
relatively new in terms of human history, it has completely changed the way
people perceive the world. Having a variety of different forms, it made
receiving information instantly, a norm, and allowed for an unparalleled growth
in globalization. The Media from American Gods was an excellent personification
of actual modern media, in expressing the power it has over the people of the
modern day, and how much influence it has on their lives. One might even agree
with the fact that people now rely on media so much that it would easily be
mistaken as worship, something that would have at one time been received as
impossible and ‘godlike’.
Works Cited
Allen, Steve, and Robert
J. Thompson. Television in the United States, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 18
Oct. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/art/television-in-the-United-States/The-late-1960s-and-early-70s-the-relevance-movement. Accessed 7 Nov. 2017.
Eagleton, Terry. Literary
Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2008.
Gaiman, Neil. American
Gods. 10th ed., New York, Harper Collins, 2011.
Koblin, John. How Much
Do We Love TV? Let Us Count the Ways, New York Times, 30 June 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/business/media/nielsen-survey-media-viewing.html. Accessed 5 Nov. 2017.
Procter, Rob, Alex Voss,
and Ilia Lvov. "Audience research and social media data."
Participations, vol. 12, no. 1, May 2015, pp. 470-93,
www.participations.org/Volume%2012/Issue%201/29.pdf. Accessed 7 Nov. 2017.
S. Hall (1993).
"Encoding/Decoding." S. During (ed.), The Cultural Studies Reader. London
and NY: Routledge.
Triska, Zoe. The REAL
Stories Behind These Disney Movies Will Ruin Your Childhood, Huffington Post,
12 Nov. 2013, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/the-real-story-behind-eve_n_4239730.html. Accessed 5 Nov. 2017.
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