This weeks blog post has to due with media ecologies, which are assemblages of different media forms and communication practices that create a certain media environment (Herman, 2016). In order to further analyze media ecologies we discussed the idea of three different articulations of media ecology in class. For this post I will be using the second articulation of media ecology, "looking at media modes of productions are simultaneously a mode of communication (social practices of creating symbolic meaning), modes of affect (social practices of emotion and embodiment that attached to meaning) and a mode of accumulation (social practices of accumulating capital and power)" (Herman, 2016). Specifically this articulation will be used to compare and contrast Martin Luthers 95 theses, as well as, the viral internet meme known as Pepe the frog and its influence on the 2016 presidential election campaign of Donald Trump.
First off, as discussed by in Mohn's article "Long Before Twitter, Martin Luther was a Media Pioneer", if Luther lived in today's society he would have most definitely been an active twitter user (Mohn, 2016). This is because Luther believed that the more people that read his works the better his message would be received. He printed and distributed numerous pamphlets and circulated them the best he could to church eventually sparking an uprising in the protestant reformation (Standage, 2013). This idea that Luther's method of distribution was similar to what we see as social media today is what allows a great comparison to be made with memes such as Pepe the frog today. If we look at Luther we see his work was a able to create meaning to individuals in the sense that he sparked a revolution which also shows how media has the ability to accumulate capital and power.
Furthermore, this sense of the ability to gain capital and power through media draws one right to the idea of Donald Trump, in the past Trump used media like his television show The Apprentice to gain global popularity and make millions of dollars in capital, along with his many other successful business ventures. However, it is through his recent social media use that he gained possible the most power he has ever had, the role of the President of the United States. Trump used twitter the modern day media similar to the methods of Luther in order to spark a nation for change. Trumps motto of "Make America Great Again" and his outrageous claims for change are what the American people apparently wanted to hear. Trump even tweeted out a photo of the Pepe meme captioned "you cant stump the Trump".
This meme of Pepe the frog has been linked to anti-semitism and racism around the web according to Christopher Mele (2016). However, Trump still managed to use this meme in a popular way for his campaign. Thus proving how changing the modes of communication and affect behind certain forms of media can benefit one and result in the gain of power and capital just like Trump accomplished in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
Matthew Bloom
Works Cited
Herman, A. (2016). Blog Assignment 3. Wilfrid Laurier University.
Mele, C. (2016). Pepe the Frog Meme Listed as a Hate Symbol. New York Times.
Mohn, T. (2016). Long Before Twitter, Martin Luther Was a Media Pioneer.
Standage, T. (2013). Writing on the wall: Social media -- the first 2,000 years. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
I fully agree with your post Matthew! Luther would have loved the access social networking sites like Twitter have to reach a mass mount of people and he would have utilized it to his full potential. Just like how the printing press greatly assisted in the spread of his messages, the internet would have done so at a much more larger and rapid pace. This does occur within social media today where messages, like Pepe the Frog, can then change and have different meanings as people continue to alter them.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your analysis/comparison of Luthers thesis and Trumps political campaign. Similar to how Luther used different modes of communications such as pamphlets to spread his message, Trump took advantage of social media and used major networking sites such as Twitter to spread and promote his campaign. I also agree that if Luther was around today he would definitely make use of social platforms such as Twitter in order to spread his message to even more people.
ReplyDeleteLastly I agree with your assessment of Trumps social strategies, it may not seem like a good idea to tweet out a meme'd picture of himself as a frog, but Trump somehow used it to promote his already insane campaign. Many online posts, especially memes take on multiple meanings on the internet as almost anyone has the ability to manipulate it in any way they want, which is exactly what Trump has done.