Media, Culture and Society

By: Paul Hodkinson

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Synopsis: The omnipresence of media in our lives would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago. Where the average family might once have had a single black and white console TV marooned in its living room, with exactly three channels to choose from, we now live in a world where we are literally surrounded by screens of every shape and size, some small enough to carry with us everywhere we go. The innumerable voices clamoring for our attention create a cocoon of white noise within which we are all enveloped without exception, for while we may choose to block out some of the screens, we can never block out the impact they have on our culture as a whole. Attempting to elucidate the endless ways we are both shaped by and reflected within the media is a colossal task, but Hodkinson proves up to it as he coolly and objectively dissects his subject from dozens of different angles using a taut and lucid prose style. The book is divided into three main sections: elements of media; media, power and control; and media, identity and culture. This is a vast amount of territory to cover and it would be easy for an author to get lost in a fog of abstract metaphor, but Hodkinson never drifts off course, ably acquitting himself to the reader as a steady, sharp-eyed guide to our strange new media world. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)