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Editorial BLIK 2.1
Much heard criticism on academia is that it is inaccessible, cut of from the everyday practice, and that its theories are esoteric and too abstract. Scientific theories can serve as a searchlight in the academic quest for greater insight and for posing new questions. However, one might question the relevance of academic research when it fails to form a bridge at some points to the sites of concrete practices and the actual objects of its study. Especially within Media Studies, studying phenomena that ubiquitously interact with society and everyday life, a closer investigation of the relationship between media theory and everyday practice seems pressing and highly relevant.
The articles presented to you in this issue of BLIK centre on the disparity between media theory and everyday practices. They all in some form critically evaluate the extent to which media theories’ claims about (digital) medias’ limitless possibilities can be realized when looking into specific technologies and platforms with scrutiny. The interviews and articles in this issue touch upon many of the same problems, of which participation and creation of manipulation seem to return as important tropes.
Prof. dr. Dieter Mersch explains in our opening interview how most people are fixated on digital medias’ supposed possibilities to facilitate greater, if not ideal, democracy and participation. In his critical analysis of the participation dynamics made possible by Web 2.0 Mirko Schaefer nuances digital media’s claims to direct participation. The article by Shirley Niemans unites different strands of thought that are present in this issue of BLIK, addressing the problems that occur when transferring ideas about leadership from virtual game worlds to the real life work place. Starting with this issue we also have a new section: the visual essay. For this, Asher Boersma made a contribution with reference to an art exhibition in the Nederlands Fotomuseum that addressed the distortion that occurs when representing history. In his discussion of some of the featured artworks, Boersma self-reflexively also touches upon the limitations to representation in this very magazine.
Thus, we hope that this new issue of BLIK will give an initial impetus to a re-evaluation of much heralded media theories and that this will foster a critical reflection on the euphoria that surrounds modern-day technologies.
Redactie, Nieuws, 18-3-2009 om 01:26
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