Introduction to Anthropology Textbook Chapter 15 Anthropology of Media

CHAPTER 15 Anthropology of Media i , ii DEFEND MEDIA ?

ii Figure , an investigative journalist from , participating in the Global Conference for Media Freedom in London , 2019 . He keeps his face hidden during all public appearances in order to protect himself from retaliation . credit Foreign , Commonwealth Development , BY ) CHAPTER OUTLINE Putting the Mass into Media Putting Culture into Media Studies Visual Anthropology and Ethnographic Film Photography , Representation , and Memory News Media , the Public Sphere , and Nationalism Community , Development , and Broadcast Media Broadcasting Modernity and National Identity Digital Media , New INTRODUCTION I am sorry I can not show you my face . Because ifl do , the bad guys will come for me . Who is that masked man ?

That man is , the famous investigative journalist from who Have a TED Talk ( about how he names , shames , those bad guys ( 2013 ) Using controversial undercover methods , has posed as a street hawker , a priest , a patient in a mental facility , in a brothel , and a boulder . His investigations have revealed widespread corruption in the judiciary , police service , electric company , Ministry of Youth and Sports , and passport as well as a orphanage . He has exposed cocoa smuggling , rebel invasions , human , child slavery , torture in Thai prisons , unsanitary food production , forced prostitution ,

and abuse ofpeople with mental illness in a hospital . has become a kind of superhero in , combining anonymity and celebrity to force social change . While his undercover research is mostly in person , he publishes the reports of his investigations as videos , many ofwhich are available for viewing on his website ( He has become famous worldwide through the spread of these videos and the accumulation of interviews and commentary on his work that can be found on the Internet . His intriguing persona illustrates the complexities of identity in the digital era . Though many have attempted to unmask him , his real identity remains a mystery . As previous chapters have demonstrated , anthropologists are keenly interested in questions of identity and social action . The holistic approach leads anthropologists to consider how certain social , cultural , economic , and political conditions give rise to public figures such as . Clearly , the phenomenon of can not be fully understood without attention to the functions of media at local , national , and global levels . At the local level , investigative journalism functions as a tool of , while global digital media function as a tool of celebrity . Are these two functions compatible or contradictory ?

A new of media anthropology has emerged in the past few decades to address such pressing issues . This chapter explores the anthropology of mass media , including how media functions at local , national , and global levels . It also addresses how social conditions and cultural forces shape a variety of media genres , including news media , photography , radio , television , and the Internet . Just as anthropologists bring their unique approach to other , the distinctive methods and concepts of anthropology contribute complex , holistic insights to the study of media . Putting the Moss into Media LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to the basic function of media . Distinguish basic media from mass media . Describe the social phenomenon of . Explain why culture is important to the study of media .

FIGURE of the world . Modern are widely used in most cultures of the contemporary world . credit top left , Bedouin Woman with Mobile Phone by Arian , BY top right , by Ken Banks , BY bottom , by , BY ) People today live in an era of is , an age when people embrace technologies and incorporate them into every part of their lives , particularly their social lives . In contrast to the inert functionality of school cameras , watches , radios , and televisions , the new smart gadgets interact with their users , learn from them , make suggestions , and contact their friends and family members . Insofar as they facilitate users interactions with other people and the world around them , these smart technologies become part of their users , akin to an extra organ for sensation and communication . Insofar as they communicate with users , nudging and prodding them , they become like a friend or family member themselves . Part ofwhat makes these smart technologies so attractive ( and addictive ) is that they function as means of connecting people to one another , carrying messages and data to other individuals and groups . As instruments of communication , all of these technologies are forms of media . At the most basic level , media are tools for storing and sharing information . In this basic sense , media have always been essential to the development and durability of human culture . Early forms of symbolic communication , such as cave paintings and ancient writing systems , can be considered media , as they provided people with ways of meaning in material objects that could be shared with people in other places and other times . The scope of these early forms of media was limited , however , by their singularity . People could visit a cave painting , but they could not send a copy of it to their friends . A scholar could inscribe a story on a cuneiform tablet , but that tablet could not be reproduced for a wider audience without the painstaking work of copies one by one . Up until 1000 CE , scholars in many parts of the world specialized in manually copying books and pamphlets , sometimes using wooden block prints carved out by hand . These methods were so expensive that only the very wealthy could afford to buy written forms of media .

All of this changed with the invention of the printing press , in China and then in Germany ( Frost 2021 ) Around 1000 CE , the Chinese artisan Bi Sheng created a set of blocks out clay , each one manually inscribed with a Chinese character . To publish a page of text , he arranged the character blocks on an iron frame that could be pressed against an iron plate to create a print . Around 1440 , the German entrepreneur Johannes independently invented a similar system of printing . also created a set of blocks , each one containing a letter , but his were made of metal . He used his invention to print calendars , pamphlets , and 180 copies of the Bible . Within decades , the printing press had spread from Germany to France , Italy , Spain , England , and the rest Europe . VIDEO To see how printing press worked , watch this video of a demonstration ( of the worlds most complete working replica at Crandall Historical Printing Museum in , Utah . If manual writing systems are basic forms of media , then mechanically reproduced forms of communication are forms of mass media . Whereas forms of basic media operate between one sender and a small number of receivers , forms of mass media operate through a sender , a machine , and a potentially very large number of receivers . Originating in books and pamphlets produced using the printing press , the category of mass media has expanded over time with the development of new technologies , including photography , radio , television , and the Internet . Mass media are forms of communication facilitated by technology , allowing for broad distribution and reception by large numbers ofpeople . When considered from this angle , it may seem that technology is the most element of mass media . As machines , communication technologies might seem to function much the same in any context . When European printing presses were brought to Africa in the century , they were used to publish newspapers that bore a family resemblance to European ones . If someone enables their mobile phone to function in another country while on vacation , they can use it to call their hotel or hail an Uber in much the same way they would use their phone at home . Because communication technologies seem to function in uniform ways across , people often assume that mass media are pretty much the same everywhere . Some provide news on current events . Some provide diversion and entertainment . Some allow users to communicate with individuals and groups . In this case , the differences one might see in mass media forms across cultures would be differences in technological sophistication or penetration , the word media scholars use to describe how widespread a communication technology is in a certain context . Have you ever seen a video ?

These are movies shot on video camera , usually completed within a few weeks and aimed at local audiences . They deal with social themes such as witchcraft and corruption , often combined with Christian redemption . Such video are frequently criticized ( by locals and foreigners alike ) for their rudimentary editing and poor production values . When compared to Hollywood blockbuster movies , with their budgets and complex technological production processes , African video may seem like a poor replica of the American form . VIDEO Watch Darkness ( ow ) to see an example ofa movie . But that is not how West Africans view locally made video . While many enjoy watching American from time to time , the themes and issues explored in foreign fail to resonate with their own experiences and concerns . In contrast , local video engage with the desires and fears of , reinforcing forms of social identity and echoing familiar norms and values . Even as many criticize the rustic editing and uneven sound levels , local video remain enormously popular among West African audiences . Anthropologist ( 2012 ) conducted ethnographic research on the industry in India . She

describes how Indian developed from rustic , homegrown forms of local entertainment to technologically sophisticated spectacles , forming the globalized industry of Bollywood . this transformation in the larger economic shifts of the and the accompanying emphasis on global trade and consumerism in India . While earlier focus on themes involving and marginalized peoples , later more often dramatize the lives of the professional , highly educated , and classes . Thus , links the themes , technologies , and economic of these . While technology may seem to be the feature of mass media , it is the immersion of communication technologies in local cultures that produces the total experience of mass media . At heart , mass media are not just technologies but forms of vehicles for conveying forms of cultural meaning from to receivers . The language , images , symbols , and sounds used to convey meaning are all elements of culture . The thematic content of mass media is also profoundly cultural , shaped by local and reception . Ways of consuming and interacting with mass media are also heavily determined by local social norms . Putting Culture into Media Studies LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Describe how an anthropologist might use participant observation to study media . Explain the relationship between modernity and media . Give an example illustrating the complex relationship between media and culture . the concept of cosmopolitanism . In this section , the author of this chapter , Jennifer Hasty , describes her own experience using participant observation . In the , I went to the West African county to . I was interested in the role of newspapers in the great wave of tiza tion across many African tries in that decade ( Hasty 2005 ) Because I had some undergraduate training in journalism , I decided to teer as an in tern at several newspapers and learn how news is produced in . I wound up working as organizations in the capital city of overa period of several years . Through these experiences , I learned a great deal about how culture and history shape local news production , texts , and reception . When people outside ofan ask me about my , I tell them ( maybe too much ) about working as a . They often respond with a perplexed look , saying , Wait , I thought you said you were an When thinkabout anthropological , they think of quaint villages and rural locations , seemingly disconnected from the rest of the world . When they think of the topics anthropologists typically pursue , they think of religious rituals , political try , complex kinship systems , and folk arts . That is , they think of the realm of tradition . In fact , the in which anthropologists work are not cut off from the rest of the world at been . People all over the world , in both rural and urban communities , are hooked up to global flows of information , images , ideas , commodities , and people . Newspapers , photography , radio , television , and the Internet are woven into nearly everywhere one might go in the world . Recall the discussions of modernity in previous chapters . Historically speaking , modernity is the whole way of life associated with industrial and to say , the institutions and features of ty emerged alongside industrialization and mass production . However , the features of modernity have spread across the globe to societies that are not primarily industrial or . Features such as mass media , wage labor , and the nation shape the everyday lives of people in primarily agrarian , pastoral societies and ga un ter societies . Anthropologists have abandoned the idea that some people live traditional lifestyles while others live modern ones . Rather , all people are modern in distinctive ways , shaped historical and cultural

forces . Since the early , anthropologists have been increasingly interested in the various forms of modernity that have emerged in and non con texts . As a key tool of modernity , mass media have become the object fascination in anthropology over the last three decades . My own was part ofan early wave studies in anthropology , culminating in the establishment of an en tire , media anthropology ( 993 Askew and Wilk 2002 , and Larkin 2002 ) By examining the use of media in con temporary sociocultural life , media anthropologists have learned that nearly all forms are shaped by various genres . People take photographs and videos to commemorate cultural events and share their memories with others . They report on cultural topics in , radio , and television and discuss those issues on talk shows and social media . In fact , it fair to say that mass media have become primary tools for defining , reinforcing , and reproducing local cultures . Rather than being opposed to tradition , mass media are key instruments for preserving and transmitting traditional cultures as well as modernity A ago , a journalist friend ofmine , George , emailed me to ask if could help him several books on Kindle Direct Publishing ( Now retired , wanted to share his essays , poetry , and memoirs with , journalists , and scholars all over the world . In order to publish on you need a bank the United States or another approved country , and was not on . bit wrangling , I was able to set up an account for him books online so thathe could his global audience . Anthropologists have a term for the kind of worldly orientation evident in desire to speak to a global audience about global issues cosmopolitanism . Cosmopolitanism refers to a type of worldly knowledge and sophistication . Contemporary anthropologists , working in rural , village , and urban con texts , that people in all settings have remarkable awareness of current world issues such as climate change , Spring , and the Me Too movement . One poems describes an incident on the German airline in which a White flight attendant claimed she could not understand request for a glass of water Cosmopolitan writers such as link their personal experiences to global issues such as race , environmentalism , and gender equality . Global issues and modern media forms are in the lives rural and urban peoples in cultures all over the world . Visual Anthropology and Ethnographic Film LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Give examples of the early use of visual media in ethnographic . the of visual anthropology . Describe two examples of ethnographic . Explain the ethical challenges associated with ethnographic . Although the of media anthropology is relatively new , anthropologists have been incorporating media technologies into their methods of research and ethnographic representation since the early century . An early pioneer methods , Margaret Mead took some 200 photographs as part of her project in ( Tiffany 2005 ) In the , Mead and Gregory used both photography and in in Bali and New Guinea . Mead and embraced visual media as an innovative means of learning about social life and used photos and to study childhood , public ceremonies , and dance . Together , they took about photographs and recorded about feet of as part of research ( 2020 ) Focusing on child development and dance , they used these visual materials to produce two photographic and seven short . Visual anthropology is either the use media as a research method or its study as a research topic . Whether they consider themselves visual anthropologists or not , most anthropologists take photos of the

people and places they encounter in their . Visual anthropologists go further , using photography and to document important events for future analysis . As moments frozen in time , photographs allow for analytical contemplation and shared consideration . Film can be slowed down or sped up to focus on certain aspects of individual action or group dynamics that might otherwise go unnoticed . Images may be to reveal minute details . Both and photography allow for images to be placed side by side for comparison . Visual anthropologists are also interested in how people in the cultures they study produce their own visual representations in the form of art , photography , and . Visual anthropologists are interested in popular paintings , billboards , and as well as forms of photography and . FIGURE An image from Margaret Mead Trance and Dance in Bali . Margaret Mead was an early pioneer in the use of visual media in anthropology . credit Gregory and Margaret Commons , Public Domain ) Early on , cultural anthropologists recognized that visual media made it possible to share the experiences encountered during anthropological research with their colleagues and students , and the general public . One example of many is the Trance and Dance in Bali ( 1951 ) written and narrated by Mead , which features a Balinese dance called the kris . The kris dance the story of a witch whose daughter is rejected as a bride to the king . In retaliation , the witch plots to spread chaos and pestilence in the land . When the king sends an emissary with a convoy of servants to stop the nefarious plan , the witch turns the emissary into a dragon . She then causes the followers of the dragon to fall into trance . When the revives his followers , they emerge in a somnambulant state , stabbing themselves with daggers but no harm . After dancing the kris dance , the dancers are brought out of their trance with incense and holy water . Included in the US Library of Congress , this stunning early use of in anthropology can be viewed at the Library of Congress website ( or on YouTube ( Ethnographic is the use of in ethnographic representation as either a method , a record , or a means of reporting on anthropological . Like documentary , ethnographic are in which shots are edited and shaped into a central narrative drama . While the line between documentary and ethnographic is blurry , ethnographic is associated with the work of professional anthropologists and tends to focus explicitly on depictions of sociocultural processes . Before Mead and professional use of , several had made amateur ethnographic depicting aspects of cultures . The very popular ofthe North ( 1922 ) made by explorer Robert and based on 16 months of living with the , follows an family in the Canadian Arctic . The focuses on the heroism of husband and wife as they struggle against the harsh elements to meet their needs and raise their children . The documents such as

traveling by dogsled and kayak , hunting walrus , and building an igloo out of glacier ice . In one controversial scene , the family visits a Canadian trading fort , where they express astonishment at instruments of modernity such as a phonograph . Though the has been praised for its representation of Indigenous peoples as courageous and hardworking , others have criticized for staging some of the events and even having his own wife play the role of wife in the . Like Mead and , of the North is now held by the Library of Congress as one of the most examples of early documentary . While some consider to be a precursor to ethnographic , anthropologist Franz Boas dismissed it as completely irrelevant to anthropology due to use of and staging ( 2018 ) The can be viewed at the Internet Archive ( or on YouTube ( an . will now , of . man , and Man . any OF LIFE AND LOVE IN THE ACTUAL ' Pa dun FIGURE Promotional poster for of the North , considered by some to be one of the most examples of early documentary . While based on experience , a number of events in the were staged . credit Robert Commons , Public Domain ) From its roots in both amateur and professional , ethnographic became an increasingly important tool for teaching and anthropological research throughout the century . In the , John Marshall and Timothy pioneered a more objective , naturalist style of ethnographic , attempting to avoid Western narratives and . With the development of the ability to simultaneously record sound in the 19605 , the commentary and conversations of people represented in ethnographic became audible ( even if translations still appeared in subtitles ) Subjects could now address the camera directly . Around the same time , anthropologists began considering the power dynamics embedded in the production of ethnographic particular , the ethical issues involved in White Western researchers controlling the representation of peoples . Responding to these ethical challenges , many ethnographic have turned away from the heavily crafted narrative methods of such as toward a more purist style that represents unfolding action with little editing . New methods of representation have emerged , revealing the very act of itself and highlighting the relationship between and those being . Rather than using as a means of teaching anthropology to students and the public , some experimental conceptualize as the creation of an entirely new sociocultural experience . The experimental ethnographic , for

instance , directed by Stephanie Spray and and released in 2013 , comprises 11 long shots of Nepalese pilgrims taking cable car rides to a mountaintop temple in Nepal . Rather than teaching the viewer about an anthropological topic , provides portraits of people and their relationships against the backdrop of the rugged landscape passing below them . Spray and are collaborators in Harvard University Sensory Ethnography Lab , a project dedicated to the experimental use of methods to create ethnographic media . You can view a trailer for the on YouTube ' Photography , Representation , and Memory LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to the gaze and list important features of this concept . Give an example of the imperial gaze in popular photographic media . Describe the use of photography in colonial . Discuss local techniques of through popular photography . In addition to creating their own visual media , visual anthropologists conduct research on how the people they study produce visual media to represent themselves as well as cultural others . Have you ever browsed through a copy of the magazine National Geographic ?

In the latter half of the century , many American schools and households subscribed to this magazine as an educational resource for children . Founded in 1888 , the magazine has developed a reputation for its colorfully illustrated coverage of science , geography , history , and world cultures . Now owned in part by the Walt Disney Company , the magazine is published in 40 languages and has a global circulation of over six million . What strikes many young people about National Geographic is not so much the informative textual content but rather the alluring images of peoples . Cultural anthropologist Catherine Lutz and sociologist Jane Collins ( 1993 ) set out to study how National Geographic depicted people in outside the United States and western Europe . In their holistic approach , they conducted research into the production process at National Geographic , then subjected the photographs to rigorous content analysis , and interviewed people about how they made sense of the images . FIGURE National Geographic cover from 1961 featuring the exotic Researchers have noted that during the latter half of the twentieth century the magazine commonly portrayed people as exotic and close to nature . credit NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Magazine October 1961 South Vietnam Fights the Red Tide Nam Nam chien dau do by , BY ) Based on analysis of 600 National Geographic photos depicting peoples from 1950 to 1986 , Lutz and Collins noted that the magazine portrayed peoples as exotic , idealized , and close to nature . Very rarely did photographs in the magazine reveal any traces of the complex colonial and postcolonial histories of their subjects or their entanglements in national and global processes . Instead , National Geographic photographs tended to depict happy people immersed in purely traditional . Without

historical or political context , the apparent difference between us ( the viewer ) and them ( the people depicted in the photographs ) would seem to be developmental or evolutionary . In other words , the people depicted in the images were made to seem simpler or more backward than those viewing the images . Perhaps , the images seem to suggest , they have not yet achieved modernity . While emphasizing a theme of common humanity , the magazine nonetheless reproduced primitivist and orientalist stereotypes about peoples while obscuring the historical and political processes that have shaped their equally complex . The Gaze of Photography In the , scholars developed the concept of the gaze to refer both to ways that viewers look at images of other people in visual media and to the gazes of those depicted within the images . Gaze theory attempts to understand what it means to view people and events through mass media . Two key features of the gaze are important to this goal . First , the object being gazed at ( the person or people in the image ) is not aware of the viewer . This makes the gaze voyeuristic , like an anonymous peeping Tom looking through a window into a house . The gazer knows what is going , on but the people in the house ( or the image ) do not know they being watched . Second , and because of the first point , the gaze implies a psychological relationship the watching person has the power to scrutinize , analyze , and judge the watched people . The watcher can manipulate the perspective and conditions of watching . The watcher reserves the power to make sense of the image and to use the image however they knowledge , pleasure , or criticism . British theorist Laura ( 1975 ) used the concept of the gaze to develop a feminist approach to studies . The male gaze describes how men look at women through any visual medium and even in everyday life . Beauty culture in western Europe and the United States positions women as objects to be gazed upon by men ( and other women ) Media scholars argue that women come to view themselves through the gaze of others , particularly men , who evaluate the attractiveness and desirability of their bodies . Thus , rather than experiencing her selfhood directly , a woman is routed through the male gaze . The concept of the gaze is also used to think about other sociocultural power relations , particularly the historical processes of imperialism and colonialism . In the colonial period , the desire for conquest motivated strategic ways of gazing at cultural others . Through forms of media and image making developed in the and early centuries , Europeans developed an imperial gaze , positioning themselves as viewers of non Western peoples . In the visual practices of empire , such as surveys and documentary photography , the lands and peoples were scrutinized , subjected to the domineering eye of European . The depictions of peoples in National Geographic are current manifestations of the imperial gaze . Photography and the Colonial Gaze Photography was invented in the early century and became widespread in the period when European countries were beginning to establish formal colonial rule over African , Middle Eastern , and Asian territories . In colonial , the imperial gaze framed how Europeans photographed colonial landscapes and colonized peoples , positioning them in strategic ways to justify colonial rule . As the head of the Mission Society large archive of colonial photographs , historian Paul Jenkins ( 1993 ) has studied pictures taken by Swiss and German missionaries in Africa . The Mission Society ( was a Christian missionary group that participated in the larger trend of Christian in Africa in the late and early centuries . Jenkins inquiry sought to understand what the photos reveal about the people in the photographs , the people who took the photos , and the wider conditions in which the photos were taken . Jenkins analysis focuses on one particular missionary , Christian , who worked in southeastern in the late century . In 1863 , the asked to take photographs depicting missionary activities in to be sold to European Christians who donated to the African missionary effort . took many pictures children , the mission station , the local landscape , and scenes from Indigenous life . Jenkins points out that the earliest photographs taken by emphasize the strangeness of African peoples and environments , while the later ones seem to emphasize the kind of common humanity found in later National Geographic photos . In later photographs , Africans are depicted in ways

that would have been familiar to many Europeans families are shown eating dinner together , women are depicted grinding corn , and local are shown creating pottery . A set of photographs of children dressed in European clothing caught Jenkins eye . Who were these children , and why were there so many photos of them ?

Where were their parents ?

Digging deeper , Jenkins discovered that these were local slave children ( 1993 , 100 ) bought into freedom by missionaries and taken to live on the mission compound . In West Africa at the time , people who fell into debt could pawn their children to work as servants in lieu of paying the debt . Sometimes , children were given to the priests of local shrines as payment for wrongdoing or gratitude for good fortune . As early Christian missionaries did not initially have much luck converting local peoples to Christianity , some missionaries saw this practice as a way to both accumulate converts and drum up European support . missionaries began offering European supporters the opportunity to purchase the freedom ofa particular child , give the child a Christian name , and provide for the child food , clothing , and other needs . Most of the African children in photos of the time are subjects of this program . FIGURE photograph of emancipated children . These children , who had been sold into servitude by their parents , were purchased by White missionaries and brought to live with them . Many were unhappy in this unfamiliar setting and ran way to reunite with their families . credit and Native Children , Congo , ca . by Commons , Public Domain ) While this may have seemed like a scheme all around , the liberation of African slave children was apparently experienced by the many of the children as a new form of enslavement . Most were unhappy living on the mission compound , divorced from their home cultures , forced to wear uncomfortable clothing and speak a strange language . Many of them ran away , back to the families they had been serving before the missionaries intervened . By 1868 , the was forced to abandon the whole scheme . The backstory of photographs of these children vividly illustrates the strategic of the imperial missionaries used photography to position themselves as saviors while local people often saw them as agents of colonial domination . The entire collection of photographs from the Mission Society is archived at the Archives website (

The Modernity of Photography Focusing on more contemporary , many media anthropologists analyze the images produced by postcolonial subjects themselves , along with the producers of those images and the production process . Rather than scrutinizing the imperial or ethnographic gaze , these scholars are interested in local forms of gazing at the self and others in photographs . Anthropologist Liam Buckley ( 2000 ) has conducted research on studio photography in the West African country . Through interviews with photographers and their subjects , Buckley traced the development of photographic strategies from the more realist style of the to the more fanciful and imaginative style common from the to the early . In the , photographs were valued for faithfully depicting the character , mood , and personality of the subject , what people referred to as . More recently , people began to prefer being photographed against elaborate studio backdrops depicting scenes of modern leisure and cosmopolitan travels . A staging popular with young people in particular features the subject relaxing amid an array of appliances , such as radio , television , and an open refrigerator full of cold beverages and tasty foods . Some backdrops depict subjects climbing the stairs to board an airplane or visiting a foreign tourist destination . use the term describe the props and imported goods included in these scenes , which might include bicycles , pens , and sunglasses . Young people use these objects to complete themselves ( Buckley , 2000 ) thus using the photograph as a form of aspirational identity formation . The goal of this form of portraiture is not to depict personal but rather to represent , a sense of fashionable novelty and change . News Media , the Public Sphere , and Nationalism LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Describe the worldview presented in news media . the concept of the public sphere . Explain the importance of the public sphere to the study of news media . Distinguish from independent media . While photography arrests attention with images , the various genres of news media draw people in with narratives about whats going on in their local communities and the larger world . A person who reads or views the news learns not only about current events but also about what counts as a current , implicitly , what does count as news ( and thus does matter to other people and shouldn really matter to them ) People learn to view the world in a certain way and to position their communities and themselves within that worldview . The top stories in national newspapers typically highlight the actions of political and economic leaders as the most important stories of the day . Political news is presented as an unfolding drama within or among United States establishes sanctions against , for instance , or China takes action against Hong Kong protesters . Economic news is dominated by the of capitalist markets , both global and national , emphasizing the perspectives of the investors and business owners who make ( or lose ) money in those markets . Like the discipline , news media take a approach to covering the economy , rather than a approach that might highlight labor conditions or environmental effects . Some of the first news media were handwritten weekly that circulated in Venice in the century , relaying information about European politics and wars . In the early century , German and Dutch publishers began using the printing press to newspapers for the growing population of literate readers in Europe , mainly merchants and government . Early newspapers forms of discussion and debate emerging from the coffeehouses and salons of Europe , dominated by the concerns of the rising merchant classes that participated in those public arenas of discourse . German scholar Jurgen ( 1989 ) links this process to the emergence of the public sphere . Ideally , the public sphere is a domain of social life where people represent , learn about , and discuss the important issues of the day . It is distinct from both the private economic sphere and the sphere authority , including government , the military , and the police . The public sphere provides an important stage for the expression ofa wide range of

popular opinions with the goal of reaching consensus and government policy . According to , newspapers were essential to the construction of the public sphere in western Europe and therefore were fundamental tools in the emergence of democratic forms of rule . A summary of foundational argument about the rise and eventual corruption of the public sphere can be viewed on ( Moreover , newspapers were key to processes of language standardization , uniting audiences from regional communities speaking various , sometimes mutually unintelligible dialects . As mentioned in a previous chapter , newspapers thus laid the foundation for the imagined community of the . A glance at any national newspaper , whether in print or online , demonstrates how news media continue to serve as tools in the construction of public spheres and imagined communities today . With the invention of new genres of media , news discourse has expanded into radio , television , and the Internet , providing an even stronger force for the consolidation of national identities . Conducting research in Malaysia , media anthropologist John ( 2006 ) describes how the Malaysian government strategically used media to consolidate a out of an ethnically diverse collection of former colonies . In one community , that of the people on the island of , the state replaced media with media in an effort to bind the more tightly to the state . Rather than completely erasing cultural differences within the , however , the Malaysian state media promoted a certain version of cultural heritage while simultaneously undermining political and cultural autonomy . State media are media that are entirely or partially owned by the government . In many countries , including most African ones , the state has its own media apparatus , including a news agency , newspapers , and radio and television stations . Independent media are media that are privately owned . But wait , one might ask , is all news media supposed to be independent from government ?

Ifa state had its own news media , would that just be propaganda ?

In the United States , news media have traditionally emphasized journalistic independence and even critical opposition to the government . News media are thought to be the watchdogs of the people , maintaining critical pressure on government leaders and institutions in order to maintain accountability and prevent corruption and abuse . This notion should be critical of government is a tenet of professional journalism in capitalist democracies . However , even in the United States , the government is heavily involved in shaping news texts and organizations . Through briefings and press releases , the White House press secretary and other public relations officials exert considerable control over the representation of the positions and activities of government . The American government funds the global media organization Voice of America , producing radio , television , and digital content in more than 47 languages all over the world . However , the most prominent American news organizations are independently owned and produced . But are privately owned news media in capitalist countries completely independent ?

Rather than being dominated by the government , privately owned media are subject to the forces of the market as well as the demands of owners and investors . That is , their commitment to the truth may be challenged by their desire to sell their media to the largest audiences . If sensationalized and conspiracy theories attract audiences , news media may become dominated by misleading and divisive fantasies . Another strong force threatening the independence of private media is the desire to sell lucrative advertising space to powerful business interests . If the people who pay for advertising favor a approach to economic issues , then stories about working conditions and environmentalism are likely to be marginalized by market news . How do journalists handle the between the pressures of government and commercial interests and their role as watchdogs for the public interest ?

For a example , read this account by chapter author , Hasty , When came to , I wanted to understand the role in the wave of democratization sweeping across the African continent in the . In my few days in , I bought as many newspapers as I could and read them studio , marking stories with marginal and comparing front pages side by side . The newspapers highlighted the benevolent actions of government in promoting economic development and social stability , the publications featured an enthusiastic headline about a government

project to build a new road or market complex , illustrated with a color photograph of Rawlings pickax or bulldozer to launch the project . the official speeches of government , emphasizing themes of national cohesion and responsible citizenship . In contrast , the front pages of the private newspapers shouted out bold allegations of corruption among government with stories often based on anonymous sources and rumor In these papers , Rawlings was often depicted wearing mirrored sunglasses and army fatigues , portrayed as a barely reformed military coup leader with no interest in real democracy These two versions of the na political reality were completely at odds with one another . And yet , in my initial interviews , both state and te journalists maintained that they were the true forces of democracy in , protecting the interests of the people . Both maintained strong commitments to journalistic neutrality and objectivity . How could such wildly different optics on the political sphere ?

How could state journalists fervently believe that they were promoting democracy when , in daily practice , they were echoing the public pronouncements of government and providing strategically coverage of the actions of the sta te ?

How could te journalists claim to be responsible purveyors of truth when their sensational stories were so often based on rumor and stirred up political and regional conflicts ?

Anthropologists frequently discover such con between what people say they re doing and what they re actually doing . This is one of the advantages it gives anthropologists time to get behind the story ted in texts and interviews by conducting extended periods of participant observation . Working at the premier state newspaper , the Daily Graphic , I discovered that the whole working life of a is structured in such a way that the state does indeed seem to be a and the words uttered do seem to be the superior and responsible version of national reality . Every working day , sta te journalists were invited to state ministries to cover even . They didn thave to scramble around trying to gain access to government , as private journalists did , and they never faced rejection or exclusion when they showed up at state functions . Instead , they were politely ushered in to the realm of the state to witness some important ( or not ) announcement . After the event , state journalists were given copies of the speeches and provided with snacks and a an envelope with a small sum . This small gift was referred to as soli , short for solidarity , and it symbolized the implicit reciprocity between state officials and sta te journalists . When they got back to the newsroom , sta te journalists sat down , printed speeches in hand , and wrote stories depicting the state in the way they themselves had just experienced the state a kind and supporting the welfare and development of the people . At the three privately owned newspapers I worked for during my , the working day was much more stressful and antagonistic . Considered divisive and irresponsible by the state , the private press had been banned by Rawlings military government in the 9805 . In the , the private press was just as part of the overall process of , but the government still considered te journalists to be political enemies . Rawlings issued angry public dia tribes against the private press , threatening criminal libel suits with long prison terms . Not only were te journalists not invited to daily government even , but they were not even allowed to attend . Many government dodged the phone calls of private journalists , and some refused to speak to them at all . Ordinary , still spooked by the government repression of the previous decade , often demanded anonymity as a condition of speaking to private journalists . Excluded from channels of public discourse , the private press was forced to rely on unnamed sources and rumors . From their point of view , the antagonistic representation of the state as corrupt and repressive was the truth as they experienced it every day . Taken together , the state and private news media created a highly contentious public sphere with competing of political reality associated with particular groups . While the government used the state press to build national unity , the private press challenged the legitimacy of the state and its commitment to democracy . Visit the news website Graphic Online

( i ' gi ' a , the online news platform of the Daily Graphic . SE PROFILES IN ANTHROPOLOGY Elizabeth Bird Personal History Elizabeth Bird ( was born and raised in Newcastle upon in northeast England . As a child , she was an avid reader , especially drawn to historical and fantasy literature . Reading about various societies in different time periods , Bird developed an early interest in other cultures and the past . As a shy and rather unsociable child ( personal communication ) she developed a more analytical view toward social groups . She remarks , I have heard that many anthropologists grew up feeling they do quite fit would be me ! Bird studied anthropology at University and studies at the University of Leeds , both in England . She then earned an from the University of in Scotland . A few years later , she moved to the United States , where she earned an MA from the University of Iowa . She then became a professor of anthropology at the University Florida . Area Bird pioneered the anthropology of news media . At Iowa , she wrote about the connection between and journalistic narratives , especially in tabloid newspapers . Accomplishments in the Field Anthropologists in the generally dismissed media as a topic for research , but Bird considered this view shortsighted given the ubiquity of media in societies all over the world and the centrality of media to contemporary culture . In her book , For Enquiring Minds A Cultural Study of Supermarket Tabloids ( 1992 ) Bird argues that tabloid newspapers such as the National Enquirer build on and feed larger cultural narratives in the general folklore of American life . In interviews with readers of the tabloid press , she discovers that they are attracted to tabloids for a variety of reasons and deploy a diverse set of strategies for meaning in these texts . Prescient of the conspiracy theories and fake news controversies of the early century , Bird work on tabloids the and found that many readers are alienated from mainstream American culture . In this part of her career , Bird main focus was on the audiences of media , using ethnographic and qualitative research to understand how people in a culture read and use media in their everyday lives . This research came together in her book in Everyday Life a Media World ( 2003 ) In this book , Bird explores how people pick and choose different elements of media as they construct their class and ethnic identities , participate in religious or political communities , and contemplate the meaning of scandals and other publicized cultural narratives . While much mass communication research has focused on the audience as a monolithic , entity , Bird shows how an ethnographic approach reveals the audience to be a highly differentiated assemblage of people using a wide variety of techniques to comprehend and use mass media as a cultural reservoir . Importance of Their Work Elizabeth Bird was among the anthropologists to take media seriously as an object of serious academic study . While many mass communication scholars were analyzing the texts of news media , Bird used interviews and participant observation to explore how people actually make sense of these texts and weave them into their thoughts and practices . Around , Bird moved away from media as an exclusive object of study , returning to earlier research on social history , heritage , and memory in a Nigerian community . Incorporating media analysis and oral histories , she now conducts research on a traumatic massacre that took place in that community in 1967 . She documents how print and broadcast media have erased popular memory of the event and how social media has revived and activated personal memories of it . Bird has described the Memorial as the highlight of her

Community , Development , and Broadcast Media LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Explain how radio is associated with different themes and audiences than print media . the concept of community radio . Explain how community radio gives expression to local forms of identity and social action . the notion of Indigenous media . The media scholar Marshall is famous for his aphorism the medium is the message ( 1964 , 23 ) What he meant by this is that each genre of media has its own set of features that suggest certain uses and kinds of content . In contrast to print media , radio allows for talk and discussion as well as music . Radio reaches beyond the limited audience of avid readers who have time to focus on text to wider audiences of listeners who may be too busy to read or have not had access to formal education . As an oral medium , radio lends itself more readily to linguistic diversity . In places where many languages are spoken , often the language of state is the only one that circulates in written form , while the rest function as spoken languages only . Print media may therefore be limited to dominant languages , while the oral genre of radio can provide content in alternative and even multiple languages . Finally , while reading print media is largely a solitary and silent experience , radio provides a shared and noisy experience . A personal experience shared by Jennifer Hasty illustrates this . In , could radio blasting from someone compound or kiosk or car Radio was woven in to daily life , a sort of auditory backdrop to everyday work and leisure . News headlines were read out each day on the morning talk shows , generating discussions in households and buses as people made their way to work . On the popular radio talk shows , from all walks oflife called in to broadcast their perspectives on the issues of the day . Even during the music shows , listeners participated with heartfelt requests dedicated to friends , lovers , and family members . Because of its distinctive features , the genre of radio is not as narrowly focused as print media on themes of political economy such as nationalism and democracy . While including attention to current events , radio typically provides listeners with a wider variety of content , including music , talk shows , drama , and quiz shows . In an effort to provide relevant content to the broadest spectrum of listeners in an area , local radio stations design their programming to reflect the tastes and issues of particular communities . Certainly , print media does this to some degree , but the audience for print media constitutes a narrower segment of the community . Radio attempts to address the community as a whole . Commercial and state radio are dominant forces in the media landscapes of most countries , but an alternative form , community radio , has been growing rapidly in recent decades . Community radio refers to radio stations that are community owned and operated , staffed by groups of professionals and volunteers . The involvement of local volunteers allows for community participation in programming , production , and performance . Community radio stations often focus on local current events , educational programs , and development initiatives . Typically , they are low wattage with minimal range and thus are . In places where people want to start up a community radio station but lack the capital and technological know how , nongovernmental organizations ( and development organizations have provided support in partnership with community organizations . Such collaborations between community groups and foreign have made possible the of community radio stations in many countries , including Nepal , Sri , and the Philippines . Throughout Africa , community radio stations sponsored by government have been used to educate rural peoples about farming methods and spread public interest health messages . In Thailand , the global leader in community radio , more than independent radio stations have been started since 2001 . Established in 1997 , the Nepalese station Radio was the first independent community radio station in South Asia . The station was started by the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists in an effort to break the government monopoly on radio and provide better coverage of community issues . Regulated by government , Radio is not allowed to address political or economic issues . Focusing instead on

community development , the station features daily discussion programs addressing such issues as public health , education , women empowerment , and workers concerns . Though not explicitly political , the station itself as the defender of democracy and free speech in Nepal , giving voice to the people . In 2005 , the army raided the studio , seizing equipment and arresting staff for a interview with a politician . The station reemerged after the incident and remains on air today . With million regular listeners , Radio is one of the largest and most successful community radio stations in the world . Community radio stations in Brazil have faced similar forms of government regulation and harassment . Anthropologist Derek ( 2011 ) describes the expansion of community radio in the wake of political liberalization in the . As of 2013 , there were community radio stations operating in Brazil , an increase of 70 percent since 2002 . Moreover , approximately such stations have been shut down by government , their equipment and management prosecuted as felons . Associated with free speech and political activism , community radio attracts involvement by counterculture artists and performers such as the communities of impoverished favela neighborhoods in Sao Paulo . Through community radio , local artists narrate their stories of hardship and heroism , their spatially marginal neighborhoods as economically and politically marginalized ( describes how community radio gives artists and other community members a platform for demonstrating their awareness of social issues and command of information . Using slang that signals racial and class identities , they publicize otherwise unreported events and perspectives such as police violence and gang activities , providing a much more inclusive public sphere than commercial media . In Australia , more than 400 independent radio stations broadcast in 70 different community languages . Many of these community radio stations have been started by Indigenous Australian communities as a means of cultural survival and language preservation . Indigenous media refers to the use of media by communities for community identity , cultural representation , and activism . In the , some Indigenous broadcasters developed the ability to link community radio stations together in regional and national networks . As many Indigenous community stations featured request programs , the lin of stations allowed a person in one community to publicly greet a relative in a faraway community with a song dedication . Anthropologist Daniel Fisher ( 2009 ) describes how radio has become a way for Indigenous Australian people to celebrate kinship connections in the context of kin dispersal due to government policy , travel , work , and incarceration . Throughout the century , Indigenous children were seized from their fami ies and sent to state institutions and foster homes in order to assimilate them into White Australian settler culture . In the present , Indigenous family ties are further troubled by the disproportionate numbers men incarcerated in Australian prisons . In this context , request shows have become wildly on Indigenous radio networks , as relatives phone in to dedicate emotionally charged songs about love , separation , and loss to relatives in distant places . Inspired by a wide variety of social issues , community radio is catching hold in the United States as well . In response to the domination of American radio by large media corporations , the US Congress the Local Community Radio Act in 2010 , authorizing the Federal Communications Commission ( to provide licenses to community radio stations . A group of community organizers in Madrid , New Mexico , just outside , was awarded a license and began broadcasting in 2015 . As an alternative to commercial radio programming , like many community stations , features more diverse and locally relevant content . Local host and talk programs about community issues and spin a wide variety of music , including alternative , pop , techno , garage , folk , and western . Local bands get frequent airplay , stimulating the local music scene . On Monday nights , you can hear a program devoted to African music , hosted by the author of this chapter . Those not within range of the station can listen to . Over a thousand new community radio stations have emerged as a result of the Local Community Radio Act .

Broadcasting Modernity and National Identity LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to Identify ways in which governments and development organizations use broadcast media . Detail forms of modernity conveyed by broadcast media in . Explain the cultural of soap opera . Describe the relationship between broadcast media and religious identities and experiences . Broadcast media are , of course , not always grassroots tools of community expression and development . Even outside of the commercial domain , forms of radio and television are produced by development organizations and state governments to address development goals , a more model of community broadcasting . Throughout the , a radio project for delivering basic education was carried out in the Dominican Republic by the US Agency for International Development . The project was designed to reach ren living in mountainous and isolated regions of the country . Gathering around radios in community centers , children listened to lessons on reading , math , science , and history . Students were given worksheets and books to supplement the radio lectures . community learning centers were by 1982 . Over time , local community groups and the Dominican government contributed funding to keep the project going . Similar programs to use radio for basic education have been established in other countries , including Mexico and Kenya . As with ra io , the potentially broad reach of television beyond literate audiences has made it useful as a medium of education , particularly for students lacking access to conventional schools . In most countries outside Europe and the United States , broadcast media were initially developed by the state because local elites often lacked the capital to start radio and television stations . In the , the newly inde African states used their newly formed state broadcasting corporations to consolidate diverse distant populations as a united audience for national messages and initiatives . In her research , communication scholar Carla Heath ( 1996 ) shows how children television programs serve as a means of cultivating a distinctively modern national culture that embraces innovation and change while remaining grounded in cultural values . For one program , By the Fireside , ren were recruited to act out , discussing how their moral messages could be applied to contemporary life . Against a background depicting a rural village , children in simple smocks and clothing opened the show with songs and dances , then engaged in greetings , jokes , and riddles with the two adult storytellers . As a storyteller narrated a tale , the children acted out certain scenes and commented on the themes of the story in musical interludes . After the story , children were called upon to recite the moral lessons they had learned . In this way , traditional stories were summoned to discuss such contemporary issues as corruption , political , and juvenile delinquency . Heath argues that such programs promote a distinctive form of modern citizenship rooted in local morality and wisdom . Anthropologist Lila ( 2002 ) similarly demonstrates how elites have used television dramas to cultivate the ideal of the virtuous modern citizen among women , youth , and rural people in Egypt . One serial drama , Nights , focused on the lives of a group of characters from the traditional neighborhood of in Cairo . The show their fortunes and relationships from the , when Egypt was ruled by King and the British , all the way up to the Egyptian reaction to the Gulf War of 1990 . Rather than focusing solely on personal desires , trysts , and betrayals , as American soap operas do , the social lives of the Nights characters were embedded in historical and political events , making the show a powerful form of commentary on Egyptian national life . Driven by its project of upliftment , the overall theme of the show was one of national unity . Characters from all classes were led astray by the temptations of sex , money , and power , but they inevitably came to see the errors of their ways , putting love of country above all personal desires . Interviewing women who watched Nights , discovered that their love for the show had little to do with the uplifting messages about Egyptian citizenship . In fact , some strongly with the most problematic female characters , who schemed and connived in pursuit of sex and money .

Soap opera is a popular format targeted to female audiences in many parts of the world . In India , anthropologist ( 1999 ) examined a number of television serials produced by the state television station , in the and . In a holistic analysis , examines production , text , and reception , the latter an aspect often neglected in media studies . interviewed the writers , directors , and producers of these programs and subjected the programs themselves to a textual analysis . Her focus , however , was audience reception . Among the questions she asked were how Indian women viewed these programs , what sense they made of the content , and how they discussed the themes and issues and applied them to their own lives . Indian state television has always worked to cultivate an idealized notion of Indian womanhood , implicitly as Hindu , north Indian , and upper caste . analysis focuses on two Hindu epic dramas , The ( and The ( Through these dramas , state television constructed those ideals for the intended audience of Indian women . These epics feature two ideals Sita , who is demure , compliant , and , contrasted with the enraged , whose reckless husband political gamble results in her public humiliation . In interviews with , women viewers discussed how they with each character in different ways and in relation to different of their own lives . As the programs aired in the midst of rising Hindu nationalism in India , they became a means of asserting Hindu forms of heritage and morality as well as identities . While in the West , modernity is typically associated with rationality and secularism , many media anthropologists have studied how radio and television enable distinctly modern expressions of religious beliefs and experiences . Media anthropologist ( 2015 ) has conducted research on television dramas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , with a focus on the importance of religious themes and emotional forms of engagement . In one drama , The Heart , two sophisticated urban women become witches in order to harm their romantic rivals . As a result of their occult rituals , one of the women goes blind , leading her to confess her sins to an evangelical pastor . The pastor grants her forgiveness and the demons from her body . So powerful were the depictions of witchcraft that some viewers reported feeling as if they had become bewitched themselves just by watching the show . Viewers interpreted their emotional responses as signs of the deeper meanings of the program . Not merely entertainment , Congolese television dramas structured by such tales of evangelical redemption are experienced as episodes in an ongoing spiritual war between the Holy Spirit and the devil . Though , such television programs connect with the of evangelical Christians through the conduit of emotional and bodily response . Digital Media , New LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this section , you will be able to the concept of sociality . Explain how digital media enable new forms of sociality . Identify how digital media shape friendships and romantic relationships . the concept of media ideology . Provide a detailed example of the illicit use of digital media . As much of this textbook demonstrates , anthropologists most often conduct research on topics involving sociocultural interaction such as public ceremonies , religious rituals , work , political activities , and forms of economic exchange . Over the past 30 years , however , anthropologists have begun to conduct research on forms of culture in which interaction has been replaced with screens and keyboards . In the Internet era , media anthropologists explore how people connect with others digitally , forming collective identities based on characteristics such as common interests , gender , race , ethnicity , and religion . Some anthropologists are interested in the entirely new modes of social interaction made possible by the Internet , such as hacking , blogging , and creating and sharing memes . Digital media also reshape other domains of sociocultural practice , such as shopping , transactions , transportation , religious worship , and kin relations . Encompassing the whole realm of social interaction , cultural anthropologists use the term sociality to describe how people construct and maintain their personal and group relations . Anthropologists are curious about how new forms of digital media function as tools of sociality .

Digital Personal and Political How do you talk to your friends on a basis ?

How do you arrange to meet up as a group ?

If you re an American , it very likely that texts and social media are involved in your communication and coordination with your friends . Studying American teens from 2004 to 2007 , scholar Boyd found that social networking sites such as Facebook were key to the formation of new friendships and the consolidation of friend groups , while texting deepened relationships ( Ito et al . 2010 ) In fact , friendship was the primary reason given by teens for engaging in digital forms of media ( rather than , say , looking up information for school projects or texting their parents about where they are at midnight on a Friday night ) Of course , the social preoccupation of American teens is not new , nor is it surprising . But digital media provide new modes of engagement , such as the always on texting of best friends or social media friends who are not really friends at all but strangers or even enemies . Social media also provide new tools for as well as the ability to search out information about others that may undermine their own professed identities . While American teens generally embrace social media and texting as ways of building friendships , they are considerably more troubled by the role of digital media in the other side of social relationships breaking up . In an undergraduate class one day , anthropologist asked her students , What counts as a bad breakup ?

2010 ) Expecting stories of lying and , was surprised to hear so many students complain about breakups via text or Facebook . Anyone who has ever signed into a social media site to discover that their sweetie relationship status has changed to single knows the kind of confusion and heartache caused by using digital media in this way . Messages . Edit Wan na see a magic trick ?

Sure hun ( POOF . you single . Wan na see a better one ?

POOF . I pregnant with your child . FIGURE Perhaps not the best use of both sides . In societies all over the world , digital media have become essential elements of social interaction . attribution Copyright Rice University , under BY license ) Intrigued by the ambiguities etiquette in the realm of romance , wrote a book exploring how Americans use digital media to manage and even terminate ambiguous or troubled relationships . At the heart of the matter , according to , are media is , sets of ideas about the functionality of digital media and their relationship to other forms of communication , such as the telephone and conversation . For some Americans , using digital messaging to break up is an ideal way of avoiding an intense emotional scene . This notion relies on a media ideology in which different forms of communication can usually be substituted for one another in the interests of efficiency and ease . For others , however , the text breakup is unfair , disrespectful , and cowardly , as the process is made into a unilateral speech act rather than a consensual act based on dialogue . Digital media allow the to avoid witnessing the consequences of their action . In this media ideology , different forms of communication are appropriate to different forms of social action and can not be substituted for one another without careful consideration of the emotional consequences . In societies all over the world , digital media have become essential elements of social interaction , from the most personal and romantic relationships to larger , more public . Both media anthropologists and communication scholars have contributed to an effort to media studies by exploring the use of

digital media in outside of the United States and western Europe . In societies with repressive governments , traditional media and political action are often tightly controlled , making digital media important tools of social interaction and political resistance . Media scholars and ( 2010 ) highlight the crucial role of blogging in popular expression and political activism in Iran over the past several decades . There are more than blogs in Iran , many of them authored by women . Suppressed in the public arena , Iranian intellectuals have embraced blogging as a way to express their ideas . Though many Iranian blogs are devoted to personal or commentary on entertainment or sports , and show how bloggers often convey subtle political messages in their seemingly personal writing . Like Egyptian and Indian soap operas , Iranian blogs are always embedded in sociopolitical , whether they are explicitly political or not . Some blogs are , in fact , stridently political , and many political bloggers have by the government as dissidents . Similarly , bloggers in Central and South America form activist communities working for social justice and equality ( and Villar 2021 ) activist Sandra Ramirez blogs on issues of race and gender in Cuba . Journalist operates an organization in Brazil that works to spread the tools of digital technology to diverse communities , in particular women . She has been involved in efforts to teach programming to women , showing them how to apply digital skills to further social projects . She envisions a more inclusive digital sphere that brings in the perspectives of Black , and disadvantaged groups . Digital Illicit Media Digital media enable and enhance social interaction , deepening relationships and activating imagined communities for social change . However , these new forms of media have a darker side . Digital media are also a tool for piracy , smuggling , scams , human trafficking , and illegal forms . Frequently , these illicit forms operate across the gulf of global inequality separating wealthy societies from poorer ones . Human , for instance , often involves abducting youth from impoverished rural communities and smuggling them into urban and wealthier communities to be forced into prostitution . Piracy , on the other hand , often involves making illegal copies of music and movies produced in wealthier countries available to people in poorer communities who may not otherwise be able to afford them . The digital provide opportunities for those left out of legal , mainstream opportunities in the digital economy . is a troubling example of this . Around 2010 in , a new social group emerged . People began to notice that some young men in their twenties were enjoying a very luxurious lifestyle driving expensive cars such as and Range Rovers , wearing designer clothing and shoes , drinking champagne , and living in enormous mansions . How were they becoming so wealthy ?

During this time , was experiencing an oil boom , but that wealth was concentrated among older elites . The vast population of poor and people have not all that much from oil wealth . Commonly , young men with little education are unemployed , with very little chance of ever escaping poverty . This new class of conspicuously rich young men were not particularly educated or , but they had discovered a new way to make money . Combining digital media with spiritual techniques , they had invented a new moneymaking scheme called . A term meaning putting inside , refers to magically enhanced Internet fraud , mainly targeting foreigners . Before they become practitioners , these young men are often unemployed , sleeping on the streets , not knowing where their next meal is coming from . Often , they report noticing very stylish and fed young people apparently making lots of money by doing something in Internet cafes . Sometimes the scammers actively recruit such targets , teaching them Internet skills to carry out the elaborate schemes . The typical con is pretending to be a woman romantically interested in men from Europe , the United States , or Asia . Another , less common scheme involves using fake documents to persuade foreigners to invest in gold , timber , or oil concessions . Even more important than technological skills are the sophisticated social skills involved in creating strategic online personalities , cultivating trust with foreign White men in faraway places , and knowing just how and when to make requests for money . Many scammers report practicing these techniques for several weeks or months with only modest success , then learning about the spiritual side of . In order to become wealthy ,

practitioners believe it is necessary to become apprenticed to a spiritual leader who can guarantee great success in exchange for performing certain rituals on a regular basis . New apprentices are often instructed to sleep in coffins and anoint their bodies with special medicines . Some are required to have sex with several women each day and deliver their undergarments to the spiritual leader . Some must chew live cockroaches , lizards , or maggots . are by rumors of incest and human as scammers are said to perform more and more difficult forms of spiritual service to their masters . Though many refuse to reveal the exact nature of these rituals , numerous boys report that their efforts to extract money from foreigners suddenly became much more successful after performing them . With sudden from scamming , boys often throw epic parties and buy expensive gifts for their friends . In his documentary , Ben depicts the practices and communities of in . VIDEO A trailer to the documentary by Ben can be watched on YouTube . After a time , the thrill of this lifestyle wears off , and boys come to feel enslaved by the constant ritual demands of their spiritual leaders . boy refuses to perform assigned chores , however , he may break out in a rash , suffer paralysis , or become mute . Some report that friends have died when attempting to quit . is widely condemned in society . Government , journalists , and religious leaders have all spoken out against it , and the police have even arrested and prosecuted some scammers . Many lament the unbridled celebration of wealth as a marker of social status , arguing that children should be instilled with traditional values of hard work , honesty , and modest living . may seem like a shocking and unusual combination of digital media with supernatural beliefs and practices , but at the root of this phenomenon is a set of contradictory beliefs about wealth and power found in many cultures and historical periods . Consider the German legend of Faust , based on a German alchemist . According to the legend , Faust , a bored and depressed scholar , makes a pact with the devil through the devil emissary , Mephistopheles . The deal is that Mephistopheles will help Faust gain access to all worldly pleasures , including sex , power , and knowledge . In return , Faust will be required to turn his soul over to the devil after several years . Forms of this Faustian bargain have emerged in many other parts of the world , particularly as societies are drawn into new forms of wealth and inequality in the global economy . For instance , anthropologist Michael ( 1980 ) conducted research on beliefs about the devil among people working in the sugar plantations of Colombia and the tin mines of Bolivia . Some wage laborers on sugar plantations were said to enter into contracts with the devil to increase their productivity , helping them make fast money . Most often , they bought clothes and liquor with their newfound wealth but could not establish enduring prosperity . describes how workers in the Bolivian tin mines created a shrine to the devil to ensure their safety and help them find rich tin deposits . argues that people in peasant farming societies feel a sense of unease about capitalist forms of work , wealth , and inequality . To agrarian peoples steeped in communal values , it seems unfair that some laborers become wealthy while others as hard and fail . And yet , young people are drawn in by the compelling allure of money and commodities associated with labor in the globalized capitalist economy . According to , this feeling of unease gives rise to widespread beliefs about serving the devil for temporary gains .

IE EMIL . FA , Me tro FIGURE Poster for the 1926 film Faust , directed by and based on German writer Johann Wolfgang von telling of a German folktale . According to the legend , Faust makes a pact with the devil to gain access to worldly pleasures in return for his soul . As globalization spreads access to wealth and material goods around the world , scholars have observed the spread of stories about people serving the devil for temporary gains . credit , Commons , Public Domain ) For some young people around the world , digital media have provided paths to astonishing success and wealth , often through global relations and transactions . While new forms of digital trade and technological innovation may provide some and elites with a means of getting rich , the vast majority people in both wealthy and poorer countries are largely left out of the opportunities of the digital economy . may seem like a disturbing form of digital delinquency to many and foreigners alike , but it the widespread sense of unfairness and inequality in society as a whole . The phenomenon of suggests that disadvantaged groups must combine supernatural forms of power with their computer and social skills in order to get ahead . Hard work alone is never enough . The unfairness of this situation is symbolized by the ultimate doom faced by many scammers unable or unwilling to keep up with the demands of their supernatural masters , they fall ill and die . Exploring how forms of media intersect with economic , political , and religious realms as well as gender , ethnicity , and identity , anthropologists take a holistic approach to mass media . Studying photography , news media , broadcasting , and digital media , anthropologists discover the cultural of media production and reception as well as new forms of sociality and transaction . As media technologies become more deeply embedded in peoples lives and instrumental to social relationships and communities , the holistic lens of anthropology is key to understanding the profound sociocultural changes brought about by media innovations . ACTIVITY Make a Photographic Documentary Create a photographic documentary of a social event , such as a party , meeting , class , or other community

gathering . Before the event , make a list of shots necessary to show what really going on at the event . What people should you photograph ?

What actions should be depicted ?

What is socially about the event , and how can you convey that meaning through photos ?

As you prepare your product , consider how the photos should be presented . Should they be altered or edited in any way after you take them ?

How should they be organized ?

Should they be presented in the order you took them or in some other order ?

Suggested Readings Askew , Kelly , and Richard Wilk , 2002 . The Anthropology A Reader . MA . Faye , Lila , and Brian Larkin , 2002 . Media Worlds Anthropology on New Terrain . Berkeley University of California Press .

Key Terms the medium is the message the notion that each genre of media has its own set of features that suggest certain uses and types of content . community radio radio stations that are community owned and operated , staffed by groups and volunteers . cosmopolitanism worldly knowledge and sophistication , often associated with involvement in global forms of media . ethnographic the use of in ethnographic research , either as a method , a record , or a means of reporting on anthropological . Faustian bargain the idea that a person can engage in evil supernatural activities in order to gain access to worldly desires such as wealth , sex , knowledge . imperial gaze a set of conventions for how people in imperial or colonizing societies View the people and landscapes of subjugated territories . independent media forms of print and broadcast media that are privately owned . Indigenous media the use of media by Indigenous peoples for community identity , cultural representation , and activism . male gaze a set of conventions for how men look at women . mass media mechanically reproduced forms of communication targeting large audiences . Summary Anthropologists use ethnographic and holistic perspectives to study media genres such as photography , radio , television , and digital media . In visual anthropology , gaze theory is used to think about the relationship between viewers and the people depicted in photographs , particularly in terms of gender , power , and cultural identity . Anthropologists studying news media focus on the construction of national public Critical Thinking Questions . Can you think of any genres of mass media not covered in this chapter ?

How could an anthropologist conduct research on those topics ?

What might be the focus of the research ?

What might be the challenges ?

Do you take photographs to document your life ?

If so , who constitutes the audience for these photos ?

What messages are you conveying by sharing images with others or viewing your own images ?

How does taking a photo media tools for storing and sharing information . media ideologies sets of ideas about the uses and functions ofa particular genre of media . public sphere a domain of social life in which people represent , learn about , and discuss the important issues of the day . magically enhanced Internet fraud , mainly targeting foreigners . sociality participation in social relations how people construct and maintain their personal and group relationships . soli short for solidarity , a small sum of money given by news sources at the end of an assignment in . state media forms of print and broadcast media that are supported by the state and subject to government control . the love of technology characteristic of societies and eras of increasing technological innovation and its incorporation into everyday life . the gaze a mode of looking at images shaped by the identities and viewed . visual anthropology the use of visual media as a method of research or its study as a topic of research . voyeuristic describes a gaze aimed at people who do not know they are being viewed . spheres of ideology and political contest . Radio is often used by communities for more participatory and forms of communication . Many anthropologists study how soap operas and other television programs promote forms of ethnicity , gender , and nationalism . Digital media construct entirely new forms of sociality , including illicit shadow forms of impersonation and scamming such as . the way you remember an experience ?

Select a news story from the front page ofa newspaper or the website of a national news organization . Why is this story on the front page ?

What techniques make the story appear to be true ?

What perspectives or facts are left out of the story ?

Does that make the story false ?

Are there different versions of truth ?

What is your favorite television program ?

What notions of identity and sociality are depicted in the show ?

Consider gender , race , ethnicity , class , possible enhanced by the use sexuality , and nationalism . How might the show media ?

Would you have the same sorts of friends affect the way you view yourself and your romantic relationships without digital community ?

interaction ?

How would your relationships be . What social relationships in your life are made different without digital media ?

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