Page Text: Democracy and Deconstruction in Contemporary Media: An Ode to Bill Hicks
Two weeks of silence and now a random posting. Obviously, this blog has been on an unannounced leave of absence and will likely remain that way for the time being. But on to the post. Last Sunday, my friend Jamie came over and we threw on some Bill Hicks. Jamie hadn't seen/heard Bill before, was clearly inspired, and sent me this the next day. I don't necessarily subscribe to a bulk of his argument, but I still think it's interesting stuff. Onward...
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I believe one of the greatest problems in our media landscape today is the curious coming together of democracy and deconstruction. While media used to follow a more metaphysical program of cramming the absolute beliefs of the rich and powerful down our collective throat, this heavy handed treatment of the populous inevitably lost favor. The traditional power structures of the “old world” were the industrialists, politicians and religious groups that held a symbolic importance so great they presented themselves as earth-bound elements of God’s eternal plan. These institutions, however, could not easily maintain their grip on power in a democratic country while maintaining that power through such obvious disregard for democracy’s underlying principles of equality and participation. So in time the media outlets knew their style would have to change, to become more egalitarian, or they would become increasingly perceived as out of touch with their own target audiences. Luckily for them, this change was to come about with the proliferation of alternative media outlets. The number of alternative sources of information grew as the means to disseminate information became less expensive and more easy to obtain. While the evolving technology of television, computers, printers and copy machines moved this process along, the most fundamental shift certainly came with the birth of the internet and the mouthpiece it provided to anyone with access to the world wide web. Now the mainstream media no longer had a monopoly on the outlet for mass-produced information, and to a more optimistic mind that may have seemed like a good thing (I for one thought it was great at first). Here we have the dramatic upheaval of the traditional seats of power who could no longer present their points of view as fact. This is postmodern philosophy at it’s best: applying an adolescent energy of rebellion and deep socratic questioning to the traditional sources of power, so comfortable in their untouched ivory towers and secure corporate boardrooms that they no longer know how to properly defend their own lies. Due to the greater dissemination of information and the greater willingness to ask questions that this carries with it, the symbols of the elite’s power could no longer be passed off as signposts of truth, and their claim to be one with the absolute was deconstructed (and Derrida did a jig on Kant’s grave...or something).