Todd Gitlin Summary on Media

Todd Gitlin is a notable author born in New York City. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he accredited a PhD in sociology and was heavily involved in the Students for a representative Society group. Gitlin is at one time a professor at New York University where he teaches culture, journalism, and sociology. Gitlins pickax, Supersaturation, or, The Media floodlight and Disposable Feeling, comes from his book Media Unlimited How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives (2001).In this selection, Gitlin describes how orphic lives and domestic spaces commit evolved from the seventeenth-century until now. He tactual sensations as though our once hugger-mugger households are now predominate by otherwisewise sophisticated things in the form of media. There are many ideas in Todd Gitlins writings that support his view of our media influenced world, two of which, are the ideas of supersaturation and disposable feeling. check to dictionary. com the definition of supersaturation is to increase the concentration of (a solution) beyond saturation.Gitlin uses the word supersaturation to describe the dash to mean solar days world has completely absorbed the media and its relations. Society has blend in immersed in the gossip and go outs displayed by the media. The lines between living space and working space are no longer as distinct as they used to be. Gitlin states that, the outside world has entered the home with vengeance in the lavishness of media (Gitlin 558). Relating to this same concept, Gitlin uses the idea of disposable feeling to explain the way plurality of today are able to move from one worldly image to the next, one piece of gossip to another, with no concern.We are able to gesture them off and come back to them later if we choose to do so. In some of Gitlins research, he refers to the writings of analyst Raymond Williams who states, What we have now is drama as habitual own, much in a week, in ma ny cases, than nigh human creations would previously have seen in a lifetime (Gitlin 559). We have travel immune to true feelings for individual images and stories, and fly high on the idea of the next gossip that will follow. In this selection of the book, Gitlin discusses a seventeenth-century Dutch painter by the name of Vermeer.Vermeer was known for world able tofreeze instants, but instants that spoke of the relative constancy of the world in which his subjects lived (Gitlin 558). people collected Vermeers paintings for display throughout their homes. Gitlin sees Vermeer as the seventeenth-century adjustment of the media. In that time, the images painted were relative to the wads era and private world. In todays world Vermeer would be the equivalent to a celebrity photographer or movie director.If Vermeer, or any other artist of his time, were to see todays households, they would find that the once private space inside the home is now much more dominate by images of th e outside world than what would have been possible in the 1600s. As mentioned in Gitlins research, statistics show that, watching TV is the dominant vacant activity of Americans, consuming 40 percent of the average persons free time as a primary activity when people give television there undivided attention (Gitlin 560). take down the wealthier parts of little worlds have access to some sort of media.It would take someone from a third world country to be stunned by the point that our lives are eer portrayed through television, radio, internet and other forms of media. community of today come in contact with more information in a single day than any one person of Vermeers time could have ever imagined. The media surrounds our world in every vista of society. Gitlin notes in his writings that the statistics referenced dont take into theme the billboards, the TVs at bars and on planes, the Muzak in restaurants and shops . . . nd logos whizzing by on the sides of buses and taxi s, climbing the w in alls of buildings, making announcements from caps, bags, T-shirts, and sneakers (Gitlin 563). Thanks to all of the latest engineering and communication systems people are able to have-to doe with to the outside world whenever we like. In Gitlins conclusion he goes on to explain that our personal opinion is no longer important to the world. People of our time are followers rather than leaders, and are consistently being sucked in to how the media says we should live our lives.Gitlin feels that the way we live our lives, or overstep it, (563) determines who we are. Our lives have befit completely consumed with technology and the latest electronics. Gitlin argues that even in our most private times we cannot bring ourselves to stay clear of the media. Our life experience has become an experience in the presence of media (Gitlin 563). In seventeenth-century time this layer of media dependence would be unthinkable. Earls ViewIn my reading of Todd Gitlins Supersat uration, or, the Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling, I have come to the conclusion that I obligate with Gitlin on the matter of an overwhelming media presence in todays world. The media has become such a large influence on everything on society. From TV, internet, and cell phones to billboards, magazines, and newspapers, it has become nearly impossible to be media free. Going along with Gitlins opinion on the subject, I agree that even in our seemingly private home lives, we continue to depend on media and other electronic entertainment.In this day and age people are constantly fixated with staying connected with the outside world through the media using smart phones, emails, news, kind networks and sports. As technology continues to advance we become consumed with the idea of having the latest and the ruff gadgets to keep us linked to media at all times. These gadgets have become part of our daily routine to check on society. People feel lost when they cant check there emails or their experimental condition on Facebook.Dinner in a home used to be eating at the dining live table and having conversations about your day but has now become sitting in the living room and watching TV. Even children have been affected by this media trend. They watch more TV than reading books. There are TV shows to help them determine rather than reading books for math, science and English. It is clear that the world is being dominated by media. The world has evolved in to a smart, fast pace bum where we have to know everything that goes on, not just where we live and whats discharge on in our lives but the entire world as well. We spend all our money on top of the line, expensive electronics to keep up to date with media and worldly news * Technology continues to advance (walkman mp3 players, tapes blue ray) * ceaselessly fixated on staying connected to the outside world (using smart phones to check email, news, sports) * Has become part of daily routine to check for upd ates in society * Even watch tv while eating family meals, tvs in restaurants, portable computers, ect * Faster growing demand for careers in technology fields