Critical Media Studies

In This episode of the Critical Media Studies podcast we discuss Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle. As the book is aphoristic, rather than trying to address the work as a whole, Barry and Mike look at what Debord means by Spectacle and hone in on a few particular sections (24-28). The focus of this episode settles around the question of whether or not there is a continuity between Debord's mediated society and our own digital mediasphere. We hope you enjoy and welcome any feedback or suggestions.

This discussion delves into Simone Weil's philosophy on attention and its crucial role in meaningful engagement. The speakers examine how distractions in our digital age challenge genuine creativity and deep thought. They critique TikTok's superficial engagement and highlight the importance of selective focus in learning. By connecting Weil's insights with contemporary issues, they advocate for a more deliberate approach to attention that fosters creativity and spiritual richness in our busy lives.

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Byung Chul Han’s “The Burnout Society” with an eye to his discussion of multitasking and the loss of what Han calls “profound boredom.”  The discussion invokes Bernard Steigler’s concept of noesis and Jauques Eleul’s concept of technique as a means of better understanding the spaces of focus and attention in the modern world. 

Barry and Mike pick up their discussion on Raymond Williams’ monograph, Television: Technology and Cultural From. In their previous episode they covered the idea that media technologies are answers to specific problems, rather than inventions looking for applications.  In this episode they discuss how Williams’ ideas fit and clash with Marshal McLuhan’s ideas of media as being self-determining.  In short, they look at whether the tensions between Williams and McLuhan is a case of a terminological incompatibility, or whether the two philosophies of media technologies really do argue for different models and outcomes. 

Barry and Mike begin their discussion of Raymond Williams’ 1974 book, Television.  Their discussion revolves around the question of the place and purpose of media as a social process. The crux of the debate revolves around the question: Is television a solution looking for a problem, or is it, rather, the form that contains both? As a part of this, naturally, they go back to “their dear friend” Marshall McLuhan, who functions as a useful foil in teasing out the threads of possible insights. As always, we hope you enjoy!

Barry and Mike wrap up their discussion on The Dialectic of Enlightenment by taking on the final section on antisemitism and then offering their takeaways from the book.  It’s a long discussion that covers a good bit of ground.  Among other topics, they spend time talking about the dangers of partially understood ideologies, the role of access to public services (and how belonging to the to public creates impressions of authenticity), and the problems of conflating access with progress.

What do Taylor Swift, Beethoven, and Raidohead have in common?In the fourth part of their series on Horkheimer and Adorno’s“Dialectic of Enlightenment” Barry and Mike talk about the “Culture Industry.”  Among other topics, they discuss how money influences how art gets made and how capitalism impacts media.  We hope you enjoy! 

Horkheimer and Adorno – Juliette or Enlightenment and MoralityIn this episode, Barry and Mike discuss "Excursis two: Juliette or Enlightenment and Morality," from Horkheimer and Adorno's "The Dialectic of Enlightenment." Here Adprno and Horkheimer argue that, despite their many differences, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant and the French libertine writer the Marquis de Sade shared one idea in common: they both believed that Enlightenment reason could be wholly separated from moral concerns. In doing so, they both made it intellectually respectable to subordinate morality to power and thus indirectly led to the rise of fascism. We had to leave a lot of ideas from this chapter on the table to keep the episode at a manageable length. There' s a lot more here to discuss: as always, we welcome your comments!

Barry and Mike take on Odysseus or Myth and Enlightenment, the second chapter of Horkheimer and Adorno’s “Dialectic of Enlightenment,” focusing on three key moments in the story of Odysseus' journey: the encounters with Circe, the Cyclops, and his return home. They explore the ways that Horkheimer and Adorno’s understanding of Enlightenment thinking is manifest in Odysseus’ actions, perhaps most evident in his uncanny ability to leverage myth in order to succeed in his endeavors. In Barry’s words, “He’s a problem solver, that Odysseus.”

The people have spoken! One of our listeners, Jessica, asked if we would do an episode on the Frankfurt school, preferably Horkheimer and Adorno. And when you folks ask, we oblige!In prepping for an episode on chapter two of the Dialectic of Enlightenment, Barry and Mike asked the age old question: Why just do one chapter of incredibly dense German philosophy when you can take on the book in its entirety? So that's what we're beginning here.Over the next five episodes we will be discussing the individual chapters of The Dialectic of Enlightenment. The goal for each is twofold: First, we want to explicate the central arguments of each chapter and then, secondly, we will be applying those arguments to the digital media as they exist now, at the end of 2022. This first episode attempts to lay out Horkheimer and Adorno's general argument about the Enlightenment and to sketch the direction for the books remaining episodes. We hope you enjoy and, as always, welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions!