A media event is when something happens that attracts so much publicity that it is heard about worldwide. September 11th 2001 is one of the best examples of this in the 21st century, as this media event made the entire world stand still for a moment as the Twin Towers came crashing down. Hepp and Couldry stated, “…we are confronted today by both ‘ritual media events’ and their scenarios as described in the original approach of Dayan and Katz , by ‘conflictual media events’ like mediatized terror attacks, disasters or war, and also by ‘popular media events’ of celebrity culture” (Hepp and Couldry 12). This statement shows how broad media events can be. So despite the fact that September 11th is probably the biggest media event during the 21st century, other social events could be considered media events as well. For example, when the first African American man was voted in for the US presidency, it caused a big stir in the world. This proves that a media event doesn’t have to be just political or social, it can be that or anything in between; it just has to be something that catches the attention of the world leaders. The statement “…cultural authority is put in play by the achievement through media events of new contexts and practices of what has been called ‘civil religion,’” shows that media events affect every area of a persons’ life.
Couldry, Nick, Hepp, Andreas, and Krotz, Friedrich. Media Events in a Global Age. London, New York: Routledge, 2009. Print.
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I like the fact that you included the September 11th tragedy in here, but also explained other, more simple media events. Also, the fact that media events affect every aspect of our lives is a good point that many may not realize until they research further into what a media event is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that you said that media events don't have to be just a social or political event, that they can be anything in between. The social events an political events get more notice because they are easier to follow and see. The little tiny media events get looked over because they aren't as publicized and advertised in a way. They are still media events they are not as large as some.
ReplyDeleteI also want to note how social events are focused on more than political events. I think that this is because the world seems to focus on the youth and the youth tends to be more interested in the latest hollywood gossip rather than what is happening in China.
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