Pontypool Changes Everything - Radio Play
"Think about the plague of Pontypool in terms of Harold Innis' analysis of ancient empires and media forms. Is the vector of infection of the language virus in Pontypool an example of time bias or space bias?"
In his discussion of ancient empires and media forms, Innis outlines what he thought were durable media and what were non-durable media. In doing so, the table demonstrates that anything electronic has a tendency to be space-biased rather than time-biased. From my understanding, this is because electronic media can be created, shared, and experienced with no space constraint; it can be transported anywhere. Time-biased media, as explained by Innis, is meant to last over time but does not have the power to reach a large audience (it does not take up space). Given this distinction between both biases, it becomes clear that the language virus in Pontypool is an example of space bias. Whether through radio, telephone, or direct speech, the infection is being carried through space. This demonstrates that it holds a space bias; the virus is spread through the space it occupies to a larger audience rather than being spread over time from a physical thing.
"Radio, telephone, and electronic amplification play an important part in sustaining the virus. How can these medium(s) be understood as mediatized forms of orality?"
We continuously rely on media technologies to generate communication with others. This results in the mediatization of our communication practices; we no longer rely on face-to-face communication but rather on those on media platforms (social media, phones, texting, etc.). In the play, much of the communication between characters is through different tele-technologies. Even the radio show itself is an example of communication through a medium. Through all this communication, the virus was spread over a larger area than if mediatized forms of orality did not exist; if we only relied on face-to-face communication, the space in which the virus was spread would have been much less significant. Yet, radio, telephone, and electronic amplification were part of the root cause of the infection spreading so quickly. We have become accustomed to these mediated means of communication. They are part of our everyday lives and therefore have become mediatized forms of orality.
Hi Amelie, I am thinking about the game Broken Telephone from childhood. In this game, we would whisper something to the person next to us who would then whisper the same information to the person next to them. By the time the last person opened their mouth to disclose what they were told, the original message had always changed considerably. This was the rule rather than the exception. I do wonder whether orality can maintain its integrity of purpose during transmission when information is indirect. Non verbal cues simply do not exist without face to face interactions. It seems like a consistent issue whether obstruction is by anything or anyone, human or otherwise. There is a lot to face to face communication that is to be read between words. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteHi Amelie, great blog post!
ReplyDeleteYou do a great job at explaining the differences between time bias and space bias, especially in stating that time biases are subject to location of its creation, holding no space. This reminds me of Innis' famous words of "thought gained lightness" when explaining the transition from time bias to space bias mediums; while the contents being disseminated are the exact same in relation to the language virus, one has the ability to span nations, whereas the other is limited by the transportation tools such as the Pony Express. In this example, the language virus would be printed on the press, packaged up and sent on a horseman's back to another town, spanning weeks to months to reach and minimizing the significance of the language virus.
Thanks for sharing.