Blog Assignment #2

William Mazzarella, in his article “Culture, Globalization, Mediation,” argues that processes of mediation are fertile ground for anthropological study in the context of globalization due to their relevance in contemporary society as a basic foundation of socio-cultural understanding. Understanding the level of connectivity between meditative processes and ourselves is crucial in revealing the importance of allowing us to understand media as a structurally ambiguous medium that encourages us to represent us to ourselves. Our ability to distance ourselves from meditative processes can encourage a revival of a certain level of aestheticism, and in doing so, allows for an aura of contextual authenticity to reveal itself in relation to cultural processes within the scope of globalization. Mazzarella uses the terms “cultural proximity” and “resurgence of the local” to characterize the drive towards anthropological distancing and to allow particular awareness of a created cultural reality amidst the process of globalization.

It becomes increasingly important then to understand globalization as affecting our cultural understandings and representations of the world that surround us. We must keep in mind mediation and its processes. If, for example, we place too much acceptance in broadcast media’s selective exposure without being consciousness of it, or understanding our immersion in media, we risk denying the process of mediation because it does not allow for authenticity to occur in understanding the natural aesthetic of the content itself being exposed. With the possibilities of the Internet, the growth of connectivity between various media forms and our selves has increased exponentially, increasing the complexities of mediation and globalization. Thus, an anthropological approach in understanding mediation becomes necessary for those who wish to understand the true relevance of the effects of media and its forms on globalization. For anyone to truly experience authenticity in a relationship with the world that surrounds us, it is clear that a certain level of distancing is required. It is only our self-consciousness of our interaction with media forms that can lead us to awareness of the powerful, socio-cultural and socio-political process that is mediation. 

Sources:

Mazzarella, William. “Culture, Globalization, and Mediation.” Annual Review of Anthropology, June 4, 2004.