12.19.2005

more on tv

marc and sarah's comments have me thinking...

powerful in what sense? i.e., in being able to reach oodles and millions of people with a single soundbyte? will anything reach the ubiquitousness of tvs? even ipods are trying to make tvs and the tv experience more accessible; tivo encourages our habits of making sure we don't miss a single episode of "america's next top model;" dvds of television shows are as popular (maybe more?) than movie rentals (especially for poor schulbs like myself who use the laptop as a movie/tv theater); etc... yet, the question about what the second most powerful medium is makes me wonder: is tv a singular medium? that is, can we watch tv now as a singular activity? re: the ipods example - it's tv in conjunction with a host of other functions.

getting back to exploring the dimension of "powerful" - in what ways is television powerful? while listening to someone wax poetic about the influences of media on "today's youth," i got to thinking about yesterday's youth? are we, or were we ever, without "influence" of some kind? why is influence necessarily a bad thing? i'm intrigued by the question of for whom tv is powerful... in viewing it? in producing it? in critiquing it? that's what i want to know from the Current TV folks - what makes TV the most powerful medium in the world? is it, as eric clapton sang, in the way that you use it? (sorry clapton fans!)

12.13.2005

tv..Tv..TV!

the "about" page of Current TV screams:

Right now, at this moment in history, TV is the most powerful medium in the world.

words like "unprecedented" and phrases like "carpe diem" are clanging around in my head as i read this sentence over and over again. this is something that i should be posting to the tv blog, but there's an aspect of it that compels me to blog here. i am referring to what has come to be called "youth media." this term seems to refer to a wide range of interactions between young people and the emerging and growing landscape of digital, documentary technologies. (that's my take on it...) so, with all this potential to counter-narrate and newly populate the viewing landscape with texts that may not currently be accessible, what is actually happening? how much of this "counter" work is currently going on?

so, back to the Current TV declaration: is tv the most powerful medium in the world?

12.11.2005

youth outlook videos

i've mentioned YO! Youth Outlook before, but wanted to re-mention this "award-winning literary journal of youth life in the Bay Area" to highlight some of the recent pieces that have been added (both audio and video):

What are you thankful for? - YO! Audio Street Interviews
"YO! hits the streets to ask young folks what they're thankful for this thanksgiving."

French Riots Aftermath -- The Video

YO!TV @ G.A.M.E. Conference
"Gamers from all over the country came to the G.A.M.E. conference to get the first look at all of the new titles being released this year."

check them out here

12.01.2005

greetings from aaa in dc

im at the anthro meeting, typing in the dark in my hotel room as my roommate sleeps. i told a story last night during my session that i feel compelled to share here:

a young man i interviewed, as part of an oral history project with young men who attend one of the dept of ed schools on rikers island, followed up our conversation by asking me whether "little kids" were going to be reading the book that we are working on which will contain the participants' stories (which they craft and which evolve from the initial interviews). i said that i thought they would be. he continued by acknowledging his approval at this intent, noting that he wanted his story and the benefit of his hindsight to reach younger kids. he then paused momentarily, and said that what he wanted my help with "mak[ing] sure that people feel [his] story."

i shared this story as part of a session entitled, "new methodologies and modes of representation in literacy research with youth." to be talking about this topic and related issues with others whose approaches are also ethnographic and wrestle with the challenges of researcher participation and roles, is exciting. the papers on the panel were all so diverse and rich in ethnographic detail and, like someone else noted, "had a great synergy" about them.

at the same time, i know that the nrc conference is going on and some of the folks there are asking, engaging with, and struggling to understand many of the same issues and topics related to youth, literacies, technologies, and representation.

amidst all this engaging, challenging, and struggling, are we finding - or even looking for - ways to make sure that people "feel" the stories that we're sharing? and if not, how can we do so with greater impact? and if so, then are we having an impact? are stories being felt as well as heard?