Consequences of the Medium (Critical Theory at the Endpoint of Literature)

Author: Jin Huimin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: This book is considered an authoritative discussion on how new media affects the spiritual life of contemporary humans. I reiterate that I never wanted to say anything about the "end of literature"; what I want to say is merely that, in the age of new media, the cultural role of print literature has already and is being weakened. Professor Jin Huimin correctly warns that media images will lead to the loss of the reality that literature refers to, and I would like to emphasize that it will also lead to the loss of the "Heaven," "Way," "God," or any other "mystical things" that literature refers to. This is an important academic work that should be widely read. — J. Hillis Miller (J. HillsMiller), a renowned American literary critic and theorist, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a distinguished professor at the University of California, Irvine. In this groundbreaking work, Professor Jin Huimin analyzes and comments on the rapidly advancing media imperialism, which is changing every corner of the world and also changing each of us as (post)modern subjects. The author critically examines two philosophical theories that are extremely important for understanding the essential characteristics of the media, providing targeted and profound philosophical analyses. Thus, it offers a series of original, comprehensive, and timely philosophical insights to grasp this ubiquitous contemporary phenomenon that will have a significant impact on the subject, hermeneutics, and philosophy. — Ales Erjavec, a famous Eastern European philosopher and aesthetician, former president of the International Society of Aesthetics, and professor and director of the Institute of Philosophy at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In an electronic media age, a globalized age, and an age of images, what is the future and fate of books, literature, hermeneutics, and imagery? Immersed in contemporary criticism, literary theory, and various discourses of Western philosophy, with "shallowness," directness, image proliferation, and deterritorialization as the main theoretical context, Professor Jin Huimin conducts an in-depth study of the decline of print culture and its cultural consequences. This research has a broad perspective, is full of exploration spirit, and is a timely response to major issues in contemporary cultural development. The questions and reflections raised in this book require our urgent attention. — Stuart Hall, a renowned contemporary thinker and sociologist, the spiritual leader of British cultural studies, and a professor at the Open University of the United Kingdom. McLuhan's then seemingly absurd assertion that "the medium is the message" has quietly evolved into our daily reality today. We are colonized by the media, structured, disciplined, and believe that the narratives of the media are our own truth. This book aims to awaken attention to the imperialistic process of media and defines its consequences as "zero distance," "image proliferation," and "glocalization." By drawing on and transforming contemporary Western critical theory, it reveals the profound existential crisis faced by hermeneutics, philosophy, and all modern spiritual life forms based on print media—their life essence lies in "distance," "depth," and "locality"—as a kind of rebirth: even if it is not an end, it is a profound transformation. It is worth noting that this book has an innovative aspect in its writing, presenting three texts simultaneously—prose, illustrations, and captions—which are interrelated, yet independent, even if they engage in an undeclared battle. This greatly encourages the active generation of reader texts.