Capitalism and the Enchanted Screen

Myths and Allegories in the Digital Age

Häftad, Engelska, 2022

AvAleksandr Andreas Wansbrough

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Myths such as Narcissus’ reflection, Pandora’s box, and Plato’s cave have been used to frame modern technological dangers; often to describe people absorbed in their own digital reflections. Such speculation either purports that technology has a magical power or else that technology merely represents human nature unchanged from the myth’s inception. But those accounts ignore the paradoxical understandings of the power relationships allegorized, where people are manipulated by higher forces beyond their comprehension. Working from the assumption that capitalism rather than God is the highest power, this book examines mythic anticipations of the screen and digital technology from European literature, poetry, folklore and philosophy. Digital technology and social media are approached not as reflections of human nature but capitalist ideology’s power to enchant. To this end, Capitalism and the Enchanted Screen also surveys a diverse variety of films, digital media and contemporary artworks to understand and critique how myths are reimagined today.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2022-06-30
Mått150 x 230 x 18 mm
Vikt340 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor232
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN9781501372445

Tillhör följande kategorier

Medievetenskap inom Samhälle och politik
Kulturvetenskap inom Samhälle och politik

AcknowledgementsPrefaceChapter 1: Introduction to Magical Technology and Dis-Enchanting ScreensChapter 2: Lost in Reflection: Selfies and the Echo of NarcissusChapter 3:Interactive Entrapment Beyond Plato, Popcorn and The MatrixChapter 4: Digital Haunting, Vampires and Time LoopsChapter 5: Pygmalion and Virtual SelvesChapter 6: Babel and the Internet TowerChapter 7: The Invisible Cloaks, Rings and Trappings of the Capitalist SystemsChapter 8: Digital Media as Pandora’s Box AjarConclusionEndnotesReferencesIndex

Aleks Wansbrough’s Capitalism and the Enchanted Screen is a multilayered, highly accessible, discursive and illuminating interdisciplinary critique of late-capitalist entertainment culture beyond the screen. Its rigorous theoretical arguments are quite elegant, sound and persuasive. Aleks’s deft handling of the various engaging ideas, theoretical frameworks and an undeniable self-reflexive understanding of his subject shines through every aspect of the book. But above all, his technological knowledge of the subject is as equally first-rate as is his theoretical command of conducting a lively, refreshing and far-reaching investigation into this topic.