COMM 403: Media Studies and Continental Philosophy

Production is a convention that defies art. Typically the arts are about the personal expression of ideas or emotions. Artists work towards self-fulfillment. Production, on the other hand, is differentiated by it's focus not being on the creator, but on the audience. An artist is someone who creates for themselves before audience. A producer is someone who creates for themselves within the confines of audience pleasure. These ideas, however, are not inherent in the definition of the words. By definition, an artist and a producer are one in the same. The difference comes from a cultural prejudice toward these words. A producer is an artist whose work is promoted by thoughtful use of communicative models and media studies, rather than solely by name and imagery.

Continental Philosophy dictates that we cannot define things only in scientific terms (Though perhaps using the word "dictates" is somewhat paradoxical here). A particular stress is thus placed upon history and human condition, and the capacity of people to create change.

In the media, this is manifest in both factual and fictional senses to create meaning. Newscasters clearly have an excellent understanding of this idea. Edward R Murrrow used the historical context of literal witch hunts to chastise Joesph McCarthy and The House Un-American Activities Subcommittee. Murrow's work left both a historical and human consequence on the mind of his viewers. Glenn Beck is notorious for his constant comparisons of Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. Many laymen interpret this as a sign of Beck's ignorance, when, in reality, it is a sign of his incredible mastery of the workings of media. Comparing Obama to Hitler is a quick and easy way to promote a historical image of the President as both capable and willing to commit atrocities.

In fiction, the efficacy of historical context stressed by Continental Philosophy is easily seen in the work of Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing and The Newsroom. In The Newsroom, Sorkin made the decision to not only depict real world events, but to depict them at a time when they were out of date. The current episodes depict the days leading up to the 2012 election. Why? Sorkin himself says this is so this is so that "the audience knows more than the characters do". The impact of this is that the audience automatically understands the weight and importance of what the show is tackling. The historical context is both fresh and effective.