Mediascape
Encyclopedia
The term mediascape describes the way that visual imagery impacts the world.
Such image
ry comes from books, magazine
s, television
, cinema
, and, above all, advertising
that can directly impact the landscape
(in the form of poster
s and billboard
s) and also subtly influence, through persuasive techniques and an increasingly pervasive presence, the way that people perceive reality
.
The word mediascape also describes visual culture
. For example "the American mediascape is becoming increasingly partisan" or simply to denote "what's on" as in "a quick survey of the British mediascape shows how much Channel 4
has lost its way".
The term mediascape may have been coined by Arjun Appadurai
(1990), where it was used to offer a way to describe and situate the role of electronic and print media in “global cultural flows,” which are fluid and irregular as they cross global and local boundaries. For Appadurai, mediascape indexes the electronic capabilities of production and dissemination, as well as “the images of the world created by these media” (Appadurai 1990, p. 9).
The term Mediascape was first used in trade by the U.S. company Mediascape Corporation, formed in 1992, for the purpose of delivering rich media through the Internet and Web. Mediascape is the U.S. owner of the Federal trademark
for use of that mark in relation to multimedia
products in commerce.
Mediascape is also used as a generic term to describe a digital media artifact where items of digital media are associated with regions in space and can then be triggered by the location of the person experiencing the media. Thus in a mediascape a person may walk around an area and as they do so they will hear digitally stored sounds associated with different places in that area.
Such image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
ry comes from books, magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and, above all, advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
that can directly impact the landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
(in the form of poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s and billboard
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
s) and also subtly influence, through persuasive techniques and an increasingly pervasive presence, the way that people perceive reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
.
The word mediascape also describes visual culture
Visual culture
Visual Culture as an academic subject is a field of study that generally includes some combination of cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, and anthropology, by focusing on aspects of culture that rely on visual images.- Overview :...
. For example "the American mediascape is becoming increasingly partisan" or simply to denote "what's on" as in "a quick survey of the British mediascape shows how much Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
has lost its way".
The term mediascape may have been coined by Arjun Appadurai
Arjun Appadurai
Arjun Appadurai is a contemporary social-cultural anthropologist focusing on modernity and globalization, based in New York.Appadurai was born in Mumbai , India and educated in India before coming to the United States. He graduated from St...
(1990), where it was used to offer a way to describe and situate the role of electronic and print media in “global cultural flows,” which are fluid and irregular as they cross global and local boundaries. For Appadurai, mediascape indexes the electronic capabilities of production and dissemination, as well as “the images of the world created by these media” (Appadurai 1990, p. 9).
The term Mediascape was first used in trade by the U.S. company Mediascape Corporation, formed in 1992, for the purpose of delivering rich media through the Internet and Web. Mediascape is the U.S. owner of the Federal trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
for use of that mark in relation to multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
products in commerce.
Mediascape is also used as a generic term to describe a digital media artifact where items of digital media are associated with regions in space and can then be triggered by the location of the person experiencing the media. Thus in a mediascape a person may walk around an area and as they do so they will hear digitally stored sounds associated with different places in that area.