Abstracts of Papers
"In principle a work of art has always been reproducible. " If one substitutes the phrase "work of art" with "Catastrophe" in this famous quote by Walter Benjamin, one gets a sad if true analysis of our contemporary media culture. The following paper will deal with the question of mass media: what creates what, and what relies on what? In an age where agenda-setting and media literacy become more and more important, and our everyday lives are dominated by mediocre reality shows, while at the same time interest in politics is on the decline, how can politicians or "those in charge" meet the challenges of a global society? There have always been events that affect many people, but these new technologies have the capacity to cause change on a much larger scale. What changes and threats do these developments impose on societies as we know them? How can one become personally interested in something so distant? I will use examples such as Lady Diana's death and funeral, the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the Asian tsunami of 2004 to demonstrate how in a time of bits and bytes one can use technology to mold the opinions and beliefs of people worldwide.
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