Print Culture Flashcards
Books and U.S. Society:
Reading is one of the main skills children acquire. We hold reading to a very high standard. Highly literate society. Not normal if you can not read. Writers like Dr. Seuss united us to give us a sense of national identity. Our society provides free lending libraries. Libraries are the ultimate democratic idea.
What makes books so special and different from other media?
They contain and provide a lot of information, not just entertainment. They are meant to teach. Books are easy to handle and are portable. It is something you can do in private. Pertinence, which leads to credibility. We save our books, we hold them sacred. Books are the oldest mass medium. Although the internet provides a challenge: many other options as well as online books.
The influence of the printing press:
Access to information - power left the elite. Rising literacy, which help create the middle class. Gave importance to the individual over the institution (people can choose what to read). This helps create a shared knowledge, as well as creates a new way to view the world. Books told people things happening around the world, creates a larger perspective. Gutenberg’s printing press’s influence spread quickly, 50 years later millions of books were made.
The book industry in 2008:
1.3 Billion books sold in 2008, most popular was Harry Potter. Harry Potter made reading more popular, as well as Oprah’s book club recommendations. Most publishers see a decline though, and self-help books see gains. The most rapidly converting genre to digital? Professional books. People want books to remain.
The book industry in 2012:
Top selling book is 50 shades of grey. Kindle Fire, nook, iPad, etc… are popular. eBooks are here to stay! For the first time every eBook sales beat traditional book sales. Local book stores are going out of business. Textbooks are a dying breed. Authors are using social media to sale books. Most libraries are digitizing their works. Technology is being used to preserve rare texts and to promote accessibility. Authors are now publishing their own books online.
Social construction of reality with books:
Twilight fans/twi-hards. Twilight star cheats on husband, and video of women who butts into their lives to tell people not to butt into people’s lives. There was an uproar because people believed in the movies.
Memoirs and social construction of identity:
Blurring of reality and fiction. Supposed to be a biography but people are artificially enhancing their books. ‘3 Caps of Ten’ was marked as a memoir but was partially fabricated. When the author was found out he killed himself.
Banned books and critical theory:
‘50 Shades of Gray’- 60 million copies sold. Considered ‘Mommy porn’. Critical theory: You can’t read that. People attempted to ban 420 books in 2007 alone. Harry Potter was on that list. Banning of books reveals: media influence, transmission of cultural norms/values. Power: who decides what we can not read.
Most read books:
Bible, Mao, Harry Potter, Twilight, etc…
Define Muckrakers:
Refers to reform-minded journalists who wrote largely for popular magazines, continued a trend of investigative journalism. Known for writing articles in order to act like a watchdog.
Who owns publishing?
Just a few people.
Phases of media development model:
1) Elite
2) Popular
3) Specialized
Elite phase of media development:
Original magazines were aimed at elite audiences, small audiences, documenting a new nation developing. Because of the size/weight mailman would sometimes not deliver it. Only the elite had time to read them.
Popular phase of media development:
Magazines evolved to popular media, such as time magazine. Five factors leading to this.
What factors led to magazine development?
1) Literacy- more people could read
2) Postal Act of 1879- Lowered postal rate to make magazines cost the same as newspapers.
3) Trains/Railroad development- way to get them delivered.
4) Faster printing tech- could print faster/cheaper.
5) Consumerism- a rise in. Magazine had ads. The advertising industry is blooming.
