Space-Bias in Pontypool
The vector of infection of the language virus in Pontypool showcases space bias as the individuals who were infected were impacted through sound which they experienced in a particular area. Media forms such as radio, telephone and electronic amplification draw those infected to those who speak to lead individuals to obtain the virus through verbal understanding. This mass amplification through radio greatly impacted the speeds at which information traveled and reached more individuals faster than most other forms of media.
Furthermore, these media forms display contemporary forms of orality as it refers to the distinct divergence between cultures that are oral and literate, however, it mainly exists in time-biases. But this virus spread from people existing in a certain place due to it being an 'oral' infection that infects through verbal understanding, while it did not reach those who are not in the area being physically impacted. When the producer started to contract the infection due to understanding the 'trigger' word, she quickly recovered when changing the meaning of the word, which ultimately was the attempt to heal the others.
Hey really great post, I liked your point that Sydney recovers by changing what the trigger word means. Which exemplifies that the cure is just as oral as the infection. One thing that stood out to me is that you highlight that the virus didn’t reach people outside the area. That made me curious if it’s partly time-biased too, since it stays rooted in one community. Which is also the way Innis describes oral tradition. I wrote about Mazzy’s opening monologue, and his story about Honey the cat is all local knowledge, so the station feels like the town’s storyteller.
ReplyDeleteHi Connor, thank you for the thoughtful comment! I do think that this virus was both time and space based due to the fact that it reached individuals within the vicinity of Pontypool as displayed throughout the movie at particular point of time. However, when it comes down to evaluating between the two, I decided that since the virus was reached through oral language, it could have only impacted those in the area that the radio or other oral languages could reach, therefore representing space bias.
DeleteHi Zoe, great post! I liked how you tied the virus to space bias through radio, telephone, and amplification. It’s a good point that those media pulled people toward the voices carrying the infection, and that the speed of spread is what made it so dangerous compared to slower media.I also found your note that the virus stayed within the physical area interesting, since it shows how much the infection relied on people being present together. I focused more on the way the town and the station operate as a shared, local space, which seems to connect to your idea too.
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