Stephanie Does Blog Post 2
First, I thought the virus in Pontypool was time-biased because Innis sees oral tradition as time-biased. Because speech spreads slowly, person to person, in one community. But once it turned to radio, the virus became space-biased. Radio is fast, and the signal reaches tons of people at one time. What I thought was intresting is that many people trust a voice on the radio. Listening, believing in it , the phone does the same by letting speech travel without the person having to actually be there. I think the phone call and radio are a modern form of orality because they bring talking and listening together.
I agree with your point about how radio allows the virus to spread faster and reach more people. I also think it is interesting how people trust what they hear on the radio, which could make the virus even more dangerous. It really shows how technology can change the way our information spreads!
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie, this is a really interesting analysis of the virus in Pontypool in terms of time and space biases. I definitely agree that speech itself is time-biased, but the use of technology to spread speech makes the virus more space-biased. I made a similar point in my own blog post about radio and telephones as contemporary forms of orality, but I like how you expanded on this by discussing how these technologies bring people together. Do you think social media creates a similar sense of connection to radio and telephone?
ReplyDeleteI definitely think social media creates a similar sense of connection but I think it's also more personal because we can interact directly with people instead of just listening. But I do think social media can create a false sense of closeness especially when we feel connected to people we've never actually met.
DeleteHey Steph, great post! I liked how you framed the virus as time-biased at first, spreading slowly from person to person like oral tradition, and then becoming space-biased once it moved through radio. That shift really shows how the medium changes what the virus can do. Your point about trust stood out to me. People believe the voice on the radio without questioning it, and the phone works the same way by letting someone’s words reach you without them being in the room. That trust is a big part of why the infection spread so easily. It also made me wonder whether that trust is what makes these media feel like modern orality. Even though the speaker isn’t present, the listener still responds as if they’re being spoken to directly.
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