Final Response

The relationship between how we experience and create media has changed significantly over this semester, as well as with the rise of new media. In the era of "old media," there was a clear difference between the creator and the audience. A filmmaker made a film and an audience watched it. A photographer took a photo and someone observed it. These roles were given to experts, and the entry into media was largely unattainable for most. Expensive equipment, technical skill, and access to distributors were all barriers of entry that the average person could not overcome. Media was experienced collectively and was something you watched rather than participated in. As we discussed in the course, we began to shift away from that with the invention of new media and technology. The course's exploration of mobile media, hypertext, and experimental cinema all tied back to a shift where the divide between creator and audience began to dissolve. Today, anyone with a phone can take a photo or video, edit it, and distribute their work at the click of a button. The divide between creating media and consuming it has gotten so small that they influence and inform each other constantly. Platforms are now designed to give people the freedom to be both a creator and a consumer. This has made media-making more democratic but also more complex.

The growth of crowdsharing and crowdsourcing has fundamentally altered what media means for us as a society. On one hand, it gives a voice to everyone and has opened up the doors to more unique perspectives compared to traditional media. People can now record or document their own lives and experiences and distribute them without the approval of a publisher. This connects directly to Tehran Without Permission, where mobile media became a tool to challenge authority and amplify marginalized voices. On the other hand, the amount of media being produced is massive and overwhelming. When there is no filter on it, it often leads to mass amounts of misinformation or media that is presented in a way to convince you of certain beliefs. As we discussed through the ethics of documentary, I realized that all media carries the bias and agenda of its maker. In a crowdsourced environment, that bias is multiplied and manipulated endlessly without any checks and balances. What this means for us as a society is that media literacy is no longer optional. The tools to create and share media have never been more available, but it is important to understand the potential risks of that, such as being misled, manipulated, or dividing our country even further.