Media Concepts and Models
Utopian media theory dictates that there is an all encompassing sense of peace and harmony at this time as the advent of communication technology such as the Internet limits the barriers between people and nations.
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It is through these types of avenues that prejudice and hostility to the unknown are slowly eliminated through communication and knowledge.
Dystopian media theory states that individuals will further instigate ‘progress’ on what is perceived to be imperfect information, perhaps with little or no fact checking and deep analysis. This is almost essentially a balance in the dichotomy between the two opposing theories.
Interestingly enough, the attributes of both the Utopian and dystopian media theories can almost be described as a reflection of the opposing sides of the political spectrum where Utopian and dystopian media theories represent the left and the right respectively. For example, Utopian media theory, it would seem, champions the values of the political left favouring journalistic integrity and the ideal of it acting as a voice for the people. Similarly, dystopian media theory often does not draw the line between news and performance. It can be said that dystopian theory favours the notion of the media acting as a platform to push opinion rather than fact and to act as a subtle platform for propaganda. To put it quite simply, Utopian media theory (an agent for social change) would seem to be a proactive process against the dystopian reactive process (maintaining the status-quo).
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