Blog Post #4 Hannah Alexander

 

Martin Luther's 95 Theses manifests the second articulation concerning how media modes of production are simultaneously a mode of communication, a mode of affect and a mode of accumulation. The widespread dissemination of Luther's theses created a symbolic meaning for his criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church. Such a mode of communication combined the social practice of disseminating his message through the advent of the printing press. This drove a symbolic meaning to Luther's theses of public hope for a future of reform. As Standage writes "the surge in the popularity of the pamphlets, the vast majority of them in favour of reform, served as a collective signalling mechanism" (p.61). Such dissemination of the theses as a symbolic meaning of hope for the future linked hopeful emotions among the public. The modes of affect manifested in this example represent the growing public condemnation of the Church and the growth in public belief and hope for reform. The mode of accumulation is more reflected in the widespread popularity of Luther and his beliefs and power instead of capital growth. Luther's extensive growth in public popularity is reflected in the NYT article "Long Before Twitter, Martin Luther was a Media Pioneer' emphasizing his influence by stating that "he created a media storm with virtually no precedent in the age of print and became the most published author in the history of publishing, up to that moment".

The "OH LAWD HE COMIN" internet cat meme manifests the second articulation concerning how media modes of production are simultaneously a mode of communication, mode of affect and a mode of accumulation. While this cat meme is not nearly as academically informative, the popular meme drove a mode of communication that enhances the symbolic meaning of internet cats and their categorization based on weight as humorous and joyful for users. Arguably, the mode of affect was what made the meme so popular across social media platforms. The social practices of emotion and embodiment that were attached to the meaning of the meme included joy, and laughter. The spread, influence and joy of the meme can be seen in 'Know Your Meme' stating that "the popularity of the phrase [Chonk] led to the creation of a subreddit, /r/chonkers, that gained nearly 400 subscribers in less than a month". There was no intended mode of accumulation of capital or power in posting this meme, though it did render widespread power, popularity and influence across social media. Standage notes the widespread attraction of digitality stating "television, the drug of the nation" (p.205), reflecting the intense hold a digital feature has on society. This can be reflected in terms of the accumulation of power in the meme as it had an intense hold on social media users in the same sense, driving a multitude of other related posts.