The present day metaphor is the ‘Zombie’ economy depicting the economic system as an unthinking monster in relentless pursuit of a single objective. Part of the Anti-Austerity and Media Activism series with Goldsmiths.
An aura of political creativity and a sense of ‘media justice’ have emerged in Greece; evolving communication practices have shaped the nature and character of solidarity.
No one would disagree on the importance of press freedom and freedom of expression. But it is utterly naïve to disconnect press freedom from the notion of media power.
Instead of acting as an open space for discussion and debate, Spanish media have been megaphones for the established powers supporting austerity measures and politics.
The myths on which Benefits Street was based – namely the myth of so-called “workless communities” – are demonstrably false; however the furore it has generated demonstrates that the politics of class and representation still matter.
If the Immigration Act addresses who can live in the country, the Housing and Planning Act addresses who can live in particular cities. Together, these two acts will serve as pretext for an acceleration of social cleansing.
When publics are abandoned, when their voices no longer matter and their identities are demolished through economic inequality, precarity and non-recognition, they lose faith in the political institutions that are supposed to represent them.
Mainstream media can still have a critical influence in prescribing limits to potential policy solutions, and thus determining the nature and scope of reform. After the 2008 financial crisis mainstream journalists became complicit in the reassertion of an ideological paradigm. Part of the Anti-Aus
Independent media production in the context of austerity and declining media trust can allow for an exploration of documentary as a genre at the crossroads of journalistic and activist practice. Part of the Anti-Austerity and Media Activism series.
Graphic humour is in fact graphic opinion and as such can effectively challenge the abusive practices of different social and political institutions; it can also depict the social divide from a number of different perspectives. Part of the Anti-Austerity and Media Activism series.
