Journal Entry 2 - Davis: Ch. 1-2 (Sara Loughran)

Throughout Chapter 1, Davis examines several different cultures and their respective religions, spiritualities, and mythologies, and talks about how they relate to and/or predict past, present, or future aspects of technology and media. The link he drew between Hermes - the Greek god of transportation, messages, doctors, trade, thieves, sports, and many more - and the internet was one I had actually come across and thought of before. I was really into Greek mythology as a kid, so I read a lot about it. One of my favorite book series was Percy Jackson & the Olympians, which puts Greek gods and mythology in a modern setting. Funnily enough, Hermes in that series claims to have invented the internet, along with many other technologies. Here is a clip from the movie - while it doesn't mention the internet, it shows Hermes's link to messages, transportation, and the invention of new technologies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcoWbgonxno
I bring this up because even though it is a series for young adults, it does an excellent job of translating myth and legend to modern times, which is something technology does as well. It was the first thing that came to my mind when reading the chapter, and I think that says something about the way myth can be translated and changed over time to reach new minds. The idea of myth evolving with time parallels that of technology, and Davis's examples in Chapter 1 seem to represent that well.


Chapter 2 uses more of a historical approach, rather than a mythical one, to link to technology, specifically the invention of electricity, radio, telephones, and similar things. He talks about how we as humans experience a type of "electricity" as well, and how the concept of electricity is one translates to communication and modernity. Human "communicate their energy" in a way that is like electricity, making it seem like we ourselves are machines where we transport information and ideas to each other. James Carey, in his essay “A Cultural Approach to Communication”, described communication similarly - and how it becomes one of two types, ritual or transmission. Ritual is where we consume without actually thinking about it. That seems to be a way that media controls us, most of the time in ways we do not know. Transmission is the actual process of communication, and it is compared to a type of transportation - which again parallels its evolution and connection with technology. Transmission is the type that animates us - like the dead frog whose legs moved when electrocuted - where we absorb new ideas and concepts. It is different from ritual because it is what can lead to the technology and innovation Davis explores in this chapter.

This website describes Carey's views of communication well: http://www.postcolonialweb.org/poldiscourse/2views.html