Abstract
This book examines the symbolic ‘work’ of media representations from the point of view of a global imagination: In what ways do the images and stories we encounter in the media encourage us to relate to faraway places and distant others? The main arguments developed in the book are premised on the belief in the power of representations, and specifically media representations, to shape our ways of seeing and understanding the world, as well as our emotional engagements with it.
The main body of the book is divided into seven chapters, starting with a chapter that sets up the theoretical framework and discusses the key concepts of representation and global imagination. After an overview of some of the relevant literature on representations, the author discusses the existing state of debate on media representations in the context of global communication, identifying its key challenges. She concludes with a consideration of global imagination, which she defines as ‘a collective way of seeing, understanding and feeling, at a global level’ (p. 3). This theoretical exposition is followed by five chapters that examine the relationship between media representations and global imagination across five distinct sites: imagining others, imagining ourselves, imagining possible lives, imagining the world and imagining the self. Each of these sites is explored in relation to a chosen theme (natural disasters, the nation, migration, New Year celebrations and the Self), drawing on a range of examples. Most examples discussed are drawn from the late 20th and the early 21st century and from the Western world. The chapters are clearly written and engaging, and should provide a useful introduction to students interested in issues of international communication and global media.
Orgad premises the originality of her approach on the lack of engagement with media representations in existing research on globalisation. While this diagnosis is correct, it is difficult to argue that the best way of going about it lies in focusing on representations alone, as Orgad does, without considering issues of media production and reception. One of the key challenges in contemporary research on global media lies not solely in acknowledging the symbolic work of representations, but in understanding how this symbolic work is intertwined with the political and economic pressures of media production and the dynamics of everyday life that shapes audience reception. One would hope that Orgad’s future work – in which she intends to focus more closely on audience reception – will pay closer attention to explaining the links between different moments of the communication process in the global arena. Another possible venue for enhancing the originality of Orgad’s contribution would consist of expanding the analysis beyond Western global imagination, and considering how it relates to non-Western encounters with distant others. In sum, while providing helpful insights into what remains a relatively neglected aspect of global communication, Orgad’s book stops short of offering a particularly original approach to the subject. Its main value instead lies in a clear and persuasive statement of the importance of media representations in a global environment, as well as in the useful outline of the key features of mediated global imagination, all presented in an engaging manner that encourages the reader to be critical of media representations and acknowledge their ability to shape our global engagements.