Media Virus! (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The average American home has more media-gathering technology than a state-of-the-art newsroom did ten years ago..." (more)
Key Phrases: media viruses, chaos math, viral shell, New York, United States, Pee Wee (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Have you ever noticed that the word "media" refers both to the tool for disseminating information in human societies as well as the substrate upon which geneticists grow bacteria and viruses? Rushkoff has written one of the more provocative and insightful analyses of the paths of conceptual infection in human media, and about the techniques and goals of those who spread media viruses. This fun, hip, yet insightful book is well worth buying.

From Publishers Weekly

This provocative title suggests the author will follow the familiar route of explaining how popular culture manipulates its audience into complacency. On the contrary, Rushkoff (The GenX Reader) asserts that media "viruses" empower audiences both to become more actively engaged with the media and to challenge the status quo. Viruses, e.g., rap song "Cop Killer" and the videotape of the Rodney King beating, are controversial, compelling images or ideas that allow countercultural politics to infiltrate mainstream media. The hidden agendas Rushkoff explores here are thus subversive ones. His readings of various media outlets, such as TV shows like The Simpsons and Ren and Stimpy, as launchpads for antiestablishment messages about alternative lifestyles, are smart and interesting. But his conclusions about the revolutionary potential of media viruses are not always substantiated by his analyses, and his use of techno-jargon makes his arguments often difficult to follow. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 6, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345397746
• ISBN-13: 978-0345397744
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #542,620 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seminal Book On Media Theory, Memetics, Postmodern Culture, April 19, 1999

By	Alex Burns ([e-mail]) (Melbourne (Australia)) - See all my reviews

Since its release in 1994, 'Media Virus' has become Douglas Rushkoff's most influential and most popular book.

Rushkoff skillfully dissects such 'memes' as the O.J. Simpson trial, the Rodney King beating tape, and the pervasive influence of MTV editing. He finds Queer sexuality in 'Ren & Stimpy', social agendas with John Morgenthaler's 'Smart Drugs' campaign, and closes the book with an insightful and rare interview with the influential musician, raver, and performance artist Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Pigface, Thee Majesty).

Much of what Rushkoff has written has become de facto teaching within university media courses, and Rushkoff's insights have been clarified and commented upon by many other social theorists and cyberpunks. This is a valuable book because its accessible easy to read style makes it a good introduction to a field that many find foreboding, difficult or complex. Rushkoff is careful to include case-studies and examples such as detailed semiotic analysis of 'The Simpsons', and to provide the relevant historical and industry contexts. The book's influence can be seen by the prevalence of Madison Avenue techniques subsequent to the book's publication, and the popularity of mutant media.

Well worth checking out!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Are you infected by a Media Virus?, January 27, 2000

By	Eric H. Roth "English teacher/conversationali... (Venice Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While some academics still worry about people watching television, Douglass Rushkoff celebrates the power of individuals to create their own media presence in "Media Virus."

In a witty style, Rushkoff praises the MTV generation for their ability to do - and understand - more than one thing at a time. Written in 1994, the book's seems a bit dated in its predictions... and more than slightly optimistic in speculating about the liberating aspects of new media to resurrect the political passions of Americans. Media Virus remains an excellent overview of the tensions and possibilities that television presents for political activists.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars memes in a candy shell, July 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Media Virus! (Hardcover)

_Media Virus! Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture_ by Douglas Rushkoff is about the manipulative influence of the media on our lives. Rushkoff asserts that influences from the media replicate through popular culture the way that biological viruses do, and further, can be engineered for maximum efficacy.

Examining television programs such as "Ren and Stimpy," which he believes promotes homosexuality, to media events such as the O.J. Simpson trial, which he believes is indicative of society's inability to cope with spousal abuse and interracial marriage, Rushkoff points out that much of what we watch on television consists of pointed messages carefully encapsulated in seemingly innocuous carriers. Rushkoff also points out that media viruses can be injected into popular culture from the bottom up through the use of the alternative media and the Internet.

Interesting and provocative, this book, itself a media virus, shows us how easily we as a culture can be manipulated. However, there were times in the book that I thought Rushkoff was giving more credit than was due in attributing certain effects to their creators. This book is highly recommended for those with an interest in the psychology of the media and how people can be influenced by it.