On the afternoon of October 26, the fourth installment of the first season of the “Knowledgeable of the Hua Yuan” reading club series, “Overtones of the Times, was successfully held in the school’s fourth-floor library.
New Perspectives on Geography of Media is written by Professor Shao Peiren. This book inherits the thought of “the unity of heaven, earth and man” in traditional Chinese culture. It also demonstrates the “openness” of media geography research by establishing the research objective of the overall interaction, harmonious balance, coexistence, and prosperity of “the heaven, the earth, the man and the media while utilizing the principles and methods of media geography.
The presenter gave a thorough introduction to the core ideas, such as space, time, location, landscape, and scale discussed in the book. He also provided a detailed analysis from the standpoint of film and television communication. According to him, how people view the present time and space will influence how media content is produced, which will then influence how people think and behave. For instance, the portrayal of Chongqing, a city with a surrealistic temperament, in the movie Crazy Stone and Hot Pot Hero is essential to the development of the film’s intricate and perplexing plot. The film brought up an influx of imaginative and yearning tourists, which further aided in the growth of the region's tourism industry.
The reading club’s interlocutor, Zheng Yang, posed his query on the state of media growth at the moment: is media geography itself at odds with the information level and paradigm offered by virtual reality technology of the metaverse? The presenter clarified that there is no conflict between media and geography since they are a community of categories that engage with one another and each other through interdisciplinary interaction, which offers a framework for observation and a way of thinking. In this regard, Professor Rui Jian expanded on this by stating that media may discuss more than just geography or place. The key point is: How does the media shape stereotypes, or how does the media break the shackles of stereotypes? Media geography is rooted in culture. It is important to recognize how media content awakens the cultural memory and cultural psychology of the public. Teachers and students in attendance demonstrated a keen interest in the topic of “Northeast China and Chongqing have become a hot land for suspense stories,” and there was a lively exchange of ideas during the conference. Niu Chaojie, the presenter, held that regional traits, social history, and psychological factors are the primary causes.
In addition to breaking free from the conceptual discussion around media and communication, New Perspectives on Geography of Media dispels the myth of media geography’s institutionalization within the discipline and takes a more open-minded approach to studying the cross-disciplinary encounter zone. Professor Rui Jian provided the students with professional advice, elucidating the meaning of the book and assessing its applicability in real-world situations.
The fourth phase of “Knowledgeable of the Hua Yuan” was effectively ended with a lively and thoughtful discussion. The reading club activity gave the students fresh ideas for their scholarly studies in addition to broadening their theoretical perspectives.
