Interrogation of Ashala Wolf
Essay Question; Discuss how Ember’s ability can be seen as a metaphor for social media and the internet in our contemporary society.
“A systematic dissemination of information, especially in a biased or misleading way in order to promote a political cause or point of view”,this is the Oxford definition of propaganda and it unswervingly mirrors the ambitions of contemporary social media. Social media today implements retroactive interference which is the theory that information presented later interferes with the ability to retain previously encoded information. Through this theory media possesses the ultimate power, the power to manipulate our minds and replace our entire initial beliefs and preconceived notions with alternative thoughts and beliefs. Upon this realization one can then draw a parallel to Ember, a character in “The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf” which is an apocalyptic novel set in dystopian times. Ember holds the power to retrieve one’s memories, modify them and return them anew. The entire notion of manipulating one’s original beliefs reflects the objectives of media and the internet as a propaganda machine, therefore Ember can be seen as a metaphor for social media in this novel.
Most texts reinforce set ideas in society and justify them, this text on the other hand selects fixed concepts in our society, gives us the means to understand them then allows us to decide whether they are (avoid using contractions in academic writing) acceptable or not. The object under analysis today is social media. Ember, is seen as a metaphor for social media generally because of her influence on the mind and our consciousness (the minds of the characters in the novel). Both social media/internet and Ember possess the power to infiltrate your mental barriers and influence the masses. For example when Ember states, “I’m in your head, I’m part of your consciousness” (Kwaymullina, 2012 p.?) we are situated to recognize the media’s extensive presence in our minds.
“A systematic dissemination of information, especially in a biased or misleading way in order to promote a political cause or point of view”,this is the Oxford definition of propaganda and it unswervingly mirrors the ambitions of contemporary social media. Social media today implements retroactive interference which is the theory that information presented later interferes with the ability to retain previously encoded information. Through this theory media possesses the ultimate power, the power to manipulate our minds and replace our entire initial beliefs and preconceived notions with alternative thoughts and beliefs. Upon this realization one can then draw a parallel to Ember, a character in “The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf” which is an apocalyptic novel set in dystopian times. Ember holds the power to retrieve one’s memories, modify them and return them anew. The entire notion of manipulating one’s original beliefs reflects the objectives of media and the internet as a propaganda machine, therefore Ember can be seen as a metaphor for social media in this novel.
Most texts reinforce set ideas in society and justify them, this text on the other hand selects fixed concepts in our society, gives us the means to understand them then allows us to decide whether they are (avoid using contractions in academic writing) acceptable or not. The object under analysis today is social media. Ember, is seen as a metaphor for social media generally because of her influence on the mind and our consciousness (the minds of the characters in the novel). Both social media/internet and Ember possess the power to infiltrate your mental barriers and influence the masses. For example when Ember states, “I’m in your head, I’m part of your consciousness” (Kwaymullina, 2012 p.?) we are situated to recognize the media’s extensive presence in our minds.