Poster: Pre-class

In the Poster's piece, "Pstomodern Virtualities," he starts off by commenting on postmodern culture and new systems of communication, and how these two discussions are related. The fast-paced flow of advances in the technology of communication have allowed for equally fast-paced changes in our society. From the telephone, to the radio, television to the internet, each of these forms of media have changed how we as a culture interact and communicate with one another. Poster comments how "critical theorists such as Benjamin, Enzenberger and McLuhan envisioned the democratic potential of the increased communication capacity of radio, film and television" (443). The government has funded and censored some aspects of the internet, which since its creation has become an essential part of modern human life, both for the common, everyday person, to the institutions that govern us. The invention of the cell phone has revolutionized how we communicate with one another; we can find out how someone is doing half way around the world with the touch of a few buttons. Everyone I know never leaves home without their cell phone; they feel naked without it. And with technologies like texting, video chat, and social media sites, staying in touch is easier than ever.