2020 has been a comedy of errors. At least, I keep telling myself that one day we’ll be able to look back and laugh. But for the moment many of us are turning to media for comfort, escape, information, and connection. Our internet tendency was no doubt formed long before Covid, but the last six months of isolation has put it at the center of our consciousness. The authors who have contributed to this year’s essay series grapple with media of all kinds, from all over the world, and they bring up questions we should all be confronting:
What does our media say about our culture? What does our reliance on media say about us as individuals? How does the media we consume change us? Does the infinite connection of social media really bring us closer together?
In his essay, novelist Richard Santos chronicles the astounding quantity of media that he—like many of us—has consumed during the pandemic. Poet Dorothy Chan unpacks the portrayal of love and family in advertisements in Hong Kong with searing clarity. Sebastián Páramo, a poet and editor, looks for peace and connection in the heart emoji as he apartment-shops in the apocalypse. And poet Ben Fama digs deep into the horror film, Neon Demon, to understand how art teaches us how to perceive it.
There’s a lot competing for your attention right now, but I hope you’ll stick around and read a little. Have just one more essay.
Stay safe and healthy,
Tatiana Ryckman
Editor, Awst Press
“Media Essay” by Richard Z. Santos
”In These Uncertain Times” by Sebastián H. Páramo, PhD
”A Series of Hong Kong Commercials” by Dorothy Chan
Neon Demon (2016): Nicolas Winding Refn’s Dangerous Supplement by Ben Fama