Postcolonial Media Theory

Through out Fernandez article she mentions the difference between the postcolonial media theory and the electronic media theory. Postcolonial Media Theory is primarily concerned with the European imperialism and its effects. The construction of European master discourses, resistance, identity, representation, agency, gender, and migration. On the other hand, the electronic media theory is concerned with the establishment of the electronics as a valid and even dominant field of practice. The electronic media theory continually pushes the idea of how a computer will bring inherent liberty. Therefore, society promote people to use the computer to enjoy the freedom of the cyberspace. However, not every has these privileges. One needs to pay to gain this freedom. For instance, Barlow mentions how in Africa electronics is a rare commodity because computers requires money, utility infrastructure, and literacy. Even though the two theories have many opposing goals, they both have many writings about the body, identity, feminism, and history that could eventually be used to toward a common ground for both theories. The electronic media theory thinks the body is a virtual one and eventually humans will evolve to machines. While the postcolonial media theory emphasizes the physical body. Identity is concerned with ethnicity, nationality, gender, and how one is the author of one's identity. It is emphasizes the present, self development, and recreation. The Postcolonial media theory is very similar but it emphasizes the past, the history, and how one is socially constructed. According to the postcolonial media theory, if you are nonwhite than you are cyborg; however, the electronic media theory doesn't really think these "cyborgs" are much of a problem. Finally, history according to the electronic media theory, is non existent and are all found through digital archives. While the postcolonial media theory emphasizes the need and the importance of history. All of these ideas represent the parallels with few points of intersection between the two theories.