1) Jean Baudrillard basically helped me to look at Enzenberger's articles and concepts in another point-of -view. Baudrillard basically critiqued the article and talked about its many contradictions. She quoted from him in his theory that "in the present order the media are purely and simply means of distribution". She helped me to see that is wrong because of the many different uses of the media: phones, social networking, etc. Other than this, she broke down how she disagreed with a lot of what Enzenberger had to say on his "socialist" strategy article.
2) Baudrillard explains the mass media as fabricators of non-communication and "speakers in such a way as to exclude any response from anywhere". (Baudrillard, 1972, p. 281) She says that they have the power since they make it in a way where no one can respond. But she also agrees with Enznenberger with the fact that mass media for the first time made it possible for mass participation in a social process.
3) The formula of the communication process (formulated by Roman Jakobsen) is as follows:
TRANSMITTER-- MESSAGE-- RECEIVER
(ENCODER-- MESSAGE-- DECODER)
This formula shows the process of how the message is transmitted, its content, and its audience. We decode the message based upon how it is set-up to us. When dealing with the media, it is very easy for them to relay a message to us and have us believe whatever they intend for us to believe.
The article does seem to call for socialism. I agree with Baudrillard when she says that teh media has become a process of producers and consumers. We all tune in to see what report we'll hear next and this is the problem that Baudrillard sees since this doesn't seem to fall in line iwth what communication is, therefore, the media according to Baudrillard is not communicating with us but simply giving us messages we take at face value.
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