物質と環境

ユッシ・パリッカの物質主義的メディア理論

抄録

This article examines the media theory developed by Jussi Parikka under the influence of the new materialism during the 2010s and clarifies its potential in current media studies in Japan. Parikka’s media theory is widely discussed from the recent philosophical trends of the Anthropocene and post-humanity in addition to the new materialism perspective. In contrast, this article emphasizes Parikka’s re-evaluation of Kittlerian and post-Kittlerian German media theory (including cultural techniques) and his attempt to reconsider the issues of cultural studies and political economy confronting the recent transformation of the media. Similar to the former media theorists such as Marshall McLuhan or Friedrich Kittler, Parikka’s media theory enables us to reconsider the materiality of the media and expands the field of media studies by reframing the question "What is media?" and the concept of the "media" itself. However, as Parikka declares, not only is his focus on materiality and ecology theoretically important, but it is also significant for the critical and political analysis of the material aspects of digital media and culture, such as the circulation of digital devices and e-waste, and programming as labor. Although his discussion is wide-ranging, this article outlines Parikka’s materialist media theory and elaborates in two directions: (1) its expansion of the research fields of media ecology and (2) its detailed analysis of the cultural techniques of cognitive capitalism. Finally, I discuss the theory’s potential in the development of empirical media studies and media history in the Japanese context, based on its theoretical perspectives.