Abstract
On entering the twenty-first century, our media environment has been dramatically
changed by the development of digital computer technology and the
Internet, the spread of mobile information terminals, and the arrival of new
technology such as VR, AR, and IoT. How can we develop critical media theory
that has historically focused on mass media: newspapers, radio, and television?
How do we identify with the media, when the media is fragmented and pene trates our society, everyday life, and even our bodies? This paper tries to map
out some concepts in order to propose（ a） critical media theo（r ies） in the Post-
Media age.
The paper explores four shifts along with the transformation of the media:
from the culture industry（ Horkheimer and Adorno） to the creative industries,
from Fordism （Gramsci） to Post-Fordism （the Regulation School）, from the
media as messages （McLuhan） to the meta-medium as software （Manovich）,
and from the disciplinary societies （Foucault） to the societies of control
（Deleuze）. How the nature of the media, the relationship between human
beings and environment, and the power relation in capitalism have been transformed
is discussed through examining these shifts.
Following the British Cultural Studies’ theoretical tradition, which has been
concerned with articulations of different, sometimes contradictory theories,
historical conjunctures, and contingencies, the paper proposes a new theorization
of power in the digital media through re-considering the central concept of
Marxist critical theory: ideology. It also discusses how we can articulate the
theory of ideology in the Left’s politics with the latest affective theory.
