In his book “Homo Videns”, Giovanni Sartori draws attention to the impact of audiovisual media on human cognitive abilities.
The central thesis is that “Homo sapiens” is giving way to “Homo videns”, meaning we are transitioning from a culture of writing to a culture of the image.
He has always been highly critical of the role of television and those who control audiovisual media, but he reflects on and denounces the very instrument that is undermining written culture.
«We are in the midst of a rapid multimedia revolution. This process has numerous ramifications (the Internet, personal computers, cyberspace) and yet is characterized by a common denominator: watching television, and, consequently, our video-life.
In this book, we will focus on television, and the central thesis is that video is transforming Homo sapiens, a product of written culture, into Homo videns, for whom the word has been dethroned by the image. Everything ends up being visualized.
But what happens to what cannot be visualized (which is the majority)? Thus, while we worry about who controls the media, we fail to realize that it is the medium itself that has slipped from our grasp.
We lament the fact that television encourages violence, and also that it provides little and poor information, or that it is culturally regressive (as Habermas has written). This is true. But it is even more true and even more important to understand that the act of watching television is changing human nature. This is the crux of the matter, the essential point, which until now has escaped our notice. And yet, it is quite evident that the world we live in rests on the fragile shoulders of the “video-child”: a brand-new type of human being raised on television—in front of a screen—even before learning to read and write.» (Pág. 11)
On this basis, Giovanni Sartori reflects in “Homo Videns” on the role and power of television media in politics; he also reflects on the formation of public opinion in this new visual context.
He also analyzes how the capacity of human beings to understand abstract concepts is reduced since these do not necessarily have a graphic representation.
Furthermore, he reflects on the future of society based on the way children are immersed in the audiovisual world and their potential difficulties in understanding concepts, as well as the gradual decline in the human capacity to comprehend complexity.
On the other hand, as one of the most important scholars of democracy, he analyzes the impact of video politics on elections, the constructed realities, the perception of globalization as seen through television, and the weakness of the demos, subjected to or immersed in the visual realm.
Finally, he acknowledges that nothing goes against the grain, and that the future is the age of multimedia, but he emphasizes that this is an opportunity as long as we don’t end up living a pointless life. Therefore, he maintains:
«I don’t intend to halt the multimedia age. I know perfectly well that in the not-too-distant future, a majority of the population in wealthy countries will have, in addition to a television, a minicomputer connected to the internet at home. This development is inevitable and, ultimately, useful; but it is useful only as long as it doesn’t lead to a pointless existence, a way of living that consists solely of killing time. Therefore, I don’t intend to stop the inevitable..» (pág. 12)
An excellent and ever-relevant work for understanding the world we live in.
Publishing: Taurus | Year: 1997 | Pages: 165 | PDF download not available