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Saturday, April 11, 2015

Theory essay in response to Sabine Braun’s Multimedia communication technologies and their impact on interpreting

Brief Background

            Due to fast development of products with high technological value, mankind is now permitted to have real time interaction without requiring physical or actual co-existence. Technology slowly disconnected people while allowing them to talk about personal affairs, business and schooling in the virtual world.

On interpretation

            The article of Sabine Braun focused on the impact of Multimedia communication technologies on interpreting with the consideration to communication barriers such as differences in culture, age, comprehension capability and etc. Braun forgot to mention anything about gatekeeping which lies in the mediums of communication (TV, Internet, Radio, Phone, and Newspaper) which are dominantly controlled by the ruling class/ usual source of information. The interpreter will always be biased to whom he/she is interpreting for.

What should be the arguments?

1.      Technological development especially in the field of communication is slowly detaching people from real life, emotional and physical connection from each other. These could be noticed on how people are declaring relationship only on virtual world such as Facebook, twitter and etc.

Also, in 1950s, candidates for a certain position in government have no choice but to see his constituents face to face to discuss his/her platforms, giving the voters a chance to scrutinize the personality of the candidate. Today, people are just bombarded with advertisements courtesy of biggest media companies in the country.
2.      The advantage of multimedia communication technology is that the people are given the opportunity to question the anti-people policies imposed by the government. Today, it is visible that the Internet already became a mechanism for political and economic discussions.

3.      Interpreter also serves as a gatekeeping machinery. The state with its ideological apparatuses such as the church and media has the ability to manage or limit information to be disseminated to people, hoping to make them believe in the illusion of change and development.

4.      Braun is right on the issue of communication barriers, but we have to focus on gatekeeping concern.  


We have to understand that the technological developments particularly on Multimedia communication are intended to maximize the cyber world/internet, Television, Radio and other mediums as tools for propaganda dissemination

What is to be done?
            Maximize the social media, new technologies to expose and oppose the propaganda of the state while giving the alternative/ solution to societal problems. Braun’s researches are helpful only during the socialist construction in the Philippines, it could be used to propagate the new, and better society for the people.

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