Considering religion and mediatisation through a case study of J+K's big day (The J K wedding entrance dance): A response to Stig Hjarvard

Abstract

This article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of Hjarvard's theory of the mediatisation of religion. By suggesting actor-network theory as a methodological approach to the study of the mediatisation of religion, this article proposes a case study of the viral wedding video, J K wedding entrance dance, to highlight problems with the assertion that the media are replacing or displacing religion's authoritative role in society. Drawing upon recent theories of how digital and mobile media are reshaping society by enabling participation, remediation and bricolage, I suggest instead that the media do not bring about secularisation, but rather that the media are contributing to a personalisation of what it means to be religious (or not). This article thus introduces an alternative definition to the concept of mediatisation: that mediatisation may be understood as the process by which collective uses of communication media extend the development of independent media industries and their circulation of narratives, contribute to new forms of action and interaction in the social world and give shape to how we think of humanity and our place in the world.

Keywords:

• mediatisation
• personalisation
• secularisation
• actor-network theory
• wedding
• viral video

Notes

1. This definition borrows from but also elaborates upon Thompson's idea of ‘mediasation’ introduced in 1995. I place this citation in the footnotes to avoid even more possible confusion of mediatization, mediation, and mediasation as terms that describe somewhat overlapping and somewhat distinct processes. The difference between my work and Thompson's is twofold: first, I am interested in exploring the affordances of technology, or what particular communication technologies make possible at specific times. Therefore, my work aims to incorporate an historical understanding of social change into Thompson's social theory. Second, I am interested in how collective human actions double back to intensify the development of independent media industries and their circulation.

2. Some, such as Fou (2009), dispute the claim that it was Kevin's father who uploaded the video on 19 July, noting that it could have been someone from within Sony or within Chris Brown's entourage that uploaded that version of the video, or at least re-uploaded it with a corrected and more palatable sound mix and then selected that video numerous times to push up its measure of recorded views.

3. Livingstone (2009) suggests the syllogism between media studies' interests in studying how communication media mediate, linguists' interests in studying how language mediates, and consumption studies' interests in studying how material goods mediate. I thank her for this insight.