Digital storytelling

Recently I watched a BBC mini-documentary about the Roman Emperor Augustus which threw up a really fascinating theory.

Without going into too much details, Augustus used the popular artform of his day to project himself as a pacifist to manipulate and gain the trust of the monarchists, who wanted Rome to be under the rule of a monarchy. He succeeded and came to power, placing Rome under his dictatorship. Interestingly, under Augustus's rule, Rome flourished and enjoyed much prosperity because of his policies and reforms. BTW since this is the month of August, I did some checking and found out that the month of August was so named in honour of Augustus.

Throughout human history, across every language and culture, people have sought to articulate themselves through artistic expressions. We learn to tell stories and share ideas using images and sounds, from Roman sculptures to the wayang kulit and MTV. These mediums evoke powerful feelings and sometimes even alter our perception of reality. In today’s cluttered media landscape, we are constantly bombarded with media designed to assault our visual and aural senses. Art have always played a part and will continue to do so in the new media in the form of digital storytelling.

Politicians have long been able to skillfully exploit the media to engage and influence the masses. In this digital age, agendas are no longer set on canvas or cast in stone but enacted in the converging technologies of print, television and increasingly, the internet. We can expect to see and hear more politicians, celebrities and the average citizen tapping on the power of the new media in the now. Happy National Day.