Enactivism and Inactivism. Media, Migrations, and the Rhetoric of Empathy
It is in the nature or media to provide mediation, that is, a paradoxical and oxymoronic experience that, simultaneously, grants access to inaccessible or distant worlds, and prevents us from its actual dangers; exposes to the thrill of strong emotions and protects from the physical injuries and psychical trauma that they would cause; allows us to meet and interact and yet keeps us at a distance, socially separate, as in the pandemic era we are facing right now.
With the advent of immersive digital media, this dynamic has become more evident. And in front of global crisis and issues, such as migration, media offer empathy as a way to fill the gap, a remedy to the lack of direct experience, allowing people to “share” such suffering. I would like to intervene on its general and generic meaning (putting oneself in the other’s shoes to understand him or her) as it is used to propel …