Thomas Paines' Common Sense Vs. Drake's Hotline Bling

The ways in which we communicate greatly impact the how the consumer decodes any given message. Whether it is an audio-visual medium like a video, a long book, or a concise pamphlet, each medium provides the audience with alternative signifiers for interpreting and interacting with a message. In fact, I assert that the medium used to disseminate a message has the greatest influence on the likelihood of the message “going viral”. Using the two conceptual articulations discussed in lecture, I will be comparing Thomas Paine’s pamphlet “Common Sense”, to Drake’s new single “Hotline Bling”.

The first articulation addresses how media modes of production concurrently act as a mode of communication, mode of affect and mode of accumulation. Essentially, a medium as a mode of communication means that the medium itself creates or holds meaning; modes of affect refer to the emotional reaction the consumer has the message; and lastly, modes of accumulation refer to the acquisition of capital and/or social control as a result of the message.

This articulation is very much evident in Paine’s pamphlet, “Common Sense”. In his work, Paine argued that for the betterment of America, it was necessary that the colony immediately emancipate itself from Britain. To best spread this message, Paine created a pamphlet that used plain language to reach a larger audience (mode of communication). The extensive reach of this message fueled emotional responses from the majority of readers, either in favour or opposed to the separation (mode of affect). These emotional reactions ultimately led to the widespread consumption of the pamphlet and in turn, the institutional and financial benefit of Paine.

Similarly, Drake’s “Hotline Bling” exemplifies the first articulation. The music video enabled Drake to clearly represent the theme of the song (mode of communication). That said, many of the images presented in the video, particularly Drake’s dance moves, facilitate audience responses through memes and parodies, such as seen on SNL (mode of affect). As a result of the ease of convertibility from a music video to countless opportunities to create a meme, Drake’s music video received greater attention across different forms of media, solidifying Drake’s increasing power in the music industry (mode of accumulation).

The second articulation is concerned with the relations of production, distribution/circulation and consumption/reception of a message that are afforded through the spatio-temporal conveniences of media. The unique production of Paine’s pamphlet, specifically its brevity and use of accessible language, enabled the widespread circulation and reception of the message. This multi-faceted ease of access, contributed to the overall success of the pamphlet, and ultimately facilitated the emancipation of America.

Drake’s “Hotline Bling” was produced with the intention of providing opportunities for audiences to create their own memes. By enabling audiences to transport images from the music video, “Hotline Bling” memes facilitate greater circulation, and therefore consumption of the song.

This analysis illustrates the differences in virality in the 18^th century, with Paine’s “Common Sense” and virality in the 21^st century. Unlike today, virality in the 18^th century was no so closely connected to opportunities for audience response. Although Paine’s pamphlet did generate audience responses, they were not documented in the same way they are now, through a meme for example. Paine’s audience agreed with his message, and shared it was those around them. The combination of the obscurity of the message with the use of a pamphlet as the circulatory medium enabled the message to go viral.

Although there are similar demands on messages in the 21^st century, the likelihood of virality appears to be rooted in what Kevin Allocca refers to as the “tastemakers”. These are influential people within a community that have the authority to deem a message worthy of virality. Rather than receiving attention from a large group of average consumers, virality in the 21^st century is more easily dictated by reactions of specific people, as opposed to the reactions of many.