Critically discuss how one method in Media and Cultural Studies Essay

Critically discuss how one method in Media and Cultural Studies presented in term 2 of the module has been applied to an aspect of everyday life - Essay Example In terms of media-oriented cultural studies, and with the onslaught of various media brought about by post-globalization, ethnography have developed several methods that have departed itself from the traditional concept of qualitative research to a more reflexive approach that is more dependent in terms of interpretations, analysis, and assumptions of the researcher (Barker, p. 32-33). This paper is aimed at studying the application of various ethnographic methods through up-to-date, relevant examples of its usage and provides an analysis of each of the methods’ strengths and weaknesses. A classic ethnographic method that has undergone a postmodern approach is participant observation. Traditionally, participant observation involves empirical field work through participation in the day-to-day activities of the object of study with informal interviews towards better understanding of the meaning and reasoning behind the activities being performed. The time frame of study varies but has steadily declined over the years due to the cost and complexity of the method (as cited in Pickering, p. 107-108). With the proliferation of mass media such as television and internet, participant observations have become part of a pop cultural phenomenon not only dedicated in educating people about various cultures of isolated ethnic groups but creating a spectacle out of it. Take for instance National Geographic Channel’s Meet the Natives UK (2007) and Discovery Channel’s Adventures of Mark and Olly: Living with the Kombai (2007). Both television programs are aimed at documenting culture through the eyes of the observers—through their own interpretation of the culture. In Meet the Natives UK (2007), five tribesmen from Tanna in the South Pacific made the journey to Britain to observe and participate on various aspects of the English’ culture. With it, the tribesmen would constantly analyze and compare Britain’s culture [and technology] from their own thus