On Making as Political

I wanted to address the broader question of ‘Why is everyday creativity important?’ Because I feel that it’s incredibly important - important for society - and therefore political… it is the fact that people have made a choice - to make something themselves rather than just consume what’s given by the big suppliers - that is significant. Amplified slightly, it leads to a whole new war of looking at things, and potentially to a real political shift in how we deal with the world. (p.19)

Gauntlett wants to make a big statement about the power of creativity. For him, everyday creativity is a philosophy that champions human agency and self-expression. This is particularly relevant for online and digital media technologies because he recognizes that, depending on how we choose to design these systems, they can easily fall back on a more confined, broadcast model.

Certainly, when we think about new (or old) forms of media, the extent to which they enable free and creative self-expression is, I think, absolutely crucial. On the one hand, this seems obvious - and therefore barely worth writing about. But, on the other hand, a concern for individual everyday autonomy is frequently not raised as a critical dimension when new technologies, applications, or toys are being evaluated. Often, video games and online applications are launched with hype about their ‘interactive’ or networked ‘collaborative’ features, but are actually more-or-less closed worlds which do not enable the users to make their mark on the system, and consequently deny them the opportunity to ‘express their meaning in action.’ (p.174)

Gauntlett also goes out of his way to point out that this philosophy shouldn’t be interpreted as an endorsement of neoliberal ideas that free market forces and individual self-sufficiency should take precedence over everything else.

‘Making is connecting’ suggests that society is stronger, and kinder, when we take time to listen to the voices around us, when we pay attention to the diverse stories presented through the everyday creativity of our fellow human beings, and when we engage helpfully in the world. To suggest that it is rewarding and inspiring to make a fix things for oneself, rather than relying on external forces, is not at all to say that there should not be external services which provide security and support for individuals, families, and communities. (p.227)

I appreciate this note because I feel it’s important to recognize that a belief in individual creativity doesn’t have to mean it’s everyone for themselves.

Gauntlett is an optimist when it comes to the potential of people making things in the world and offers it as a antidote to the all-too-common consumer model that technology and digitial media falls into.

If we are willing to consider an optimistic possibility, I would argue that the ‘making is connecting’ power of the internet… offers us a potential way to disrupt the inevitability and dominance of the one-size-fits-all broadcasting and consumerism model, and to enhance the power of voice. (p.231)