Assemblage is the composition and interactions of different elements include nonhumans and humans. All posts and videos we see online are just small parts of the assemblage. Assemblage shows the relationship between humans and technology. Take Tiktok as an example, creators need to come up with the idea and they want to create a trend and think about a way to gain more attention from others. Then they need skills to film and edit their short videos. Then they will submit and through a manual and systematic review. After that, the system will send short videos to different people according to their searching records and tastes. Moreover, people need to use equipment so that they can see these videos. After the video forms a trend, people just need to click the tags so that they can see many relative videos and make the same one. However, all these things must be done with wifi. Assemblage is like a robot. If any one of its parts is missing, it will not function. It shows how media works: combining human thinking and the use of technology. Assemblage provides a lens for us to see and understand these social media from different ways.
4 thoughts on “Assemblage-Zoey Zeng”
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I understand what you mean when you say that “assemblage is like a robot.” An assemblage has many working and functional gears, where removing one entity from an assemblage will affect the entirety of the assemblage as a whole. It’s clear to see the infrastructure of an assemblage through things such as tiktok, or other social medias as there are so many things that exist in order for, in this case tiktok, to exist today.
I agree with your take on the assemblage of TikTok and its human and nonhuman elements. In class, we discussed how there were more human elements to TikTok than listed. In your example, you cover the idea of human elements, but I think it is important to consider the device utilized. The device, such as a phone, serves as a way to download the app, to take pictures, to have speakers to listen to music, and so much more. I think your comparison of assemblage to a robot is an interesting take, and I agree that this keyword allows us to take a deeper look into the smaller elements that make social medias.
My group in class discussed the Tiktok app as an assemblage and I agree with the process that you outlined about how the app works. I thought the comparison to a robot in reference to assemblage was very correct because all the components need to be somehow inter connected before the goal is achieved. I also liked that you talked about this modern world ideology of human thinking combined with technology which leaves the question of whether technology will at one point not need the human component of the assemblage
I am also interested in your idea of how humans (Tiktok’s consumers) are a part of the assemblage. Think that this idea makes a lot of sense. Tiktok relies on human interaction to spread videos and increase engagement. Without it, the app would not function the way that it is built to since it relies heavily on its algorithms that allow things to trend. Some assemblages, such as anything that is printed, do not rely on human interaction to exist. However, with online media, I think humans are a vital part of assemblages.