Media Screens in Public Spaces

by chrissybcm240

 

             The use of ‘public space’ in urban context today is a perfect example of the different kinds of materialization of the various unintended practices happening today. Given the context of public space, various forms of media channels such as electronic billboards and television advertisings are being installed inside shopping malls and public vehicles such as in buses and LRTs around us. It is only a matter of time until an individual stumbles upon this at least once in their lifetime.  Different individuals have their own perception in receiving, filtering and interpreting this medium based on their instinctual response. How I perceive this to be may be another’s person idea of a bad wrong doing.

              One of the most common scenario that I stumbled across upon is during my internship period where I have to take the LRT to work almost every single day for 6 months. During the midst of my journey to KLCC while, waiting on the platform for the LRT to arrive at my stop, there’s this fairly sized television that is placed in a strategic location nearby the platform for people to view. This electronic media plays different types of ads that I can vaguely recall. Each time while waiting for the LRT to arrive, more often or not I find myself standing near the TV simply because not for the reason why you thought it should be.  I find myself standing near a TV simply because I want to appear as if I’m so engrossed into what the television was playing to give out an impression that I’m occupied and that I’m in no mood to talk to strangers as it would appear that I’m busy. Another given reason was that, due to the reflective TV screens it allows me to keep checking my silhouette hair and attire to make sure it’s properly in place.

            However, there are certain times, the space in front of that TV was not solely occupied by me alone but there were a few others who would stand there being curious of the ads being played. By observing some of them, in spatial terms, there was this one office man who stands in front of the TV to talk on the phone in hoping others will not eavesdrop into his conversation due to the sound of the TV masking it a little. Besides that, there was also this one time when a rather old lady who was carrying a recycled bag who kept going back to the TV to simply check for the time to estimate when the LRT was arriving. I guess by looking at this spatial context many people are taking advantages of the uses of the Television not for the right reason but for the subliminal unintended practices that occurred.