Tactical Media - Origins

Origins

Tactical media is said to have risen following the fall of the Berlin Wall, where a certain rebirth of social, political, economical and media activism occurred. This activist spirit soon reached both media specialists and artists, creating the groundwork of tactical media. In many ways, it was made possible by the availability of cheaper technology and by open forms of distribution, such as public-access television and the Internet. Through tactical media, participants are able to attract attention to an issue they feel strongly about and want society to be aware of or get involved in.

Most who have written about tactical media would agree that its current form and meaning come from French philosopher Michel de Certeau, more specifically in his 1984 essay "The Practice of Everyday Life". As part of this essay, De Certeau debated that consumers actually act as producers within our society, moving in a technocratically constructed space and using an already established vocabulary. The importance to De Certeau is that these practices "determines the elements used, but not the 'phrasing' produced by the bricolage (the artisan-like inventiveness) and the discursiveness that combine these elements, which are all in general circulation." This distinction between the elements used within a society and the system under which they are used is critical to the study of tactical media. In his essay, De Certeau appeared to suggest that one could easily use these social elements in a creative manner that would fall outside of the system under which they are to be used.

Once this distinction was made, De Certeau also pushed forward the idea of how the elements found within a society could be used. One of these was to use them as a "tactic", which he believed to " itself into the other's place, fragmentarily, without taking it over in its entirety, without being able to keep it at a distance. It has at its disposal no base where it can capitalize on its advantages, prepare its expansions, and secure independence with respect to circumstances". Due to its lack of space, he also characterized a tactic to be dependent on time, needing to be constantly on the watch for opportunities that must be quickly seized or needing to manipulate events in order to turn them into opportunities.

By mixing the nature of tactics with the use of media, a new type of activism was created. It used elements of a particular system in a creative manner that fell outside its practices, creating resistance through difference. De Certeau's concept of a tactic also explains why most tactical media campaigns are quick, effective and current.

However successful a particular campaign or a particular group may be, its ultimate goal is not to replace a certain media outlet, for tactical media discourages branding because of the probable outcome that a similar cycle as the one attacked would be created once again. It must therefore be understood that tactical media never reaches a state of perfection; it is constantly changing, because it constantly needs to question the system under which it operates.

Although it is possible for tactical media to be representative of the local views of a specific area, it is usually present on a global level. There are plenty of tactical media projects that operate on a physical space, but it most often uses networked space and the Internet, making its span stretch over the entire planet. The virtual nature of the space it occupies also allows it to create new channels towards the hierarchies of power it fights against. A certain tactic does not need to attack in person or on a physical level, but it can attack virtual and free space where the dominant have little control. This important element makes a tactical media project not the work of certain identifiable individuals but an entity in itself, which most likely helps convey the message it attempts to communicate.