The Desire for Transparency in an Era of Hybridity

Our culture has come to appreciate hybrid representational practices not only in digital media but also in traditional forms such as television and film. Nevertheless, our culture's fascination with a contrary representational practice—its “desire for immediacy”—remains strong. The desire for immediacy manifests itself not only in popular entertainment forms, but also (with unfortunate results) in the popular understanding of forms of scientific representation.