When I used to read how-to books for writing sci-fi and fantasy stories as a kid, they would always talk about the term, “in medias res.” It means starting your story in the middle instead of the beginning:

In medias res is Latin for “into the middle of things.” It usually describes a narrative that begins, not at the beginning of a story, but somewhere in the middle — usually at some crucial point in the action. The term comes from the ancient Roman poet Horace, who advised the aspiring epic poet to go straight to the heart of the story instead of beginning at the beginning.

The gist of this advice is usually something to do with “capturing the attention of the reader” or something like that. The skill is supposed to be that you can drop somebody into the middle of a situation, and gradually expose them to what’s going on, rather than just having a bunch of chapters of straight exposition which might read something like an encyclopedia. The natural inclination for writers seems to be that you start at what the “true” beginning of the story is, as you understand it. But what audiences want is to be included immediately, not some long buildup.

Anyway, this has got me thinking about the nature of “media” itself, in terms of books, movies, tv, etc. Being a plural of the word “medium” it means something which stands between, almost like an interface. An interface between people, and between people and ideas and experiences. “In medias res” here might be understood as this is where we all start. We all start in the “in-between”, manipulating the interface to both communicate and understand. It’s also interesting to me that the term “medium” when used by spiritualists refers to someone who is able to channel spirits, which will sometimes inhabit the medium, and speak through her body. This too seems oddly appropriate for understanding mass media, as inviting the habitation of spirits from far off realms.