My first problem with nominating a media text that represents 'my culture' is that I don't really feel that I have a strong cultural background that I can draw upon. I am a white, straight, lower middle class male. The definition of an average background.

The one area that I feel defines me is music.

My initial reaction to nominating a media text was a mix tape. There were several reasons for this. Firstly, the cassette tape is from my 'era' (as I am a student who verges dangerously on the cusp of being officially 'mature'), secondly the majority of my life is spent talking about, listening to and sharing music that I love with people, and finally the 'mix tape' is a very important item in my own life, with many tapes made and also received that represent certian times and people in my life.

Unfortunately the mix tape misses one huge part of my life: the act of creating music. This led me to evolve my choice to simply a blank cassette tape. This represents the opportunity to create music, share existing music, or receive new music. The perfect representation of how I live my life, and my culture.

I did worry whether a blank tape counted as a 'media text', so in a final twist I nominate the book 'High Fidelity' by Nick Hornby. In the book the main protaganist Rob lives and defines his life through pop music and the production of mix tapes. If someone were to write a book about my life, this book would be pretty much 90% accurate, so I can't think of a better text to put forward.

Now, I'm off to enjoy a nice mix tape I've just been sent. Very apt.