As I began reading the section in the book I notice right off the bat that there were two opposing sides surrounding the subject of the media and how it influences us. One side believes that we as a society influence the media and have a say in what is projected in it, the other believes that in fact it is the media that has a hold on us and tells us what to think and impacts us instead of the other way around. I don’t disagree with either side I think that society and media interact in a certain way where we impact what is in the media and the media impacts what we believe. As I read through the assigned reading I notice some important passages or quotes that caught my attention and really stuck out to me, the first one is, “Schiller was a powerful proponent of the theory that media is structured by the economic conditions under which it operates” I believe that to be entirely true, we can take note of that now more so then ever before. With the economy is bad we can see the media covering more things such as deals and sales in stores and products, ways to save money, also economic hardships and what is causing them. I am positive if the economy were better the media would be trying to sell people on buying expensive products but instead the media is showing how to save by buying cheaper products since the economy is bad but they still want to profit.
The section titled “the mind managers” got my attention with some of the things that they stated. I think that this section really gets into the question that is if American values are shaped by the mass media or if the media is shaped after the American values. The concept of mind mangers as stated in the book is referred to as “the ones that create, process, refine and preside over the circulation of images and information which determine our beliefs and attitudes and ultimately our behavior” (4) I believe that freedom of speech protects their right to influence us in the manor that they do and have been. They have the right to control and state what they want, while on the other had it is not freedom of speech entirely since they are controlling what is out there and how it is put out there for everyone to see. Although I think that they are in their right to control what they say and project to the mass population one must question how free we really to state what we want if something like the media managers exists that controls the freedom not just of what is out there but also of what people believe in.
The section “The mind managers” also stated that “manipulation of the mind is an instrument of conquest; the dominant elites try to conform the masses to their objectives. By using myths which explain, justify, and sometimes even glamorize the prevailing conditions of existence manipulators secure popular support for a social order that is not in the majority’s long-term real interest” (4) I think that this is most commonly seen in the news, or by politicians, the best and most recent way that I think many of us can think of this is with the Iraq war. Bush wanted the masses to conform to his objective which was the war on Iraq; he managed to get that to occur after claiming they had weapons of mass destruction, they were terrorists and caused 911. He manipulated the situation and got the masses to go along with his plan by justifying the war because they had weapons and were a treat and lastly glamorized it by stating we were helping these people by liberating them.
The last two sections “Manipulation and the packed consciousness: five myths that structure content” and “ a cultural approach to communication” have little that stood out to me when reading them but each had one important part to them that makes the reading in all important. First, was “The Myth of individualism and personal choice” which was under “Manipulation and the packed consciousness: five myths that structure content” This section gave me the most trouble to grasp because we as humans strive to fit in with the society as a group but we also like to think that we are unique and individuals. We believe that our actions, personality and preferences are unique and all our own, when in reality nothing is unique. We may think we like something because we have our own personal taste, but the truth is we are never the only ones to like something, and most likely we are not the first or the lasts to like a specific product. The media has a lot to do with building up the idea that we are individuals and yet it also breaks down that same concept through forms such as advertising. Through advertizing people think that they are unique by seeing the vast amount of products and choosing the ones that they personally like causing a feeling of personality and individuality when in reality millions are watching the same thing and several are picking the same thing someone else did. Individuality is built up by the media by giving people choice but broken down when we see others with the same thing.
The last section of the reading that stuck out to me was found in the section titled, “ A cultural approach to communication” The section first stated that “ we not only produce reality but we must likewise maintain what we have produced for there are always new generations coming along for whom our productions are incipiently problematic and for whom reality must be regenerated and made authority”(23) This quote makes me think of the overall question which is if American Values are shaped by the mass media or is the media shaped by the American values? I think that the lines to this question become blurred within the relationship of the media with the values. I think that in a way it goes both ways. I believe that one cannot survive without the other. I see that we created the stories that are being shown in the media, we create the drama and the news in the media essentially, but the media also impacts us for we believe and shape our ideals after what we are feed through the media. I think that it is a never ending circle of impact. I think that sadly another great example of this was with 911, we were fed through the media the type of person that was in question for what had occurred, we believed them to be the treat and in return as a society made it a even bigger issue and targeted all, while making race the media target for many believed that we were in danger when the real story was not race but the events that were occurring. I think that is an example of the media society relationship and how we impact each other, due to the media’s coverage many became skeptical and afraid which in return made it an even bigger story and subject as the news had to make race the news and issue since so many now feared it. As the quote states once we make something as a reality we cannot go back and change it, in this case 911 will forever be seen as the doings of terrorists with a certain racial affiliation. While people have seemed to have moved on and forgotten the anger no one realizes that the power of the media has made it so that from now on and for generations to come it will be looked back and seen as a certain race was to blame instead of certain individuals. Which should make us think of the power the media has and how although American values and beliefs influence the media, the media also impacts the American values to a point where it can alter the values, beliefs and course of action of the nation completely.
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