Wednesday's class got me thinking about something my uncle said to me about a year ago when my aunt was going through her "Dr. Oz knows everything" phase. He said that medical talk show host Dr. Oz, who acts as a guide and foremost authority on all medical issues, should be called Dr. Ooze. I was confused: why would I call him that? It's funny but it's weird. My uncle said he felt like Dr. Oz oozed a certain type of assurance and authority that made people love him.
Bordieu says: "Our news anchors, our tack show hosts, and out sports announcers have turned into two-bit spiritual guides, representatives of middle-class morality. They are always telling us what we 'should think' about what they cal 'social problems,' such as violence in the inner city or in the schools. The same in true for art and literature, where the best-known of the so-called literary programs serve the establishment of ever-more obsequiously promote social conformity and market values." (M 254)
Dr. Oz's viewers don't know his qualifications or even if he's an actor pretending to be a doctor. People believe in Dr. Oz and what he says because he is a face of what media ideology tells us we should believe and look up to. This also happens with shows such as Oprah and Jerry Springer like we talked about in class.
I had never wondered why people looked up to these media outlets other than their presence on mainstream television and extremely popular among those who watch daytime TV. But thinking about our discussion in class and the way that my aunt was so obsessed with the idea that a TV personality such as Dr. Oz was a major authoritative person on every medical issue, it has dawned on me how much these ideologies presented in the media and through TV are such a presence in our daily lives.
Bordieu says: "Our news anchors, our tack show hosts, and out sports announcers have turned into two-bit spiritual guides, representatives of middle-class morality. They are always telling us what we 'should think' about what they cal 'social problems,' such as violence in the inner city or in the schools. The same in true for art and literature, where the best-known of the so-called literary programs serve the establishment of ever-more obsequiously promote social conformity and market values." (M 254)
I had never wondered why people looked up to these media outlets other than their presence on mainstream television and extremely popular among those who watch daytime TV. But thinking about our discussion in class and the way that my aunt was so obsessed with the idea that a TV personality such as Dr. Oz was a major authoritative person on every medical issue, it has dawned on me how much these ideologies presented in the media and through TV are such a presence in our daily lives.
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