I really enjoyed Wednesday’s class on Herman and Chomsky as
well as Bourdieu. Although they have a negative outlook, their theories are
extremely relevant to today’s world, and as D.C. said, becoming ever more
relevant with the boom of technologies and securities in our current
society. Herman and Chomsky say, “[A
propaganda model] traces the routes by which money and power are able to filter
out the news fit to print, marginalize dissent, and allow the government and
dominant private interests to get their messages across to the public” (204).
This quote, as well as many of their ideas seemed to have a Marxian outlook on
our world and to affirm that those that have the gold rule. They stress the
fact that so few control so much of our “public” media, and therefore have the
ability to influence and control the thoughts of the masses. One example we
talked about in class was the documentary “Out Foxed” in which the corruption
and conglomerate of Rupert Murdoch is explored and exposed.
Bourdieu then took on TV and discussed the role between
class and cultural consumption, and stated on the topic of TV News, “It suits
everybody because it confirms what they already know and, above all, leaves
their mental structures intact” (254). This was interesting because it’s so
prominent with all the recurring disasters we face today and how the stories
just confirm our already predetermined dispositions about them, it complements
what we already know. I also thought it was interesting to think about Oprah
and other TV icons have turned into “two-bit spiritual guides” and I couldn’t
agree more. People look up to them and talk in daily conversation about the
things that “Oprah” or whichever TV personality told them to do, as if they
know them and trust them with their own personal life advice and decisions.
How we view TV and other media as falsely diverse, and
falsely trustworthy is a problem that we as a society should address and strive
to change sooner rather than later.
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