Manipulative Media

Nicole Lemas

SOC Domestic Paper

Mayeda 2/11/11

Manipulative Media

Allen Ginsberg, a passionate poet who criticized conformity and capitalism in America, used his words as a social force demanding honesty in humanity.  He once claimed that “whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.” In a generation where mass media and technology has defined our current culture, it’s clear that as a nation we depend on media. Our primary source of information is found in our computers, on our TV’s and through our cell phones. Our communication is reliant on these means of contact, but what we fail to recognize and question is who is responsible for providing this information?

Politics are the key player in the distribution of advertising and propaganda. For instance, in a 2005 New York Times article, they stated that “the Bush administration spent $254 million in its first term on public relations contracts.” By maintaining a seemingly strong visual relationship with the public, any government is allowed more leeway on their actual motives. We can take Karl Marx’s ‘Conflict Theory’ into account as we see the consumer mentality of the majority of Americans. By emphasizing that there are limited resources, in whichever arena, individuals are urged to act quickly on their innate desires. This market censorship allows manipulation in all forms of the media to be a constant force.

As a culture, we are conditioned to demand instant gratification. We can see this within our relationships, our “self-help” phenomenon and even our concept of beauty. In “Celluloid Dreams” Kellner and Share (2005) point out that ‘individuals are often not aware that they are being educated and constructed by media culture, as its pedagogy is frequently invisible and unconscious’ (p.372). This insistence for immediate satisfaction has stemmed from the mass media telling us as consumers that we can have and be it all. But in reality it is deteriorating our relationships by impatience, our faith by intellect and our beauty by artificial products. Now when a question arises, an Iphone is illuminated by Wikipedia. There is no search for deeper knowledge and as a result our citizens are becoming more surface oriented by collecting what they see as the ideal being.

There is a new wave of socialization that is happening in our society where the customs and cultural norms are constantly being redefined. The way we experience symbols and interact with one another has become more and more distant. Long were the days when an individual’s audience only extended as far as their voice could carry. If anything the “freedom of speech” is being fully taken advantage of, for now everyone’s voice truly can be heard, even across borders. Globalization is happening at a rapid rate where our communication is the foundation to this spread of culture. Medium forms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube allow people from all corners of the world to share their opinion and unique community. We can also see that these forums can also be monitored and controlled by powerful forces such as the local government. Whereas in the U.S. there is a wide spectrum of free speech, in other areas such as China, “Big Brother” is always watching. In that sense as free as we may feel in our speech, because of the easy access to media, we are all being observed.

Fear is a common emotion felt amongst every human being. It is a vulnerable state to dwell in as we gather more anxiety about the current experience. Networks like Fox News fan people’s fears by wearing a propaganda costume and calling themselves a credible source of information. Our entire institution of information is based on seducing the innocent. We long for warm and fuzzy stories to make us feel safe and secure as a society, but instead we are bombarded by negative images of racism and inequality. This then instills more fear in our communities further strengthening the discord between humanity. If the analogy “we are what we eat” can apply to the concept of nourishing ourselves with ideas and concepts fed to us by media, we are all stuffed of false impressions of our reality.

The mass media manipulation may seem very abrasive and people may even outright deny being influenced by it. But the fact of the matter is, we are conditioned and brainwashed to be exactly what the media wants us to be: Compliant Consumers. We consume materials just as we consume others culture. Which makes me question if there is such as thing as ‘cultural integrity.’ And if there is, as an American society we honor this system and will perpetuate it for years to come.

http://www.projectcensored.org/ This is a link dedicated to uncovering censored media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJnFZKbSqxw “Dreamworlds” is a documentary about how stereotypes are highlighted and praised in music videos and the alarming correlation between violence and sexual authority in the videos and in real life.

Celluloid Dreams: How Film Shapes America (Kendall Hunt) 2010

David Mayeda, Lisa Pasko, Christopher Ramos

Kellner, D., & Share, J. (2005). Toward critical media literacy: Core concepts, debates, organizations, and policy. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 372.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/532/media-manipulation