1F25 post 2:The Media We Want?

Some people think that the media is totally out of line about what they want you to see and hear.  But, I think that a lot of people feel that they enjoy what the media puts out.  The media is able to present itself to every age group.  Depending on what is being advertised, a company targets a certain group of people because they know their product will interest them.  When people see things they want, they get excited, we just can’t help it.  If we had the ability to change what the media portrays, would we even know what we’d like to see?

In my Media and Society text book it says, “that the media reflect the realities, values, and norms of a society.  Thus, if we want to study a society we could turn to its media- its films, novels, television series, magazines, and popular stories- which will reflect to us what people feel and think, how they behave, and so on.  But the media themselves do not directly affect society; they simply act as a mirror of society, or a window on the world, that can be used as a resource to understand the society.” (42-43). When they say how the media mirrors society or is a window it is very true.  Whenever people see commercials they are able to relate themselves to what’s being shown because the media mirrors what people do in society.  For example, in car commercials they show how every family is in a van.  As people watch this they can relate it to themselves, which has an even stronger impact on them.

The thing some people don’t think about is who influences the media.  One of the bigger influences is the wealthy, upper class.  In my class text book they say, “‘In order to sustain these structures of domination the dominant groups attempt to represent the world in forms that reflect their own interests, the interests of their power’ (Hodge & Kress 1991, p.3).  By this the authors mean that it is in the best interests of the dominant group (the wealthiest, most privileged, and most powerful people, such as those who own the media and have the political influence) to represent the world in a way that legitimates and reinforces their own position or ideology.” (151-152). When rich people have greater impact on the media, they get to see what they want, which is how much better they are then everybody.  But, the average person will look at the same thing and imagine what it would be like to live a life like that.

I think that the media already shows us what we want to see because they know what we want to see, instead of showing us things that will not interest us.  Since the media is already able to spark our attention, there is no reason to change it.

 

O’Shaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media and Society. 5th ed. Australia: Oxford, 2012. Print.