Media Influence On Society

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Media is a ‘power’ that pumps culture into society. Over time society reflected what was in the media, and vice versa. Media has always been one of the most “influential mediators, representers and purveyors of values, beliefs and social practices within society”. It generally speaks for a society as a whole, producing and establishing a collective national identity in the process. And with reference to the cultural pluralist view, media has the responsibility to represent the contrasting perspectives and cultures within a society. In recent years, reality television has become a very popular medium that has arguably become one of the heaviest influencers in modern day society. From watching how other families live their lives, to a group of…show more content…
He is known for creating ‘critical theory’, which states that “oppression is created through politics, economics, culture, and materialism, but is maintained most significantly through consciousness”. He is also known for his views on ‘culture industry’, he argued that the work place is comparable to to the entertainment industry of modern society in that they are just as “mechanical, formulaic, and dominating” as one another. Adorno said people were “programmed” for work and leisure time, while most attempt to escape the routineness of the work place, they only switch from producer to consumer once outside of it. Ultimately stating that there is no chance to become a free individual “who can take part in creation of society, whether at work or play.” That the very areas of life within which many people believe they are genuinely free, free from the demands of work, “actually perpetuates domination by denying freedom and obstructing the development of a critical consciousness”. Adorno viewed the culture industry as fusing individuals, as producers and consumers, to the modern capitalist…show more content…
How can the ‘talentless’ reach such fame? Simple the Kardashian/Jenner clan are playing culture industries to their advantage. They themselves are cultivating ‘false needs’, “needs both created and satisfied by the capitalist system”. Every week an episode shows their massive house, multiple cars, designer clothes, exotic vacation destinations, and or the high profile events their invited to and attend. But they try to bring all that down to relatable level — such as insecurities of weight — not being able to fit into that dress for the red carpet and having a meltdown over it, sure who hasn’t that happen to? All the while the diet pills that they are the face of are strategically placed within the ads aired during the show. Ultimately making those heart felt, relatable scenes profitable. This goes into ‘commodity fetishism’, basically meaning that these experiences and social relations are “objectified in terms of money”. Every week the hundreds of thousands that tune in are sold this lifestyle that is ‘successful’. In just terms of America, this is a lifestyle that only the ‘one percent-ers’ could relate to, and even then it is a heightened

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