Blog Post #3

Since starting this class, I've definitely become a more cynical consumer of media. I no longer watch anything with rose tinted glasses. I guess this was the goal because I remember that this class was supposed to "ruin" the media we consume. I'm much more aware of the effects, whether negative or positive, the media may have on me. After reading the chapter on marxism and all the ideas of different scholars, I considered whether staying away from media altogether was the solution. I learned that different types of media could control consumers without us ever knowing that we are being controlled by it. We think that our autonomy is still intact when in fact we are part of this collective mind. We receive ideas from the media, they are not our own. The media, for the most part, is controlled by a small group of people. Therefore, a small group of people can "mind control" a large group of people. We see advertising everywhere, and this makes us spend our money in pursuit of happiness and so that we can outdo others and show off our wealth. Everything we buy is a symbol for who we are, but it is not unique. It is all part of the culture in which we live. Marxism says that the wealthy higher class controls the knowledge and ideas that the lower classes consume. Another idea I found interesting was that of alienation. We are alienated because we are told to do work that is separate from ourselves. It is not technically our own work. This makes us unhappy. To distract ourselves from this unhappiness, we buy into media that will make us escape from reality. So we spend our money on the distractions and continue working. It is a never ending cycle. This idea intrigued me because it is so logical yet presents a cynical view of our media consumption. These philosophies may or may not be true but they still explain a lot. We all know that people who make media don't have hearts of gold. Their goal is probably not to make us happy, but to gain profit. So we must stay conscious of who we are in the postmodern society we live in. Nowadays, people are gravitating less towards TV and more towards the internet. Even though social media allows us to have more autonomy, we still see the same advertisements. Only this time, the advertisements are even more pervasive and effective because they are personalized to fit each consumer's wants.

This week, I watched The Cheetah Girls. It was one of my favorite movies on Disney when I was growing up, but this time I was able to analyze it. For many reasons, I still love it as much as I did 10 years ago. I noticed how this movie must have played a role in shaping kid's views about black women and minorities. The Cheetah Girls are ethnically diverse, and their songs reflect that diversity and acceptance. They spoke different languages and had different cultures. I guess that's why I identified with it so much. They may not have been exactly like me, but they were different than the girls I would always see on TV. They each had different issues, including a mom who was never around and being an orphan raised in a foster home. The underlying themes are endless. Another aspect I loved was how empowering it was for girls. One could even argue it had underlying feminism. The dad cooked and the mom worked. The songs they sang talked about girl power and not needing a man to save them. It was nothing like the usual cinderella story. It was the Cheetah Girls, and those girls were fierce.