Monday, February 07, 2005
How we use media and how the media uses us
In response to the post "United Morons of America," karebear brought up a good point. She wrote:
"you know sometimes I wonder if it's a case of the school system or a case of the media -- that seems to be more an effective conduit for education these days, as sad as it is. And for the record, I didn't know flag burning was not illegal. Either way, americans need some sort of help."
I started to reply in the comments section but realized that it merits a whole post.
Both the media and the education system are instruments of the power structures in place (or you could argue that they are the power structures themselves.) To many, the manipulative powers of the media are as obvious as a blood stain on a white shirt. To many others, CNN is an objective information source. The role the schools play in maintaining the political power structure also seems glaring to many and has led to many a polemical debate (example: Columbus as the discoverer of America, the role of black Americans in the construction of the US, the Algerian War taught by the French, etc.) Yet all but the most militant activist parents don't desire the successful memorization and assimilation of this suspect information. By the time we get to college we have at least 13 years of information brainwashing to undo. That is if we are lucky enough to have some professors who think past the propaganda (thank you Leland Glenna). Of course, we can't forget the large numbers of young people who won't make it to college and for whom the media does not only constitute a more powerful educational channel, but perhaps their ONLY educational channel.
But I still believe in education. I still believe that more knowledge is inevitably better than more ignorance. It may disrupt an individual's peaceful existence, but it can only benefit the planet. Let's face it, the marketing machines want to find out everything they can about people and play a huge, and not totally negative, role in the construction of our realities. The only way to survive in this environment is to try to learn as much about them as possible. Due to their nature as a tool of political control, public school curriculums can hardly be called upon to undermine the power structures in place. However, I do believe that, instead of arguing about the place of religious values in public schools, we should all be fighting for the place of American values in schools. Obviously, we as a people have a weak grasp of the Constitution. We all know vaguely how a bill becomes a law, but we don't know what these laws are. We also do not make the connection between our rights that were laid out in this document and in the Declaration of Independence and our cultural values (meaning what we truly value: individuality, equality of opportunity, entrepreneurship, ambition, etc.). This is the schools job. Every high school graduate should be able to cite the Bill of Rights and understand why each amendment was made (including the 2nd, I'm sorry to say).
As for the media, I have always thought that it was essential not to protect children from the media machines (kids who's television watching was restricted always came out messed up), but to educate them about how the media works: how advertising works and television programming, the flaws in the press and the news media, the idea of spin, techniques of persuasion, etc.) Children deal with the media long before they deal with school, yet there is very little guidance for parents about how to make their kids smart users of media. Unless your a Menonnite or a Luddite, you're going to live in a highly mediatized world and it is key to not only understand these concepts and techniques, but to master them. Even the most altruistic and ethical causes require a great deal of mediatization and, well, marketing. Those that are not aware are not only more susceptible to manipulation, but they also lose their voice. I believe that media education, whether through private organizations or through families (if not through schools) is as necessary as civics classes in school to protect our democracy, which, despite the current regime, has accomplished great things and still has the potential to do good in the world.
"you know sometimes I wonder if it's a case of the school system or a case of the media -- that seems to be more an effective conduit for education these days, as sad as it is. And for the record, I didn't know flag burning was not illegal. Either way, americans need some sort of help."
I started to reply in the comments section but realized that it merits a whole post.
Both the media and the education system are instruments of the power structures in place (or you could argue that they are the power structures themselves.) To many, the manipulative powers of the media are as obvious as a blood stain on a white shirt. To many others, CNN is an objective information source. The role the schools play in maintaining the political power structure also seems glaring to many and has led to many a polemical debate (example: Columbus as the discoverer of America, the role of black Americans in the construction of the US, the Algerian War taught by the French, etc.) Yet all but the most militant activist parents don't desire the successful memorization and assimilation of this suspect information. By the time we get to college we have at least 13 years of information brainwashing to undo. That is if we are lucky enough to have some professors who think past the propaganda (thank you Leland Glenna). Of course, we can't forget the large numbers of young people who won't make it to college and for whom the media does not only constitute a more powerful educational channel, but perhaps their ONLY educational channel.
But I still believe in education. I still believe that more knowledge is inevitably better than more ignorance. It may disrupt an individual's peaceful existence, but it can only benefit the planet. Let's face it, the marketing machines want to find out everything they can about people and play a huge, and not totally negative, role in the construction of our realities. The only way to survive in this environment is to try to learn as much about them as possible. Due to their nature as a tool of political control, public school curriculums can hardly be called upon to undermine the power structures in place. However, I do believe that, instead of arguing about the place of religious values in public schools, we should all be fighting for the place of American values in schools. Obviously, we as a people have a weak grasp of the Constitution. We all know vaguely how a bill becomes a law, but we don't know what these laws are. We also do not make the connection between our rights that were laid out in this document and in the Declaration of Independence and our cultural values (meaning what we truly value: individuality, equality of opportunity, entrepreneurship, ambition, etc.). This is the schools job. Every high school graduate should be able to cite the Bill of Rights and understand why each amendment was made (including the 2nd, I'm sorry to say).
As for the media, I have always thought that it was essential not to protect children from the media machines (kids who's television watching was restricted always came out messed up), but to educate them about how the media works: how advertising works and television programming, the flaws in the press and the news media, the idea of spin, techniques of persuasion, etc.) Children deal with the media long before they deal with school, yet there is very little guidance for parents about how to make their kids smart users of media. Unless your a Menonnite or a Luddite, you're going to live in a highly mediatized world and it is key to not only understand these concepts and techniques, but to master them. Even the most altruistic and ethical causes require a great deal of mediatization and, well, marketing. Those that are not aware are not only more susceptible to manipulation, but they also lose their voice. I believe that media education, whether through private organizations or through families (if not through schools) is as necessary as civics classes in school to protect our democracy, which, despite the current regime, has accomplished great things and still has the potential to do good in the world.
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