First, let me briefly introduce myself. I live in Warren, Rhode Island, which is the town North of Bristol. I've lived here my whole life with the exception of a vacation here or there. When I'm not working or doing homework, I enjoy going to the gym and playing video games, or as I like to call it, soothing my brain with 0's and 1's.
First, I'd like to touch on some ideas that I found interesting from from the first chapter of our text book.
Stanley J. Baran on page 12 talks about mainstream culture. "Especially in a pluralistic, democratic society such as ours, the dominant culture (or, mainstream culture) - the one that seems to hold sway with the majority of people - is often openly challenged."
I either find this wrong or insignificant. By its very nature, the mainstream media does not challenge the mainstream culture because it is the mainstream culture. The only media that makes a true effort to challenge our current culture are the ones that are too insignificant - due to their lack of being mainstream - to be taken seriously. Take a look at Air America Radio. This is a group of people with extreme left-wing bias, and as Bill O'Reilly likes to call them, "secular progressives" or "left-wing loons". Air America is a good example (in my opinion) of a media outlet that tries to challenge mainstream culture, but they are too far from the mainstream to be effective which is sort of a paradox in and of itself.
Take one more example. Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. For those of you who never heard of it, it comes on every Friday night at 11:30. In my opinion, he is the champion of the progressive culture that I hope we all strive for and eventually obtain. His opinions are raw and logical, and in today's culture its a breath of fresh air. However, he is occasionally attacked by the mainstream media for being too provocative and extreme in his views. The mainstream media in this country does not reward people for being against the mainstream, in fact, its just the opposite. Its grip on our society only gets tighter when rationalists like Bill Maher try to make their voice heard.
Here's another quote on page 16. "Everyone involved has an obligation to participate responsibly. For people working in the media industry, this means professionally and ethically."
I really wonder what Baran means exactly when he says, "...professionally and ethically." Isn't our idea of professionalism governed by our mainstream culture? Wouldn't that hinder a person's ability to challenge it? How can we change the rules if we are forced to follow them or be outcast by the public? Again, I point to Bill Maher. Does he where a suit and tie? Of course he does. And if that is what Baran is talking about when he says "professionally" than I can accept that. However, if by professional and ethical he means that Bill Maher must say all the right things as to not offend anybody than that is just completely wrong. There are many things that Bill Maher hates about our mainstream culture, and he believes that the only way to change it is to look those people in the eye and tell them that they are wrong. Surely that will offend some people, but so was the church offended when Galileo proclaimed that the earth revolved around the sun.
1 comment:
Excellent thinking, Jeff. However a more careful reading of Baran is that the dominate culture is frequently challenged. He does not say how successfully (or to how large an audience). He clearly is talking about challenges from outside the dominate culture in most instances. Nonetheless, Maher works for one of the largest media companies in the world, yet there is a place for his voice.
The dissidents are always marginalized. But the civil rights activists were marginalized as were the Vietnam war protesters. For awhile at least. There always is a shifting of attention and influence both inside and outside mainstream media. (Another example: Did mass media defend the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina?)
That outrage generated daily by the cable talking heads is interesting to observe. Is it a true challenge of the status quo or is it just a contrivance intended to cultivate sufficient numbers of like-minded citizens who will build a sustainable ratings base?
As to professionalism and ethics, in my mind Baran essentially is saying that "honesty" is a standard mass media consumers expect. (The criteria for honesty -- "trust" if you will -- may reside entirely within the mind of the individual, but it is an expectation nonetheless.)
You do hit on key issues that are important to the class.
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