Consumer Culture Response- Question 2

Since the media is a broad spectrum consisting of various sectors, many, if not all people rely on one or more of these sources for information, be it to educate themselves on global issues, or to keep up with the latest fashions and trends.
The media is controlled by people with similar mindsets and goals- to inform and/ or to attract. One may have a set view different to that of others but in order to convince themselves and others that what they believe is right, they turn to one or more sectors of the media. Some way or the other, every ordinary person’s views have been influenced massively by various levels of mediums. On the other hand, culture and tradition also play a role in shaping a society’s values, but this is slowly disappearing as people become multicultural and diverse. This helps us conclude that with every passing day, as scholar George Gerbner asserted, those who control a society’s stories have more power to shape the society’s values.
Though the media has been extremely helpful, it has also been very influential, persuading people to believe what they want them to believe, so that these people could be used as resources to their advantage. For example, Louis Vuitton could convince a woman that she wants a handbag in order to be regarded as sophisticated and elegant. Obviously, she wouldn’t feel as euphoric as the advertisement convinces her that she would feel, but a movie she might watch later could convince her that she wants the product.
The delusion of a large organization controlling our society is ominous. Wanting to have some control over what our values are is like the want for personal space. The human mind itself gives them potential to shape their own values, and people would want their ideas to be helped, not created, by resources. However, media has become so widespread and is now a significant aspect in our lives that this personal space needs to be struggled for. The media has grown so powerful, that they have successfully cajoled most of the society, making us dependant on their stories.
People within the media work on attracting or creating different types of people, and as a result, there are many sources of information, targeted at specific people, giving an accurate voice to their stories. This makes people believe that they have figured out exactly who they are, and therefore find ways to express themselves. Commercial industries take this to their advantage and advertise what would help these people express themselves. This could also work reversely, with a particular group in a community choosing to present their characters using specific products, thus influencing various mediums to produce/ broadcast what they would be interested in.