"Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption" by Diana Kendall was an interesting piece on her views of the power of the media in determining the classes, which she backed up with various statistics and examples. She began with very specific examples of television shows that portray the upper class's lifestyle as desirable and, ultimately, the best way.
I thought it was interesting that she brought up Extreme Home Makeover as trying to make "ordinary" people "improve" their lifestyles. Why is that lifestyle not acceptable, they really do make the families happy though. It was interesting to see the many ways that the media has ultimately defined us across the classes.
Overall the piece was kind of angry, but I did like that she gave an attempt at a solution. It is a good idea to discuss issues with people in an informal setting in order to form opinions that are not as tainted by the media. Overall, this was a difficult read for me; I had a hard time connecting to it.
Strike In Geology
1 year ago
I agree, people should discuss issues in informal settings. Even though the media can play a role in defining the social classes, I think ultimately the individual has the final say as to which class they belong to. Even though the media wants to define wealth in terms of dollars, I think wealth goes a lot further than the bank balance.
ReplyDeleteya thats theres somethings that i didnt understand from this pieces. at leasts your not alone.
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