This blog is the part of thinking activity task assigned by Dr.Dilip Bard Sir. The motive behind this activity is to develop critical thinking and analytical skills by examining the surface of media, power, and education through the lens of Cultural Studies.For more detailed inquiry you can visit Teachers blog
Media and Power
Articulate the relationship between media and power in contemporary society.
Media can be defined as the various channels of communication that convey information, news, entertainment, and cultural messages to the public. Power, in this context, refers to the capacity to influence or control behaviours, ideas, and political outcomes. The relationship between media and power is essential to understand because media acts as a tool for disseminating information and shaping public opinion, thus having significant social and political influence.
Media often serves as a powerful tool for those who own or have control over it, such as governments, corporations, or influential individuals. The control of media enables these entities to promote specific ideologies, control narratives, and maintain authority. This phenomenon is highlighted by political theorists and sociologists, Antonio Gramsci's Concept of Hegemony discussed how cultural hegemony allows ruling classes to maintain power by manipulating culture and creating a consensus through media and popular ideology. Media plays a crucial role in sustaining the controling social order by spreading messages that align with the interests of those in power.
An example highlighted in the blog is how media ownership impacts the type of content that gets broadcast, demonstrating that narratives often reflect the interests of powerful groups. This showcases the influence media has in reinforcing the status quo and shaping public perception in subtle yet impactful ways.
Role of Education: the concept of "truly educated person"
Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores how culture is formed, transmitted, and perceived within society. It critiques traditional views of culture as being elite or widely read by incorporating everyday cultural practices and highlighting the influences of power structures. Matthew Arnold’s classical definition of culture as “perfecting what was best thought and said” contrasts with Raymond Williams’ broader view, which includes common life experiences. CS challenges power by addressing issues like gender inequality, racial representation, and media’s role in shaping beliefs and ideologies.
Media, in particular, serves as a powerful tool in contemporary society for reinforcing power structures, strongly influencing people’s perceptions and aligning them with dominant ideologies. The concept of partisanship describes how individuals align with groups based on shared beliefs, leading to conformity and cognitive dissonance, where one's reasoning adapts to fit group ideology. This phenomenon is expanded by media and social media algorithms that echo users beliefs, reinforcing biases. News channels, often influenced by ownership, can have strong information to serve political interests, demonstrating the profound link between media, power, and cultural manipulation.
In essence, it underscores the strong ways power operates through media, pushing people to align with specific ideologies and lose critical independence. This influence shows why education and media literacy are vital for discerning truth and maintaining individual thought.
Cultural Practices: as a tool for resistance against dominant power structures?
Cultural studies emphasises the complex web of power that influences societal norms through various mechanisms like media, economic power, and state policies. For example, workers of any goverment sectors are protesting against any scheme let's take pension or retirement scheme and the subsequent state response reflect how power operates through enforcement and regulation, as seen through media reports. Wealth exerts influence by not only controlling production but shaping laws and policies.
The state, through its constitution and regulations, guides societal behaviour, exemplified by startup-promoting policies encouraging business-focused mindsets. Social norms dictate public behaviour, celebration customs, and discourses around religion and politics, reinforcing power structures over time.
Michel Foucault’s idea that power and knowledge shape societal discourse is key here. Examples include established beliefs like caste system or raicism, ideas perpetuated through historical and media narratives. Noam Chomsky’s critique in Manufacturing Consent describes media as a tool for sustaining power by aligning public support with elite interests, maintained by ownership, advertising, and framing.
Chomsky notes that the media serves both an educated political class and the general populace, who largely follow norms without critical analysis. This aligns with Marx's and Fanon’s descriptions of the working and marginalised classes. Media’s selective focus often reinforces hierarchy, gender roles, or racial justifications.
Experiments and insights from videos illustrate how analytic abilities can be limited by ideological biases, highlighting the gap between traditional knowledge and media literacy. In this post-truth era, bias is prevalent, and critical thinking is essential. Fact-checking and challenging personal beliefs ensure that new information is approached critically, enabling coexistence with differing viewpoints. Self-reflection and the understanding that truths evolve over time are integral to genuine learning.
A truly educated person should embody the ability to question norms, seek deeper truths, and remain open to evolving perspectives, marked by resourcefulness and independent thought.
Critical Media Consumption
Noam Chomsky emphasises that true education involves independent inquiry and creative thinking, not just the absorption of classroom content. Drawing from Wilhelm von Humboldt’s philosophy, Chomsky suggests that education should focus on discovery and nurturing the skills to question conventional beliefs and explore new ideas. He argues that education should empower students to ask meaningful questions and seek answers on their own, building their capacity for critical thought and self-guided learning.
Chomsky also highlights the role of media, noting that media outlets are largely driven by corporate interests and profit, not the dissemination of unbiased truth. Media organisations are influenced by ownership and advertising revenues, prioritising content that boosts viewership and ratings (TRP) rather than objective truth. This means that even reputable sources like The New York Times operate within these constraints, shaping how people perceive history and current events to align with business interests.
Media's portrayal of events, often aimed at appealing to elites for financial gain, can distort reality. This corporate-driven nature of media creates an environment where information may be biassed or manipulated to serve commercial and political interests, making media literacy essential for recognizing potential biases in the information presented.
Chomsky's insights highlight that a truly educated person is one who approaches information critically, challenges norms, and remains aware of the media's role in shaping societal views. Such an individual is not confined by conventional thought and seeks diverse perspectives to cultivate a deeper, independent understanding of the world.
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Thank you.
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