Alyssa L. Post 1

Power is having control over something or someone. This brings to mind the control that the media has over the American culture. Our society revolves around advertising and it is ubiquitous. We are bombarded by ads telling us what to buy and how we aren’t the best we can be. The media tells us what we should buy, how we should feel, how we need to act, which gives them power and control over the majority.

Hegemony can be defined as the domination of society by the ruling class. My history professor used to say that history was written by old white men. That is what I feel like our society and government is mostly ruled by. Most of our government is occupied by old white guys, all of our presidents up until Obama were old white guys. One could even explain it by saying that the rich rule over the rest of the classes in society. Rich people have leading roles in society, and make the laws that we are all expected to follow.

Sexism is the “abuse” of one sex by the other. Sexism can best be seen in advertising, women are objectified and used as sexual objects. They are used to sell products to both men and women.  The Axe body spray ads use the sex appeal of women to try to tell men that they need to shower with their body wash, and that if they do they will get an attractive woman. This video shows how sexist advertising is to women, and how it effects us as a group.

Pedagogy is the art of teaching, and what comes to mind is how Edward Bernays. taught Americans to listen to the media and buy what they didn’t need. He used propaganda tactics to play on the thoughts and emotions of the consumer. It’s almost as if he conditioned us to feel a certain way and to accept the way we are treated by the media.

Popular culture is what is happening now, the collection of glamor and the publicity of our culture.  Bell Hooks says that popular culture is, “where the learning takes place”. Also Bell Hooks writes that popular culture perpetuates a matrix of power. Popular culture keeps the images of men dominating over woman, and that whites hold supremacy over minorities. Images in popular culture, like tv shows, music, and advertisements keep these ideas strong in our culture.

Spectacle is the “social relationship between people mediated by images”  (Guy Debord). Basically how you view someone based on what media they consume, what music they listen to, what clothes they wear, what things they like. You are what you have. People can base relationships solely on similarities in media consumption. People can identify people by what they consume, for example you may envy someone just because they can afford a coach purse, or even eight purses. Or maybe you envy somebody because they went to see Mumford & Sons whom happen to be your favorite band.

Consumers are people who absorb media, either by buying something, by watching ads on tv or by listening to music or ads. We are all consumers; we all take in media every single day. Consumers are very valued, the more you own, the better and happier you will be. Consumption is the act of absorbing media.

Gaze is when a consumer can look into an ad and see themselves living in the ad, driving the car, wearing the make-up, buying the house. It is an effective advertising tool, which causes the consumer to want the object and see them owning it even more possible.

            Representation is an illusion as to what the media wants us to believe. They show us things that can represent happiness and we believe that if we buy these things we will, in return, gain happiness. But that is not necessarily true.