According to Dictionary.com, power is the possession of control or command over others. When I think about the word power, I realize that we the consumers truly have none. Surprisingly, this may sound strange to someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of how media works but this is true. In Barbara Kruger's Remote Control article, she states, “seeing is no longer believing”. We live a world filled with images that are aimed at us to believe that is true or the norm and certainly if we don’t obey we will be out of the loop and judged. People who produce our media content truly are the ones with the power and we the consumers are powerless and unconsciously obey by purchasing things that we don’t need.
Hegemony is the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group. As I stated before, the media corporations run our society and truly have the power when it comes to media. This may sound a bit exaggerated but they are front-runners who dominate our society through manipulations. The use of images is very strong. Advertisements are everywhere and even without you knowing we are all affected by it. In Berger's Ways of Seeing, he explains the purpose of publicity by the use of images. We are no so accustomed to these images that we don’t notice their total impact on us. Publicity benefits the public, the most efficient manufacturers and the national economy. For example, when a celebrity is seen with a specific item, it instantly becomes the must-have item and before you know it it’s sold out. The manufactures love this because this literally they give the celebrities the item and it only benefits their sales in the long run.
Sexism is also related to power and hegemony. Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex. Today it seems like advertisements tell us about what is most important about women and that is how we look. The advertisers surround us with the image of “ideal female beauty”. Advertisement’s ideal of female beauty is to be absolutely flawless. Never having any lines or wrinkles or any scars or blemishes. In order to be beautiful, women often feel like they must listen to these ads and buy whatever it takes to make them beautiful to media stereotype. As Berger states, “Publicity persuades us of such a transformation by showing us people who have been transformed and are, as a result, enviable. The state of being envied is what constitutes glamour”. Researchers have also noted a correlation between sexual imagery in children’s ads and an increase in eating disorders among girls.
The gaze is the consumer’s view of these images. As we pass an image, whether its on a billboard, television screen, or magazine, it is embedded in us. Even if we forgot the true message one can recall something that they’ve seen. These advertisements offer us an image of ourselves made glamorous by the product or opportunity it is trying to sell. I believe these images are like objects. We can almost imagine us wearing the hottest fashion trend and it seems tangible because its everywhere so then we run off to the stores and buy these items.
According to Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle, “the domination of society by “intangible as well as tangible things” attains its ultimate fulfillment in the spectacle, where the real world is replaced by a selection of images which are projected above it, yet which at the same time succeed in making themselves regarded as the epitome of reality” (36). What he means by this is that images are very powerful tools. Media is basically entertaining our society so much that it is distracting us and altering our perception of reality.
As Debord stated, the spectacle is totally colonizing our social life. According to Josh Wolford’s article Media Consumption Booming in America, all media consumption has increased 20% since last year and as per their survey, responders reported 8 hours and 11 minutes per day spent on television, radio, and the Internet. For example, our cell phones now have become the most convenient source of media. Our phones have turned into more than just a device that lets us connect to our close relatives and friends instead our phones connect us to the world in seconds with just one touch.
In Berger’s Ways of Seeing book, he states what the true meaning of the way we see things. Publicity and advertisements work on our need as humans to want more than what we need. When we constantly see these images, it is natural to want them even though it isn’t a necessity. Corporations control us; the consumers. Then they make us feel like we have the freedom to choose what we want to buy however, all of what we see is controlled content by gatekeepers. For example, a consumer may see a shirt on a celebrity, and then when they see it at the mall on someone, it does trigger something in your minds, making you feel like you need it and then you go and get it. Media has a huge impact on representation and the way we live our lives. Representation refers to the construction in any medium especially mass media of the aspects of reality such as people, cultural identities, and where you’re from. Women’s bodies are often “dismembered” in ads and shown only as “body parts.” This type of representation has been criticized for objectifying women and contributing to the underlying culture of violence toward women. From all of this imagery around us, consumers need to be more aware of what is happening and not be controlled by it.
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