"I Am Mad as Hell, and I Am Not Going To Take It Anymore"

Since our discussions this week were related to the media's power to perpetuate

certain stereotypes, maintain ideological values, and act as agents of

normalization, I decided to reflect on the 1976 Academy Award winning

film, Network. The excerpt from this film presented above has a number of

implications.

Firstly, it illustrates how the media can motivate people. The unprepared

anchorman of UBS agitates the people and calls for action. He stimulates

and invigorates people to vocalize their complaints and prove that their

lives have value. This shows that the media, in general, have power to

mobilize the society. For this very reason, the media were also used for the

purposes of propaganda, especially during the Cold War.

Secondly, the excerpt suggests that the media must support public interest.

While it is often obscure as to what public interest constitutes, it is nonetheless,

clear that no one wants to be lied to and treated unjustly. Unfortunately,

the media, especially the news still revolve around stereotypes. It treats

particular groups of people unjustly in terms of racial inequality. As such,

it (news) has a tendency to highlight certain cultural aspects, while

hiding others in a systematic way. Therefore, for example, it perpetuates

the stereotype that people involved in crime are most often African

Americans by focusing on the incidents involving black people, while

bypassing those that surround white people. This is why, the UBS anchorman

commands the public to get mad and demand justice. He wants people to

require the media to objectively serve public interest as opposed to provide

biased information.

Lastly, this excerpt suggests that the public tends to follow the flow.

This is perhaps, what Marx would call False Consciousness or what

Gramsci would describe as "social consent," which is more suitable

to this example. People, busy at their jobs as they are, want light

news based on entertainment and sensationalized human interest

stories as opposed to 'serious' news. People also tend to be ignorant

of important public policy issues. This is why the UBS anchorman

demands their participation. He wants them to wake up and question

what they are being exposed to.

Unfortunately, thirty-three years after the release of this film, not much

has changed. The media are still largely based on stereotypes, many

people still follow the media without questioning their credibility and

legitimacy. And, while the Internet appears to be the only alternative

way of accessing diverse information, quick regulation may change everything.