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Principles of media literacy
Principles of media literacy
Principles of media literacy
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People in the lower class are often portrayed as pitiful, unworthy, lazy people who aren’t good for anything. That is according to what the media shows us daily. Blue collar work is viewed as “real” work (Linkon). The lower, working class takes pride in what they do because they accomplish something that takes effort and skill. The working class requires effort and strength. There are good lower class citizens who work for the benefit of their communities. The working class is unfortunately being brought down by the more “fortunate” higher-middle class and rich people. Basically, there is a bias in the representations of society (Ginsburgh). In a Levi’s - Go Work commercial, the lower class are positively portrayed as hard working, individuals who come together in communities to get important jobs done for the benefit of the whole community. The lower class in its entirety, is portrayed quite brutally as deplorable people. It’s seen every day, in ads, television, and in politics. A class is defined by it’s relationship by production and to other classes in society that determines the particular class. The rich are called rich because they are well off and have the money to spend on ridiculously expensive items or events and they get paid the most. For example, DJ Tiësto (ranked number one DJ in the world many years according to DJ Mag) collected an amazing 22 million dollars in 2013 alone and getting 250 thousand dollars a gig (Forbes). The middle class, or white collar, are less “rich” but like the rich, are not complaining either. They make a sufficient amount of money to pay the bills and for their family (Sam). Now the poor is a different story, or so everyone says. The poor make hardly enough money to suppor... ... middle of paper ... ..., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. . Mcdonald, Jennifer. "How Does the Media Portray Lower Class." LifePaths:360. RR Donnelley, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. . "Newman Study Site Female." Newman Study Site Female. Pine Forge Press, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. . Sam. "Definitions Of A Middle Class Income: Do You Consider Yourself Middle Class?" Web log post. Financial Samurai. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. . "The World's Highest-Paid DJs." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. .
Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George
According to Gregory Mantsios many American people believed that the classes in the United States were irrelevant, that we equally reside(ed) in a middle class nation, that we were all getting richer, and that everyone has an opportunity to succeed in life. But what many believed, was far from the truth. In reality the middle class of the United States receives a very small amount of the nation's wealth, and sixty percent of America's population receives less than 6 percent of the nation's wealth, while the top 1 percent of the American population receives 34 percent of the total national wealth. In the article Class in America ( 2009), written by Gregory Mantsios informs us that there are some huge differences that exist between the classes of America, especially the wealthy and the poor. After
America is divided into two main groups, rich or poor. There is some grey area among these groups which is referred to as the middle class. The problem with the middle class is that most people think they belong in the middle class because they do not want to associate themselves with neither rich nor poor; there are stigmas attached to each side of the spectrum.
The media portrays the upper class as something to strive for. Obtaining wealth and material possessions will bring you a happy life. The only way to get ahead is to emulate the rich and powerful and to live vicariously through them (Kendall 316). The media’s emphasis on the upper class takes away from people living life for themselves. Instead, they are persuaded to obtain a lifestyle that is realistically out of their means. Kendall states, “Largely through marketing and advertising, television promoted the myth of the classless society, offering on one hand the images of the American dream fulfilled wherein any and everyone can become rich and on the other suggesting that the lived experience of this lack of class hierarchy was expressed by our equal right to purchase anything we could afford”. Exaggerated views of the rich and successful in America are largely portrayed via television. Which gives a false idea of what happiness, wealth and material possessions can bring (Kendall 317). The poor and homeless are at the bottom of the class structure and are often overlooked, ignored and only portrayed as deserving of sympathy. They are stereotyped to be people who have problems such as drugs or alcohol (Kendall 318). Kendall goes on to explain that the middle class is considered the “working class” and are
With each class comes a certain level in financial standing, the lower class having the lowest income and the upper class having the highest income. According to Mantsios’ “Class in America” the wealthiest one percent of the American population hold thirty-four percent of the total national wealth and while this is going on nearly thirty-seven million Americans across the nation live in unrelenting poverty (Mantsios 284-6). There is a clear difference in the way that these two groups of people live, one is extreme poverty and the other extremely
In "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios says that "when politicians and social commentators draw attention to the plight of the poor, they do so in a manner that obscures the class structure and denies any sense of exploitation." Based off our readings, class discussion and films, income inequality is known to be erased or ignore. Our society frowns upon the expression of income in our daily conversations, as it could be seen braggy or a complaint depending on your status of income. Because it's frowned upon to talk about, the topic of income inequality becomes erased or ignored. In addition, income inequality in America's class structure can affect people's ability to reach their American Dream.
My first source, “The Rise of Consumption Equality” by Andy Kessler, published in The Wall Street Journal, discusses how the different social classes are becoming more alike and more different from each other. At the beginning of the article, Kessler’s talks about how wealth used to be popular, but now it is hard to be wealthy without being guilt-tripped by the lower classes. Kessler then moves on to say that most often the rich work themselves to death to make their fortune, and with the rise in new technology and equality, they only get to enjoy the same things as the middle class. He questions the fairness in that in the next sentence. In the following paragraphs of the article Kessler describes many of the dif...
Class for the purpose of this paper is the concept that those who are better off are of what can be considered to be upper class and those that lack financial means are of the lower class. Mantsios says that there is an absence of discussion in reference to the distinctions of classes (697). In a study performed by Susan Ostrander, in regards to the term “upper class” one woman responded “‘I hate to use the word ‘class.’ We are responsible, fortunate people, old families, the people who have something’” (697). Yet it appears to be opposite that those who are in this lower class realize the plight they suffer. As one student from Fremont High School noted, “‘The owners of the sewing factories need laborers. Correct…It’s not going be their own kids… You’re ghetto,’ said Fortino unrelentingly to her. ‘So Sew!’”(Kozol 645). The student who knew that he was more than likely to be stuff in his place was willing to point out this fault of the system. This topic which more than likely the well-off woman would stray from rather because she had life easier than Fortino will in his lifetime.
As Kendall notes, “the media portrays people who produce goods and services as much less interesting than those who excessively consume them” (429). Viewers want to be entertained, and simply just don’t care about the struggles of the working class. They overlook “low wages (and) lack of benefits” (429) because through caricature framing the media sways people to believe works to be stupid and reckless. Using this frame, they created people such as Homer Simpson, showing people that the working class doesn’t deserve raises, better healthcare, or any such luxuries because they can’t think for themselves. If that wasn't bad enough, the media often characterizes all workers as wanting to transcend their class (429). Through shows such as Extreme Makeover, they depict people who want to spice up their life and improve themselves as people, and that they need help to get to the next level. The media has undercut all of the hard work of this class, and has made people believe that the working class is unavailable, dumb and needs help to be their best self when in fact they are what allows for the success of
In his essay “Land of Opportunity” James W. Loewen details the ignorance that most American students have towards class structure. He bemoans the fact that most textbooks completely ignore the issue of class, and when it does it is usually only mentions middle class in order to make the point that America is a “middle class country. This is particularly grievous to Loewen because he believes, “Social class is probably the single most important variable in society. From womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all other social characteristics of people that we can measure.” Loewen simply believes that social class usually determine the paths that a person will take in life. (Loewen 203)
Ouellette, Laurie. "Inventing the Cosmo Girl." Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader. By Gail Dines and Jean McMahon Humez. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2011. 228-29. Print.
America’s upper class has been getting richer since the past three decades, and we have still not found a way to stop this. We have been unable to find a way to distribute America’s wealth equally, so we can have a decent lower class and a good middle class. Inequality has caused many people to struggle in various ways, but their is alway another side to the story.
Media can present content that seems and is more or less real, however, it is our duty as the viewers to be able to distinguish, and differentiate between “reflections of reality, and constructions of reality”. The prime targets of the media are young people because they so unwittingly believe everything the media tells them, from “how to talk, how to dress, and how to relate to others”. This newspaper article, seeing is not believing by Leslie Fruman is essentially explaining that now “for the first time students will take a mandatory course to help separate fantasy from reality in the media.” The mandatory course is referred to as media literacy, and will teach young people the classifications of reality and fantasy.
Stratification across the states has created a divide between classes. It has allowed the upper class to solely remain with the upper class, while the working class only associates with the working class. It has caused people to only feel comfortable within their own class. Stratification has allowed people to see others as those to be feared or as those to be ignored. It has also created an unspoken boundary that says it is wrong to associate with another class. In the film, it was evident how the people only felt comfortable to associate with those who were like them. Even more than that, though, it revealed how it was not expected for the classes to intertwine. The system of stratification has created a vicious system that ranks people based on the amount of money they have, instead of valuing people as
If one asked “What is media literacy?” a majority of people would be puzzled. Some would say that it is the ‘written’ part of media that is not usually seen or a written layout of how media should be produced. The bulk of people would say they have no idea what media literacy is. People in today’s society should be informed about media literacy. Society should be informed of what media literacy exactly is and how it applies to the field of communications.