Mass Media Impact
One of the most significant impacts of mass media in contemporary society is the creation of a feeling of entitlement through the images of inequalityportrayal of exclusion and exaggeration of difference. In the attempt to raise awareness on social diversity, mass media directly raises awareness of the differences between individuals, which subsequentially leads to inequality and white male heterosexual supremacy in the community. Of the recent past, mass media has been on the forefront advocating for equality and the embracing of diversity by reiterating on the fact that society is composed of individuals of different calibers. This media representationemphasizes the LGBTQ community, racial and ethnic cultures, the authentic expression of gender and feminism, and other aspects. However, this false representation of the diversity in the community by the media raises much awareness of racial, ethnic, gender, sexuality, and social class differences, thus promoting inequality.
Bell Hooks, as a professor who has taught in both the prestigious Ivy League School of Yale University and a contemporary urban university, submits that while her students from both schools are academically enlightened and bright, they possess very diverse schools of thought. The professor presents learners from the Ivy League of school as portraying a feeling of entitlement based on their social class. Her students from the urban school do not have much bright future to look forward to, given their financial and social background. The professor’s Yale School studentsbelieved that they were the best and the brightest, and had a set bright future for them, based on the institution they went to, which kind of offered an assurance in the corporate world on its own. The professor posits that where or not these students worked hard to make their dreams come true, the institution they went to offered enough assurance.
I agree with Professor Hook’s views on the role portrayal of institutions plays in offering the students a sense of entitlement. Ivy League of Schoolsare naturally esteemed institutions, thanks to the publicity they receive from mass media. These schools are highly publicized on mass media at the expense of contemporary urban schools, and slots in these institutions are highly coveted. Thus, stepping into these schools has been idolized to present a lifetime achievement, with most of these students rising to become corporate leaders. More specifically, this mass media portrayal is seen in the depiction of films whose characters that attended Ivy League of Schools have a flamboyant lifestyle and immense professional success. Thanks to this publicity, Ivy League Schools have been directly linked to professional excellence at the expense of other institutions whose students have to work twice as hard.
Mass media promotes inequality through the exclusion and exaggeration of differences, particularly as it relates to sexuality, sexual orientation, gender, race, and social class. Mostly, mass media representation of films that depict characters from these diverse backgrounds aims to showcase the challenges they go through at the expense of their counterparts’ otherwise flawless lifestyles. Most of these films present the challenges women go through as they fight to fit into the otherwise male-dominated industries, the problems gay men and women go through at the face of homophobia, and the challenges people from other races and ethnic backgrounds go through as they struggle to fit into the mainstream society. All of these representationshighlight the differences in challenges various people go through, the problems that make individuals seemingly different, such as their attraction to the same sex. These pronounced differences emphasize on how different individuals are from each other in any society, thus the promotion of social inequality.
Mass media mostly reinforces the viewpoints of white male corporateculture in the sense that it paints the stereotypical picture of the white male boss who goes to an Ivy League School before leading a multibillion corporate that sits at the helm of America’s revenue. Most American films paint this picture of the successful male corporate boss who lives in a beautiful, palatial home and has a submissive wife who stays at home sipping cocktails after dropping the kids off to school. The family typically has a black driver, an Asian cook, or an Asian gardener with a black caretaker. This cliché film presentation in Hollywood emphasizes on the success of the white race while painting individuals of other races as being subordinates, and second in command. This form of racial, gender, and sexuality expression makes specific individuals feel entitled to a good and prosperous life while making the rest feel like they have to work twice as hard to have half as much of this success.
In conclusion, mass media plays an active role in promoting social inequality through the overrated portrayal of differences. In the bid to present individuals from all walks of life and institutions, mass media, through the active role of American filmography, emphasis the stereotypical presentation of the white male corporate culture. This presentation overlooks the success stories of females, people of color, and gay men and women, but it also makes white males feel entitled. The feeling of entitlement negatively affects the input people put into achieving their dreams, while it forces others to work twice as hard to have half the good life at least.