Casey French
In class, we discussed the concept of authority and the three dimensions of power. The Ukraine conflict was my example of how the media perpetuates fear to boost ratings. It is more profitable to create a desired reaction from the viewers. There is a definite disconnect between factual knowledge and the interpretation of a certain topic. Professor Barry showed a chart of where Americans believe Ukraine is located on the map. For me, this was scary. I feel that those that were outside of the "red zone" are uninformed and that the media feeds from this fear. Fear from this conflict contributes to the idea of nationalism, justifying our domination of being a world order. In a sense, the media provides us with information that deliberately targets Russia in a negative light. Granted, there is aggression on both sides, but fear can also be a tool for unity. We discussed how the "American Dream" is a concept that is losing its luster. What unifying force do we have that brings Americans together? We all come from different backgrounds and economic situations. If the "American Dream" becomes the "Denmark Dream" as mentioned in class, what are we left with as a nation? I feel that our country lacks that unifying component that most other autonomous regions have like those in Europe. Our "salad" or "stew" (as Barry would say) would become cold and the nation would fragment. In other words, the media likes the idea of "good" vs. "bad", and having Russia dehumanized is a way for politicians and specific groups to gain leverage to make decisions. Basically, the idea of our country's legitimate domination over the world strives on unification within our borders and the media is very important in distributing knowledge to the masses.
So I totally stumbled upon this lecture and I know that my Sumblog turned very political, but this short clip demonstrates how power of the United States maintains its domination over other cultures. This lecturer discusses how "power is chaotically distributed" and requires cooperation in order to maintain that authority.
I agree with you with the good vs. bad argument. We as American have our own ideologies as to how to do things and Russia has their own ways. We don't need to put Russia in such a bad light because they have their own ideologies. A question I do have from reading this is much influence does the media have on people; especially those who believe that Ukraine is in the United States. If a person doesn't know basic geography, how are they supposed to understand the news from different perspectives?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your video clip about the power of the United States works. The Ukraine test was certainly scary in showing how many Americans are uninformed about events in the world, as they tend to pick what the media tells them to.
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