Last week was frustrating for a few reasons. Horkheimer and Adorno are extremely smart and I understood a lot less of what they wrote than I would have hoped. Going over the reading in class was extremely helpful by the way. But once I fully understood the argument they were making I wanted to discuss it with them face to face. I'm sure they're great debaters so that probably wouldn't have gone so well, but the thing that frustrated me the very most was that no solution was presented. Here they have issues with just about all media that is produced by people of the United States claiming that it's all propaganda of what "the man" wants us to think, yet they present no way of changing that. Maybe it's because they see the "problem" as an unchangeable problem. I don't know. The thing that gets me is that their claim delves into the way people are brought up, what their social views are, and what they believe is right or wrong. The government is not creating half of what people watch, it's corporations and independent film makers. The most accessible being hollywood films rather than independent. There are some films I don't necessarily agree with and others that I do. I agree with those films because they are in line with the values I was taught growing up. I believe their issue with media is actually an issue with social customs and what we value in comparison with other countries and territories of the world.
The next thing. The idea that people "get what they ask for" is something that isn't entirely off. After thinking about our in class discussion about being given crap because that's what we ask for made me think. I'm not sure whether or not we talked about Miley Cyrus in class or not, but that is something that made me believe that it's not entirely inaccurate. I have noticed that even with the scandal at the VMA's people are still listening to her music, watching her videos, and yes, people are still twerking. It makes me crazy. Those are the people that enable trash like Cyrus to continue doing what she does. So in a way we are given what we ask for. Then there's the other side of it. I do everything I can not to support it and I feel like I am rewarded with great products of the media. Adorno and Horkheimer would disagree saying that it's part of "the man's" agenda, but I have decided that I am past that. These films are created to inspire, uplift, and give hope to those that might be having a hard time. Can we really say that "Finding Nemo" is a terrible piece of work because it reinforces values that we might have? Sammy cited the 13th article of faith which reads: "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." The last part is extremely applicable in this setting. "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." I can think of countless films, tv shows, music, and all sorts of media that meet this criteria, and these are the kinds of things I choose to watch and create. If it's a reflection of what I believe and what I hold dear then I did my job properly. If it happens to fall in line with the views of other people in this world all the better. Horkheimer and Adorno have a great argument and I agree with a lot of it, but I don't see some of it in a negative light.
Lets talk about "The Hunger Games" for a moment. I watched it this morning so that it would be fresh in my mind. It was interesting to watch it from a media literacy standpoint. The scene where Peeta comes away from his first interview having informed the world that he's in love with Katniss. She's pissed and wants to kill him, but Haymitch stops her and says that he made her look "desirable" and that it just might save her life. He says that it's a tv show after all. That was quite poignant since our entire discussion last time was about what the media gives us and how it's both what we ask for and a confirmation of what the corporations want us to think, value, and feel is right and wrong. The capitol really pushed to convince the 12 districts into thinking that the Hunger Games are something that brings them together, unites them, and is good. I don't believe our government nor big corporations try to do that. People are smarter than they give them credit for. An example of this is the film Avatar. It had a major agenda and look at how people received it. It was great and terrible at the same time. Kind of an interesting thing to think about. Either way it was the source of one of the more stimulating conversations I've been a part of in a long time. That's why I love this class!
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