I have always for the most part watched television and indulged in any sort of media for entertainment purposes only. The 90% of time I spend enjoying media outweighs the 10% of time I take to actually analyze the things I am consuming through different mediums. However, after learning about Cultural Studies, the way I view media has shifted greatly. I no longer spend more time purely enjoying the content, but take time to analyze what I am watching. My mind has changed from just a viewer perspective, to multiple outlooks on the media. I am now able to understand the creator's intent for producing the content they choose for the viewers to watch. Each type of media has its reasoning for being produced and is meant to formulate the audiences opinion on something.
My new way of decoding media was really seen when I was watching the show Atlanta, created by Donald Glover. In the particular episode I was watching Earn is held in jail for the night. Throughout his time in prison we see his experience while being confined. The police are present to keep things in order and act as responsible figures. While watching I realized that the ideologies present in this episode reflect the cultural ideologies that police do no wrong and are primarily present to keep things in order because they do not cause chaos. In the episode a man in jail is pinned down and attacked by the police for no reason and the rest of the characters dont seem to question it. I continue to analyze that the doxa present in this episode is that its common sense to not interfer when a police officer is having a situation with another person, no matter if that person is in the wrong or not. This is just one example of how I have begun to break down media after learning about cultural studies.
Atlanta!! I really need to get my act together and watch this show. And I need to watch the This is America video! I agree with you 100% though. The common sense that's embedded in society is to not interfere for fear of what may happen to ourselves if we interfere with the police. That's why I find it awful that it contradicts an ideology that our society upholds. And that is that police are here to keep things peaceful and orderly. But when it comes to black and brown communities, that's not at all what police are here to do.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your analysis!
Atlanta is such a great show and I really like your analysis! And I relate with what you wrote too. Learning more about cultural studies has definitely impacted the way I consume and view media. I was already a critical person with the things that I watch (my friends say I'm picky, my sister says I'm a snob) but I think that we should be critical of most if not of all things that we watch. I think that analyzing what we watch on television is a great habit and something most people should do instead of believing everything they see.
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