Post class 11/11

Wednesday’s class discussion on Bourdieu was really informative, because I found Bourdieu’s essay on television to be interesting and engaging.  One of the quotes that we focused on that struck me the most was, “TV news suits everybody because it confirms what they already know and above all, leaves their mental structures intact” (254).  This concept by Bourdieu is really important, because it illustrates the fact that society is willing to listen, believe and acknowledge only those things that make us feel comfortable.  Instead of thinking about ways in which we can eliminate the problems concerning our society that we see on television, we instead only focus on changing our own behavior so that our mental structures stay in tact. 

Bourdieu’s statement that “TV news suits everybody because it confirms what they already know…” (254), is really powerful in the sense that TV news is supposed to be where we hear about societal problems that need fixing, however television news does not really do that anymore.  Nowadays, news reports are centered on stories that, instead of making us feel uncomfortable and want to impose change, do the opposite and allow us to stay in our own bubbles. 

It is really interesting to see how news reports are delivered on television, because looking back at the things that we’ve learned in CMC, news stations have to report stories that appease their sponsors.  With this in mind, the stories that we need to hear – the ones that make us step out of our comfort zones – are not stories that are reported, because news stations, just like television shows, want to gain as many viewers as possible to both stay on the air and maintain sponsorship.  If television news was to branch out and make people act instead of just confirming to what they already know, no one would watch, because it wouldn’t allow them to leave “ their mental structures in tact” (254).