Post class 11/7

I really enjoyed Wednesday’s class on the conclusion of Herman and Chomsky as well as Bourdieu. One of the quotes that really stuck out for me from Herman and Chomsky was “Advertisers will want, more generally, to avoid programs with serious complexities and disturbing controversies that interfere with the ‘buying mood’” (269). Though advertisers are all for drama filled programs, they stay away from programs that will generate a negative response and turn people away. Their main goal is to keep everyone in the “buying mood”. They want people to buy their products so they have to keep them comfortable and eager to come back.

Another interesting quote from Bourdieu was “TV News suits everybody because it confirms what they already know and above all, leaves their mental structures intact” (254). Although similar to the previous quote in its overall meaning, I thought it was interesting how we compared this quote to Zizek and his idea that the terror happens over there, not here. It is true that the news is filled with stories about deaths and crimes in our neighborhoods and yet we, as the public do nothing about it. We watch it with a sort of disconnected feeling even though we acknowledge the horror and reality of it. The news structures their stories so that they can tell all the death and crime stories in the middle and then end with on a more pleasant note with something like the weather or sports. This way “our mental structures stay intact” despite what we have just seen and then we go on about our day. Even though this is true, before the news starts, we are given previews about the highlights that they will show which usually consists of the crime stories. They do this to reel us in and once they are finished with their short segments on the stories, they place us gently back in the water and everyone just accepts it.