10. Media controls almost every aspect of life and culture today

I think the biggest revelation I had this semester was my own dependence on media and how much of my life is controlled by the media. I had considered myself to be a pretty free spirit but after completing this class I know that I’m addicted to media, and that I am very susceptible to techniques of persuasion used by the media.

I think the best example is how I felt after reading chapter 8 in Project Censored. The Gardasil Sell Job was for me the most eye opening chapter that I read and blogged about. I remember watching all the commercials when gardasil was first released to the public and I was a huge supporter. I convinced my mom to get both my sister and myself vaccinated. I was convinced that this vaccine would change the lives of young women in America. I was a total victim of marketing and I fully bought into the idea that if I didn’t get the vaccine I would be at a much high risk. I was a victim of Merck’s advertising and public relations campaigns. After reading the chapter in project censored I felt like an ass. The way that the media covered this story and used the packaged Mereck sound bytes to promote this vaccine was not only irresponsible but in the long run it may prove to be dangerous.

This case study opened my eyes and made me realize that the warning at the end of Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman lays out two scenarios in his final chapter titled The Huxleyan warning. Postman warns that it is not the fact that we consume media (specifically television) but it is how we consume media. In order to prevent ourselves from being sucked into a Feed like world we must consume media thoughtfully and carefully. We have to remember that media is something to consume, not something that should consume us. If we remember this then Postman says we will have a chance of surviving and preventing the loss of culture and true education. I couldn’t agree more. I think that with media consumption being made easier and more convenient it is becoming even more important to be aware of what media you are consuming and where that media is coming from. These next ten years will show us a lot about who we are and where our culture is headed. I just hope we can pull it together before we’ve been willingly sucked into the “peek a boo” world.


The two part mini documentary does a great job showing just how little real news American’s come in contact with. I found this video to be extremely powerful and in a lot of ways it reminded me how important my role as a media consumer is. As a citizen of our now global world it is my responsibility to closely compare, analysis, and process all the media I consume.

Part One:

Part Two: