Understanding Key Terms 2

It's an interesting thought, how Marxist capitalism and today's media (in all its forms) can be seen as intertwined. Every piece of media we consume is created by the ruling class (the corporations) as a means to make a profit. There isn't one bit of media that we enjoy daily that isn't in actuality created for the benefit of said corporations. Never have I once thought about how all those television shows which I adore have had their starting points as nothing more than a product to be pushed. But another interesting thought is how these corporations seem to make it work time and again. They are able to mold these products, change their original visions so as to be more profitable, and yet they still manage to also make them enjoyable for the consumer (of course this isn't always the case and corporations ruin things people love from time to time). After manipulating the products, a further way to ensure and maximize profit is to intertwine various media sources. Some examples I remember from when I was a kid is when each Harry Potter movie was released, it was accompanied by a video game which me and my brother religiously played. Then you head on over to McDonald's and get a happy meal with Harry Potter themed toys. But even before there were the movies, it was originally a book series that was made into a movie franchise to yet again capitalize on the synergy of all these facets of media. Another way of how they further promote their products is by utilizing celebrities and spectacles. Just by attaching any noteworthy celebrity to any product will boost sales. A recent example of this is the live-action remake of Disney's The Lion King. The movie features and ensemble voice cast including Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, and even James Earl Jones. This sounds as if it should be an instant success, but this is just one of many examples of how corporations ruin something people hold dear. Attaching these known faces (voices) to a project isn't necessarily going to make it good, it is done only to make buzz around it. The movie is considered to be a flop by longtime Disney lovers since a live action film isn't going to be able to catch the magic of the original animated film. It is just another corporate cash grab. When using celebrities isn't an option, spectacles are used. This is done be sensationalizing any given event to extremes so they are talked about even more. We see this in our everyday lives in newspaper headlines which are there to attract our click by making scandalous titles WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS. 

When it comes to news outlets, we run into the problem of losing objectivity. No news we consume today is in any shape or form impartial. True objectivity has been lost in exchange for controlling the masses to further impose upon them your own beliefs, the beliefs of the ruling class (just as the ruling class controls the means of production in Marx's capitalism). Objectivity is further diminished due to information and political biases. News stories (emphasis on stories) find various ways of losing objectivity, be it by making news stories personal by focusing on the individual or by dramatizing events to make them more appealing and generating more buzz around them. My personal belief is that news papers should focus on the individual, and to tell these relatable, human stories rather than trying to find (or create) the next scoop that will sell. A good example of this can be seen in my favourite TV show, HBO's The Wire. Season 5 of The Wire focuses the Baltimore Sun, a news paper. At the beginning of the season, the higher ups tell one of their reporters to focus on the Dickensian aspect while he is going around and interviewing the homeless, which have become a widespread problem around the city's most impoverished areas. What they mean by the term Dickensian aspect is that that wish for him to capture the human struggle of these people, for whom we would never bat an eye for, nor ever stop to think what is it that got them into these dire life situations (just as Dickens would in his works). However, at one point they get the reporter to scrap his piece on the homeless and focus on something else. It is only when a serial killer emerges in the city, who just so happens to be slaying the homeless, does the news paper return their focus onto the homeless. It is only when the story can be dramatized and sensationalized do they consider this a matter worth revisiting. Political bias is a whole problem in and of itself. News outlets today tend to either report on matters which relate to the conservatives or to liberals. There are few sources which stay truly objective (and this is a big IF). Right and left wing outlets feed the information to their base, while suppressing any other information that goes against their agenda. This is true for both sides. I would say I lean towards the left and am not able to comprehend most of the right's viewpoints, but I am aware that the same is true for consumers of right-centric media. It is just what you are exposed to. Conservatives in America sit in front of the TV and watch FOX News 24/7, of course they will only believe in those ideals. Political bias also includes a way to justify your radical beliefs. FOX News has on various occasions been labeled as racist, yet they continually deny this fact. Just a couple of days ago they hit a slam dunk when famous rapper Lil Wayne was seen taking a photograph and smiling with president Donald Trump. He has faced harsh backlash for this move, while conservatives are having a field day, because how could they be racist when rappers are posing for photographs with their leader?