Defending the Media
On a blog titled “Media Criticism”, a post with this title ought to be surprising. My job is to reveal that just because it’s printed doesn’t make it true. However, when it comes to culture, the media is often shouldered with too much responsibility for shaping mindsets. At some point, people have to be trusted (and able) to make their own choices about information.
One of the most trite examples of easy media-bashing deals is, indeed, culture. MTV is lampooned for its influence on teenage youth; clothing companies are blasted for telling kids what’s “cool” and what isn’t. Celebrity magazines dictate hair and clothing styles. At some point, though, doesn’t the responsibility for our choices lie in us?
I was flipping through the most recent issue of GQ and found an article that made me as angry as it made me depressed. It’s titled Why I’m Cool (With Being Uncool), and its premise is the story of a 39 year-old learning what he should have learned at 20: others’ opinions shouldn’t define a person.
It’s amazing to me that this article is even printed; what he writes as a so-called great victory over social standards is really nothing more than overcoming debilitating immaturity. I would argue that the solution to the cultural bandwagon effect lies not in the media, but in us.
It’s easier to blame MTV for espousing conformity than it is to take responsibility for our own decisions, I guess.
media, MTV, conforming, GQ
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