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If that was the intention, then they've seriously failed. That isn't the
intention, of course.
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I don't think television shows make us feel important, quite the opposite in
fact.
Most people aspire to connect with other people, though the ways they try to
make those connections usually differ quite a bit. The mass media serves
this process by providing a common
language and environment for people to feel connected in. In exchange for
providing that connectivity, people are willing to buy some stupid product,
or watch some horribly bad (in my opinion) TV show.
I don't think that's such a horrible thing. Sure, I feel that kind of
connection is shallow, trite and meaningless, but what do i know? If you
see things differently and wish to transcend, that opportunity is available.
If you're content with all the trappings of modern consumerism,
wonderful; the world can always use another middle manager.
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I think that's an overstatement to say that in order to be a
contributing part of society you have to buy into some mass media
hallucination. In order to be a part of consumer culture, definitly you
have to buy into that, but not society as a whole.
There are many other avenues for people with no desire to ever flip through
an ikea catalog.
If there's any one thing that america is very good at providing (at least to
the middle class and above) its options; from the cola you drink to the
school you go to, to the culture you participate in, alternatives abound.
So you won't be able to connect with the majority of the population? Oh
well.
There's still a pretty vibrant minority out there once you get over the fact
that the majority is resigned to mediocrity.
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True individuality isn't possible. Human beings define their reality based
on their interactions with other human beings. The scupltor who sits in his
studio and makes
chickens out of car parts he found in a junk yard is no more an indiviudal
than a consumer who goes to the supermarket and experiences some
existential agony over the selection of toothpaste. The fact that someone
knows they exist is individuality enough for me.
Mark
We are alone because we
know differently.
