Mass Society Theory

Essay text:

(Marcuse, 1969, 1978) Critics proposed turning over control of the media to elites 1920’s media power went to government in Europe with disastrous results in Germany with Nazi power In the US, a free enterprise broadcasting system was put into place – The Federal Radio Commission – later called the FCC Assumptions of Mass Media Media have the power to reach out and directly influence the minds of average people. (Davis, 1976) Also known as the direct-effects assumption – the media, in and of themselves, can produce direct effects. Stresses the negative influence the media has and how vulnerable the average citizen is to the manipulative power of the media Assumptions of Mass Media Once people’s minds are corrupted by media, all sorts of bad long-term consequences result – not only bringing ruin to individual lives, but also creating social problems on a vast scale (Marcuse, 1941) Major social problems linked to media – prostitution, gambling, deliquesce, urban violence Housewives watch too many soaps and read trashy romance novels Teenage girls hate their bodies because of fashion magazines Assumptions of Mass Media Average people are vulnerable to media because they have been cut off and isolated from traditional social institutions that previously protected them from manipulation (Kreiling, 1984) In the past, villages protected each other and shielded them from ugliness Traditional values of pre-TV America Media charged with stripping and replacing the social institutions in a folk community Assumptions of Mass Media The social chaos initiated by media will inevitably be resolved by establishment of a totalitarian social order (Davis, 1976) Predicated on the thought that mass society is chaotic and highly unstable In times of chaos, demagogues arise and promise average people that their problems can be solved by joining extremist political movements Totalitarianism eliminates individuality As these extremist movements gain power, they place heavy pressure on the traditional elites The lead demagogue receives the most power and eventually leads in a totalitarian state Hitler is a strong example of a totalitarian leader George Orwell’s 1984 is a strong example of a totalitarian state Assumptions of Mass Media Mass media inevitably debase higher forms of culture, bringing about a general decline in civilization...