Media: More Conservative Than People Think

Since the dawn of its existence, the media has always been looked at as a frightening aspect of our culture. Many people don't like or want change, and they reject the media, bashing it as "liberal" or "trying to change society". To an extent this is true. Media often brings to the forefront various social issues and (mostly the news) usually endorses political candidates who are doing the same. What people fail to realize, however; is that there are various aspects of the media that are so blatantly conservative that people fail to realize that the bias is even there. It exists subliminally as part of our idea of common sense. This conservatism is a prime example of hegemony.

Hegemony, quite simply, is the domination of other social or political bodies by the most dominant one. The example here would be the people who make these newscasts, movies, TV shows, etc. The creators of these shows decide what to put out there for people to see, and it starts to change the ideology, or keep the existing ideology the same, of the people that see it.

So back to the example of the media's conservatism. It really is quite blatant when you see it.

Find a person who isn't white in this movie:

Star Wars is considered one of the biggest movies ever, if not the biggest. Often times, people say it "Changed the World" (wired.com). Sure, it was a great movie. It brought together various recurring themes that other movies had just hinted at, and placed them in a fantasy universe. Things such as the great journey, the wise old man, good vs evil, loss, and the dominance of white culture. Seriously, aside from the aliens (who are another species entirely) find a non-white human in this movie. Even Darth Vader, whose voice is that of African American James Earl Jones, is later revealed to be Luke's father, a white man. Even all of the X-Wing pilots in the assault on the Death Star are white. This reinforces the dominance of white culture, which to many just exists as common sense. White culture will always be seen as dominant over others as long as the media continues to portray it that way, and why shouldn't they? The people that make the media are white (in this case George Lucas)!

But that was 1977! Surely things have changed by now! It's a much more social society. It's becoming more equal. Movies now star other races. For example, check out this movie series whose main theme is a fellowship and willing to accept diferences to work together! The third one even won best picture and a lot of other awards!

Oh wait, they're all white too. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. In. The. Whole. Trilogy.

So on one hand we have a media who is seen as promoting social change and diversity, but it almost comes off as hypocritical, because the media itself has failed to adapt to social change and diversity. Nationally televised news shows are usually hosted by white anchors, even though, thankfully, this has begun to change slightly (namely ESPN).  Movies generally star a bunch of white actors, or, to cater to other races, a bunch of black actors, with a few exceptions of course.

The point is, the media is much more conservative than people think. They may promote liberal stories, but nearly their entire business is run by rich white males, and they exert their dominance over the hiring and creative processes. They promote social issues because it appeals to everybody, but that doesn't mean they have to have the minorities of which their stories are about presenting those stories. They still subliminally reinforce the basic ideologies that people have, and that is easily the best example of hegemony in our culture today.