I think it's an example of what Marx was talking about when he spoke of Darwinism in capitalism. It's not so much that the scriptwriters are consciously and deliberately following the old tradition of making sure any given story or report on historical finds amounts to blatant white-man's-burden propaganda with the unsubtle message that the western nuclear family unit is the benchmark by which all other cultures must be judged; it's that west-centrism and emotional dumbing down acts as a lowest common denominator of storytelling, with the Disney happy ending being where the biggest bucks are to be found.
Of course, this is not to overlook how this situation can be self-perpetuating; when children grow up surrounded by media such as this, with the most moving story they see being when a Pokémon is written out for good, it's unsurprising to see them go on to prefer similarly anaesthetised stuff for themselves and their children. In addition to my above example, the old Astro Boy series having the final episode cut for US broadcasting because it dealt with death comes to mind.
So, it's not a case of a few (or many) bad apples doing this, but rather it's an entire socio-economic system which gives rise to mass media acting as propagandist and censor to ensure that whichever layer of society throws the most money at it never has its preconceptions challenged or has to think of another point of view.
I suppose a related issue is the commercialisation of anti-capitalism; the classic example being the Che t-shirt, although more recently red stars and Soviet memorabilia seem to be getting popular in the 'alternative' markets (you know, the ones where being punk is defined by wearing pre-cut jeans that come fitted with safety pins that don't actually open). Again, conscious and deliberate attempt to undermine something, or simply the way capitalism automatically behaves?
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Date: 2009-02-21 03:48 pm (UTC)Of course, this is not to overlook how this situation can be self-perpetuating; when children grow up surrounded by media such as this, with the most moving story they see being when a Pokémon is written out for good, it's unsurprising to see them go on to prefer similarly anaesthetised stuff for themselves and their children. In addition to my above example, the old Astro Boy series having the final episode cut for US broadcasting because it dealt with death comes to mind.
So, it's not a case of a few (or many) bad apples doing this, but rather it's an entire socio-economic system which gives rise to mass media acting as propagandist and censor to ensure that whichever layer of society throws the most money at it never has its preconceptions challenged or has to think of another point of view.
I suppose a related issue is the commercialisation of anti-capitalism; the classic example being the Che t-shirt, although more recently red stars and Soviet memorabilia seem to be getting popular in the 'alternative' markets (you know, the ones where being punk is defined by wearing pre-cut jeans that come fitted with safety pins that don't actually open). Again, conscious and deliberate attempt to undermine something, or simply the way capitalism automatically behaves?