Like many people stated in their post-class responses, it's a little eerie to think about how much our thoughts are controlled by the hegemonic power. Chomsky explains in his article, "A Propaganda Model," that for the most part, we are so affected by propaganda through mass media, constant advertisement exposure, etc. that we do not even notice how much it shapes us. What scares me the most about this notion is the fact that these morals, or fashion statements, or whatever it is that we're being fed, it's all a matter of consumerism. Like I mentioned in my Bourdieu article, it is all motivated by profits. Hegemony doesn't care if we're in debt, unhappy, or unhealthy, it only cares if we're buying.
I am a victim of this whole process. I am what Chomsky might refer to as the blind consumer, unaware of what he is being told to do, how to think, how to act, how to dress, how to live his life. And it's such a disappointment because I am now realizing that the way people are being told to act, dress, and live is not with their best interests at heart. It's with other people's wallets in mind. Just like TV is sucking the creativity and art out of people's everyday lives, consumerism is sucking the happiness.
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