WouldntULIke2Know Bourdieu

Pierre Bourdieu’s “On television” accurately reflects the dangerous power held by many forms of media, particularly television. His discussion of the abundance of human interest stories that function as essentially a distraction technique is spot on. These social problems are played off as issues of extreme concern given the over-reporting of the rare, but horrific account of something unthinkable.

Giving significance to these “social facts [which are] tailor-made to arouse the pathos and indignation of some commentators or the tedious moralizing of others. This same search for sensational news, and hence market success, can also lead to the selection of stories that give free reign to the unbridled constructions of demagoguery (whether spontaneous or intentional) or can stir up great excitement by catering to the most primitive drives and emotions (with stories of kidnapped children and scandals likely to arouse public indignation). Purely sentimental and therapeutic forms of mobilizing feelings can come into play, but, with murders of children or incidents tied to stigmatized groups, other forms of mobilization can also take place, forms that are just as emotional but aggressive enough almost to qualify as symbolic lynching” (333).

I wish that I had read this article before turning in my literary review for Dr. Tillmann’s Researching Media and Culture, which was precisely on this topic. I focused my review on the media representations of child abuse and the effects that stemmed from the sensationalized reporting of said events. Given that ratings drive what is shown, as Bourdieu and many others have explained, the public has a tainted view of the issue being reported. Such is the case with child abuse. The notion of the threat of stranger danger (i.e. Elizabeth Smart, Jessica Lunsford, etc.) is one that has created a public moral panic. The overwhelming fear that many parents have is based off of inaccurate reporting reflecting a rare threat. The problem with this lies in that this misinformation leads to parents being totally unaware of the more common threat facing their children, abuse that occurs in the home. People are then mobilized to support a cause that is less likely to occur and thus, completely ignore the real threat facing children.