Bumble: Bourdieu

While reading Bourdieu, I could not help but to think about Benjamin or Lyotard the concept that has been drilled into our heads that something successful is something that has already been created and is simply repeated. What is our aversion to something different or new. As I have always believed that humans are creatures of habit and everything and anything can shake our core and throw us into oblivion. Think about why we enjoy putting on a TV show like FRIENDS, we know that every time we turn on that TV we will be seeing the character Joey act in a certain way and Chandler will make some cheesy and pathetic joke. It is comforting for us to see and hear. We always like to be comforted and have ritual behavior in our intimate or close relationships. Imagine you have a best friend who you open up to about everything. This friend is a vegan because she is an avid animal lover and has a gentle persona. You expect a certain behavior from this person and we build expectations about how this person will act. One day you see her and you find she has on a leather coat and bunny ear muffs and orders a steak from Ruth’s Chris Steak House… UM, what would you do? This is not expected, this is like a sub culture, she stepped away from this thing you knew and suddenly it is NOT what you want anymore. We learn to expect and so when something changes it can be very disconcerting.

Our television shows and news casters are our spiritual guides? We do spend a great deal of time preoccupied watching the news which is supposed to represent reality. We weren’t there though, so how do we know it is real? We formulate these ideas in our heads about how we are supposed to interpret the news and what to expect from it. These ideologies are powerful because they lead or guide America to all think in the same plane of thought. For my CMC200 paper I am examining how most people receive much of their understanding about sex and relationships from the media and often look at TV shows for advice on how to act on a date, or how to “be” in a relationship. It is all channels all sources that guide us in our daily behaviors that we might not even be aware of!