LightningBolt, Bourdieu

Referring to TV news: “It suits everybody because it confirms what they already know and, above all, leaves their mental structures intact” (329)

I can not remember the last time I saw something on TV news that had an impact on my life. I am entertained while watching the news, telling myself that I am learning about the world and all of the important issues. I now realize that any important issue that could possible have an impact on my life would be much too challenging a topic to put on TV news. If one of these topics somehow makes its way to television it is presented in a censored manner that allows up to remain calm and not see the true catastrophic nature. When turning on national TV news we are almost guaranteed to see some clips referring to the war. These segments are familiar to us because we see them frequently. While the governments allows TV news to show some coverage of the war it is simply enough to convince everyone we are completely filled in on what is going on. If everything that the government knew regarding the war was televised the public would be in total uproar. As Bourdieu explains, TV news can only broadcast news that will keep the publics mental structures intact. This means nothing life changing or catastrophic.

Bejamin refers to the ability of a camera to deceive the images it is filming. A combination of film altering what we see on television with the news censoring what is presented results in the public’s inability to be connected to true occurrences in the world. What would happen if our information was not censored? Is it really in our best interest to not know the detailed of what is happening in the world?