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How Media Construct, Normalize & Commodify Identities Essay

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How the Mainstream Media Construct, Normalize, and Commodify Identities
through Representation
The mainstream media has taken a center-stage in normalizing, constructing, and
commodifying identities through representations. It has succeeded in capturing the diverse
interests covering variations in gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, ethnicity, bodies, nation,
and much more. That is why Jhally (327) asserted that we live inside the consumer culture
courtesy of media and that our original cultures have been hijacked. It is also the reason why
Jhally argues that we need to excavate the origin of our most celebrated rituals. Media is a
powerful tool that utilizes images, sounds, and videos in conveying and persuading people,
especially in advertisements. The extensive coverage of media has given it an upper hand in
thriving when it comes to an impressively large number of people across the world.
Multinational companies like Apple Inc. have succeeded in winning customers from all
backgrounds worldwide by utilizing media in advertising and creating customer loyalty. It's the
goal of the paper to explore how media manage in constructing, normalizing, and commodifying
identities.
One of the reasons given by Jhally that makes mainstream media so powerful in
constructing, normalizing, and commodifying identities is that it utilizes images and emotions.
According to Jhally, when images and feelings are used, the consumers would think less and
believe more (335). When human being ceases to make a rational judgment, he or she is swayed

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into accepting what the media has. This is how new cultures created by media replace human
culture. Media has taken the upper hand in the advertising industry because of the coverage and
the way it presents the intended message to the customers. It has succeeded in creating ads that
represent all kinds of people without discrimination. This way, companies end up creating a large
customer base across the world. The fact that the media covers all parts of the world has made it
highly useful in advertising the products.
Secondly, the mainstream media is powerful because it identifies people's emotions,
wraps them in a presentable manner, and then sells the "created emotions" back to the people in
the form of advertisement (Jhally 329). The ads use compelling images, sounds, videos, and arts.
When people see how the ads capture their dreams, they will emotionally develop feelings that
their dreams can become a reality if they act or follow what the ads say. All this information is
focused on convincing the customers on how they can become happy and comfortable by
purchasing and consuming the products from the intended company. More so, they try to display
how inclusive, caring, and mindful they are towards the welfare of the people. For example, in
many events like sports and welfare programs, adverts showing the companies that sponsor such
incidents are ubiquitous. Such information intends to create customer loyalty by indicating how
mindful they are towards consumer welfare. This way, they are convinced that many people will
develop a positive attitude towards the company and its products.
Thirdly, the media is powerful in commodifying consumer’s aspirations because the
advertisements usually target the points of happiness in consumers. They try to major on what
customers would view as a source of joy and useful life. That is why Carla (436) demonstrated
the power of using slim models to advertise products. The principle of satisfaction guides
consumers in terms of how they will select products to consume. The images presented in the ads

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Surname 1 Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Name Date How the Mainstream Media Construct, Normalize, and Commodify Identities through Representation The mainstream media has taken a center-stage in normalizing, constructing, and commodifying identities through representations. It has succeeded in capturing the diverse interests covering variations in gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, ethnicity, bodies, nation, and much more. That is why Jhally (327) asserted that we live inside the consumer culture courtesy of media and that our original cultures have been hijacked. It is also the reason why Jhally argues that we need to excavate the origin of our most celebrated rituals. Media is a powerful tool that utilizes images, sounds, and videos in conveying and persuading people, especially in advertisements. The extensive coverage of media has given it an upper hand in thriving when it comes to an impressively large number of people across the world. Multinational companies like Apple Inc. have succeeded in winning customers from all backgrounds worldwide by utilizing media in advertising and creating customer loyalty. It's the goal of the paper to explore how media manage in constructing, normalizing, and commodifying identities. One of the reasons given by Jhally that makes mainstream media so powerful in constructing, normalizing, and commodifying identities is that it utilizes images and emotions. According to Jhally, when images and feelings are used, the consum ...
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