Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Hegemony & Entertainment News


     After reading and discussing hegemony in class, I could not help to think about all of the entertainment news we have in media such as celebrity news shows, magazines, blogs, twitter, and so on.  E! News is a perfect example of this source of media.  This is a show that’s on nightly and has all the breaking news and gossip about celebrities.  This show glamorizes celebrity gossip such as whose hooking up, breaking up, etc.  They focus on issues and stories that are in reality, trivial to our society.  Yet, the way these stories are presented make them seem important stories for its viewers to be informed on.    However, the fact that this show, along with other entertainment news, has been on for awhile and receives ratings suggests that people in America watch these shows and are in fact interested in what is going on in the lives of celebrities.  I will admit that I often find myself watching E! News or reading through a tabloid magazine.  This had me thinking about the whole issue of hegemony and the influence the elite and celebrities have over others.  It seems that a lot of celebrities unintentionally control what is in the media.  Not all celebrities choose to necessarily have their personal lives in the media, yet, because people are interested in their lives they do, however, influence the media.  Therefore, the elite, in certain ways, are the ones that choose what is in the media, but without a mass amount of people to consume this media, there would be no audience and this type of programming would not be aired.


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