Two years of media studies down, and the exams just got over, and I am exhausted, verbally, psychologically, and physically. This, is everything I have learnt:
Let us process a piece of information "Gynophobia is the fear of women". In the modern society, information is consumed at a frenzied pace. Information, when processed, generates even more information. We seek out information not for power, but for satisfaction. Everything from the ion to Britney Spears is a curiosity, a fetish of the system that needs to be satisfied. The satisfaction, is derived, by the processing of the information, and not the information itself.
You see, the author has to struggle to stay alive. The author is not at a position to claim any influence whatsoever over the processing of the information that is suggested by the text. The author is not only dead, but his works form an ironic epithet - he is buried under his own words. This is what, certain authors experienced and were distressed about. Then they had an idea… the information that they provide would always be beneficial to the providers of the information, else they would have no reason to effort the information provision. A subtle magic of influence and misdirection was woven within the very syntax, if not the text, and what we have is the modern mass media and the modern society.
That is the hypnotism of the media… it pretends and suggests still that the author is dead, and the meaning of the delivered information is only with the receiver, and that everything is open for interpretation. The media would have no function, no use, and no reason to exist, if it did not influence the people it reached out to. It is not wise to trust anything with so much power. Interacting with the media is like playing with fire. It is an activity that is dangerous for the psyche of an individual. Change your perspective. The author is not dead, he is alive and controlling, on many levels, levels you do not know or are aware of. It is necessary to understand the philosophy of “questioning everything”, it is important to question everything, but it is most important to question yourself, find out, as soon as possible, what is it that you believe in, and resist any change to these beliefs. Because then, you will be drawn into the vortex of decay and control, you will be sucked into the media and become a part of it, because these beliefs will lead to actions that will change who you are. It is necessary to be alert to every statement, suggestion, idea and philosophy that is offered to you… because these are the building blocks of your phobias that will get controlled. “Gynophobia” is also the contempt for women.
The media is not an entity of its own. It does not have a mind and cannot think. Therefore, it is easy to assume that all of the Media is controlled by some powerful people. Who exactly controls the media? Here is, an interesting proposition: pictures this: information begins to flow from one person to another, in a volume and intensity that is directly proportional to the technology of information spread available at that point of time. Throughout history, the rulers and the church were the most influential people. It was difficult to muster up and co-ordinate a revolution. It was the time for artists and authors to be influential after a few revolutions that were mustered. By the time the twentieth century came about, the press, film makers, and in the later half, musicians, were influential. More and more people were contributing to the media, and the standards of the media were apparently falling. Now a lot of people contribute to the mass media, and the very idea of a “standard” for the media is extinct. Information has its ultimate source in humans, obviously. The words “gyno” and “phobia” contributed to the making of another word which brought two idea complexes together, a conscious effort of someone. You get the idea right… so everyone indulges in this, everyone processes and contributes information to the system in one way or another, and the media continues to be a cancerous force, culminating in something really neat actually.
The media manages to be a representation of everything that everyone is. It averages out the differences. Both the president and the porn star will fall for that advertisement of a can of coke. The subtle web of influence exploits the hidden recesses of the consciousness, the very instincts programmed in our genes, the media directly reaches into your system, your head, and that is where the media is at its best. Knowing how you are personally influenced by the media, is the one true way to know exactly what you are. You will have changed, considerably, in the very process of finding out, but that, really. Is the best you can do.
PS: The author considers Gynophobia to be an obtuse and unaesthetic subject matter for contemplation.
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