Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism and Media Culture

In the reading “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism and Media Culture” by Douglas Kellner, Kellner discusses how a thorough understanding of cultural studies and the effects of media can pave the way for more individuality and greater freedom from dominant culture.  Kellner describes that “radio, television, film and other products of media culture provide materials out of which we forge our very identities; our sense of selfhood; our notion of what it means to be male or female; our sense of class, of ethnicity and race, of nationality, of sexuality; and of “us” and “them”(Kellner 7).  Through media we have essentially become ourselves, from our morals, to our likes and dislikes and to our clothing. Media has played a role in our education since the day we were able to retain and understand its messages and it has influenced us ever since. Kellner details in the reading that everybody has essentially conformed to dominant culture and have accepted the interests of the dominant culture to be their own.  He states that Beyoncé, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga are “icons of fashion, beauty, style and sexuality” that glamour industries have used to influence women, sell products and clothes. When I read this I thought of magazines such as people magazine that portray celebrities and produce images that girls and women should ultimately conform to. In this particular cover of People Magazine, even the celebrities themselves have been influenced by their surroundings and have tried to conform to the ideal view of beauty that media so often portrays. But like Kellner states,  if we have an understanding of these effects and manipulation then we can become less influenced and more individual.