(no subject)

[novapsyche]

Ever since I came into contact with the idea of psychohistory, I've begun picking up on things in the media that alarm me.

I have heard "assassination" so many times, it's not funny. When was the last time we had an RFK retrospective? I don't remember one, because he was always in the shadow of his brother.

I've heard news pundits use terms like "pull the trigger" and "put a gun to his head" (the latter actually specifically referencing Obama, using figurative language).

I've seen a lot more stories about how racism used to be in the 1920s and '30s. Turner Classic Movies just ran a short from that time period featuring mainly African-Americans, including Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, called "King for a Day" (the running gag was that black men sure liked to throw dice!).

The History Channel ran a repeat of "Illegal Drugs: Cocaine". Some of it was a very interesting retrospective of how cocaine was added to just about everything and was seen as a wonder drug at first, but it made a point that it wouldn't have been made illegal had it not been for Southern newspapers making a ruckus about "cocaine-crazed Negroes."

The media is controlled by a small handful of folks. They must understand what they are doing.

Comments

[fountaingirl.livejournal.com]

Hey I didn't realize this was flocked and I linked to you, I am sorry about that. I will delete the post.

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

I locked it because I didn't want to perpetuate the same phrases and soundbytes of the media that would . . . catch the attention of the theoretical audience. But I guess the chances of that are low. I could unlock it.

[rialian.livejournal.com]

===Oh, I would say they know what they are doing. Of course, thinking such things is just crazy....(chuckles)

[timiathan.livejournal.com]

While I do believe the media is controlled, I don't think the control is always direct. The media isn't controlled like the military, with a chain of command and an army of individuals moving in unison. It's controlled like a flock of birds -- evolution guides the development of the birds so they're perfected to the task; thinking they act alone, they act in a flocking pattern. Who's the leader in a flock of birds? Who turns first as the flock avoids the falcon? It just happens, because it evolved to happen that way.

Assassination is as American as apple pie

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

The tradition of assassinating political leaders in America goes way back. In fact, the original Sally Hemmings muck raking article was an attempt to politically assassinate Jefferson. Supporters of Hamilton would contend that Burr's duel was a form of assassination.

Today, they use sneaking underhanded techniques such as applying a small amount of explosive to an airplane's control lines to precipitate the craft from the sky. And then, there is the intimidation effect of hinting at a hit.

[tarikofgotham.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0r71L7cojE

Speaking of mega media control, this is the keynote address at the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis, June 7, 2008.

It's long, but it's a very intense look @ the control and the effects of a less free press on the inherent representativeness of our democracy.