Contemporary media is omnipresent, thus the influence of media is ubiquitous. Considering this, the necessity for media literacy in discerning the effects of cultural hegemony, manufacturing consent, and representation is integral for an individual to become a functional, participating member of society. In this paper, along with identifying the implications of the dominating principles media is disseminating through the examination of relevant examples, an exploration on why these parameters are problematic will be argued.
Media, in its current homogenized state, establishes and perpetuates a completely biased narrative that caters to benefiting the powerful and wealthy. Television, films, printed press, and all the various multimedia forms of communication are intentionally manipulated
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The Dove brand is primarily targeting women’s hygiene compulsions through the manufacturing of soaps, moisturizers, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, and a litany of analogous products. As an attempt to adapt with the revitalization of women empowerment movements occurring recently, Dove released a series of ‘Real Beauty’ conceptual promotional campaigns. In “Dove Choose Beautiful,” women are “candidly” offered the choice of walking through one of two doors—one labeled as ‘beautiful’ and the other as ‘average.’ This video campaign has over nine million views on Dove’s YouTube channel and was considered a viral success for the company. However, it is important to note that the doors being labeled as ‘beautiful’ and ‘average’ still patronizingly revolves around women’s physical attributes. Moreover, the two doors are a prime model of manufactured consent, in which the only two options being offered also happen to facilitate the promotion of certain values. Being mindful that this is still a brand with products to make marketable, the content is a bit