20th Century Mass Media
editThe mass-media of the 20th century played into anti-intellectualism in the US by reporting on higher education and intellectualism. Dane Claussen wrote about how many news sources focused on all of the things students were doing while in college except for the intellectual pursuits. They consistently reported on college being for fun, dating, and social development, while neglecting the academic aspects. During protests and social movements, the students were cast in a bad light by much of print media during the 20th century, which minimized their views, making it harder for the public to take them seriously. [1]
Dane Claussen uses the following quote from Daniel Rigney, an American sociologist, to demonstrate how the media is able to influence the public's perception:
The effects of mass media on attitudes toward intellect are certainly multiple and ambiguous. On the one hand, mass communication greatly expand the sheer volume of information available for public consumption. On the other hand, much of this information comes preinterpreted for easy digestion and laden with hidden assumption, saving consumers the work of having to interpret it for themselves. Commodified information naturally tends to reflect the assumptions and interests of those who produce it, and its producers are not driven entirely by a passion to promote critical reflection.[2][3]
Rigney said this as an addition to Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky's theory of Manufactured Consent.
The 20th century media researched by Claussen was also reporting on intellectualism in a way that distanced the public from intellectuals. Many of the stories that Claussen found detailed students that performed exceptionally well. These stories often objectified students like this, making them something to be looked at as an oddity, but not a status attainable by the average person. By reporting on these students in this way, they have played a part in contributing to the view that intellectualism is a form of deviancy that should be avoided so as not to attract ridicule. [4]
- ^ Dane, Claussen (2004). Anti-Intellectualism in American Media. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. pp. 197–198. ISBN 0-8204-5721-3.
- ^ Dane, Claussen (2004). Anti-Intellectualism in American Media. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 0-8204-5721-3.
- ^ Rigney, Daniel (1991). "Three kinds of anti-intellectualism: Rethinking Hofstadter". Sociological Inquiry. 61: 431–451.
- ^ Dane, Claussen (2004). Anti-Intellectualism in American Media. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. p. 198. ISBN 0-8204-5721-3.