Why is it important to critically analyze the media? - The Final Cut

Those who read the original version can now see how cut down it got on submission:

Approximate Length: 2 min.



In 1939, Hitler started his conquest of the globe. His regime is known as one of the most propagandist ones in history, if not the most. He managed to convince his entire population that Jewish people were evil, inferior, and must be exterminated off the face of the Earth. These people weren't stupid, nor were they simply blind followers; they truly believed that Hitler was doing good for the world; his propaganda had convinced them.

The problem arises from a government that is fully aware of how to manipulate the public, and utilizes, via the media, our perceptual tendencies. For instance, we generally will “cling to first impressions, even if they’re wrong” (Adler, 2006, p.37). The media can use this by first incriminating the cause, and then later leaving it open to public interpretation. For example, the war in Iraq was first announced as a means of controlling weapons of mass destruction, thus implanting an evil perception on the subject. Later, even after no weapons were found, the public still believed that they had at least conquered a great evil (Goodman, 2003). This is circular logic since, the idea of them being a great evil was based on them having said weapons, which were never found.

It is important as a population to understand our own tendencies such that we might be able to pass unbiased judgment of an event. Do I truly back this war? What is the other side of the story? If we continue to ask questions like these, it will become harder for a government to act in a way that does not benefit its people, and conversely, it will become harder for a government to avoid the true demands of the people, who have become more vocal against a platform that has become somehow transparent.


Works Cited:

Adler, Ronald B. and George Rodman. Understanding Human Communication, 9th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Goodman, Ellen, “Let me see, uh, well, why did we invade Iraq?” Boston Globe 20 May, 2003. 1 Oct., 2006 .