Mass media is an important source because it provides us with news and information, serves as a form of entertainment, and educates the audience. We make our decisions based on what is portrayed on television, newspapers, magazines, and the web. We put all our trust on the media to give us news, entertainment, and education. Media plays an important role in society and eventually manipulates us to buy products that we do not need. The media uses images, quotes, and themes to persuade the buyer to buy the product. Horkheimer and Adorno’s article, The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception, focuses on media and marketing. They state that all mass culture is identical and it creates “identical products” which eventually leads to homogeneity. The culture industry has a huge affect on the audience especially teenagers. Teenagers want to look good AND feel good. They feel the need to be up to date in fashion and be seen as a person who has “SWAG”. An example of a product that has been very popular in today’s society is shoes in particular Jordan’s. Jordan’s are a perfect example of what Horkheimer and Adorno mean when they say that the culture industry is brain washing us.
The whole purpose and function of a shoe has been lost. Teenagers are spending their money, up to five hundred dollars, on a pair of shoes because of the brand and the quality. More and more teens are entering the “shoe game” or better yet becoming “sneaker heads”. These individuals are waiting for the release date of the shoes and constantly checking via Internet. It is very hard to obtain Jordan’s because there are limited sizes and a low quantity of shoes per store. It has come to the point where people have killed or injured other individuals to get a hold of Jordan’s. On December 2012, a 16-year-old teen was shot and killed by thieves that were after his Nike Air Jordan Retro 11s. It is sad to see what the world has come to.
I believe these individuals are out of their mind and have an obsessive sneaker disorder or what not. I have a bunch of friends that love to collect Jordan’s but I can’t seem to understand what they see in them that makes them valuable. In my opinion, I think it’s stupid to be wasting tons of money on Jordan’s when you can buy shoes for a low price that will still do the same job. It’s crazy enough to see people camping outside of stores and waiting in long lines that go past three blocks. Individuals just want Jordan’s to fit in and have the latest shoes. The media plays with our brains to the point where it creates the idea that we need to buy the product. The truth is that most of the time we don’t even need the product. I’m sad to say this but I am really worried of what lies ahead of us. As media including technology advances day by day I wouldn’t doubt that the culture industry would still manipulate us.
The whole purpose and function of a shoe has been lost. Teenagers are spending their money, up to five hundred dollars, on a pair of shoes because of the brand and the quality. More and more teens are entering the “shoe game” or better yet becoming “sneaker heads”. These individuals are waiting for the release date of the shoes and constantly checking via Internet. It is very hard to obtain Jordan’s because there are limited sizes and a low quantity of shoes per store. It has come to the point where people have killed or injured other individuals to get a hold of Jordan’s. On December 2012, a 16-year-old teen was shot and killed by thieves that were after his Nike Air Jordan Retro 11s. It is sad to see what the world has come to.
I believe these individuals are out of their mind and have an obsessive sneaker disorder or what not. I have a bunch of friends that love to collect Jordan’s but I can’t seem to understand what they see in them that makes them valuable. In my opinion, I think it’s stupid to be wasting tons of money on Jordan’s when you can buy shoes for a low price that will still do the same job. It’s crazy enough to see people camping outside of stores and waiting in long lines that go past three blocks. Individuals just want Jordan’s to fit in and have the latest shoes. The media plays with our brains to the point where it creates the idea that we need to buy the product. The truth is that most of the time we don’t even need the product. I’m sad to say this but I am really worried of what lies ahead of us. As media including technology advances day by day I wouldn’t doubt that the culture industry would still manipulate us.