Americans in the 1950s feared communism as much as we hated capitalism. At that time, if anyone dared to speak nonsense in support of capitalism, they would wear a high hat and walk the streets; and if any old American dared to claim that he was a Communist Party, he would have to face a similar fate of dismissal from office and ransack of his home. Edward R. Murrow dared to stand up and reveal the truth to the American people through CBS is really valuable. This is also the embodiment of American press freedom and the practice of Murrow's own journalistic ideals.
However, if it is only used as a character documentary or journalism enlightenment education, there is not much to do. Murrow is just one of many news fighters. What really touched me was the sentence at the end:
To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful.
Murrow realized early on that television was becoming synonymous with entertainment. Now, the TV shows and gossip news on the screen are no different from his worries. Even the paper media, which is seen as having an advantage in in-depth reporting, has inevitably become a recreational reading after dinner. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with recreation, it's just that life would be very bad if it was just recreation.
So let's talk about entertainment. The "petty bourgeoisie" that was popular in the city in the early days became "yuppie" and "middle class". In fact, they are all shopping elites cultivated by a consumerist society, shopping malls, not business places. They all say that Shanghai has culture, and they are called "Shanghai-style culture". In my opinion, the so-called "Shanghai-style culture" actually implicitly fits the consumer culture. Regardless of gender, age, and age, most "elites" love to wrap themselves in famous brand cloth from head to toe.
And our TV, newspapers, and magazines have transformed from truth communicators into fashion guides and consumption leaders, and they are well suited to the arrival of the "image-reading era".
There are two types of urban writers. One is an emerging fashion communicator. The topic of conversation is usually about the season of the season, the bar disco, avant-garde art, or relationship between men and women. There is also a memory of the old Shanghai home. With the elegance of Zhang Ailing, she narrates the cheongsam, rouge, and old Kehler from the past. It seems to record culture and collect history, but in fact it is hard to forget the modern legacy of the past. These two kinds of people have one intersection: consumption.
Whether it's a cotton club or a hippodrome dance hall, nothing is impossible without a stack of bills. Encouraging consumption and stimulating domestic demand has become the first mission of the media. Which color should you wear today, how should you match it tomorrow, how should you shape an affair the day after tomorrow, and what additions should you make for yourself the day after tomorrow? If you can't answer after one second, the next second you'll want to buy a fashion book and do your homework. If you are still a poor working person, then look at the sky-high fashion products on the books, you will be full of happiness and knowledge, and you will not think that CDs are Compact Discs, which will make people laugh at the countrymen secretly. Thus, the educational function of the media has finally been realized - a consumer textbook.
Indeed, these days, who cares about national affairs? After receiving the salary, going straight to the GUCCI monopoly and then having a banquet at the hotel next door is the top priority of the social backbone after get off work. It is impossible to overestimate how much the media has played a role in fueling the flames. In the past, LV was favored by foreigners, and later, it was skillful to flatter local fashion people, but in fact, there is a difference between Younik in No. 18 on the Bund and Bree next door in terms of consumption? Maybe support originality and buy local to be more fashionable and avant-garde. If you don't know what Younik is, then google it, and you can find a lot of media coverage. Once again confirmed the media's enthusiasm for guiding consumption, and single-handedly instructed the audience to worship Nanjing West Road, the Bund and other places devoutly.
Of course, I also admit that reading "Southern Weekend" after a long day will undoubtedly make things worse. However, if you talk about the new design shops on Changle Road all day long, does it underestimate your brain thinking ability too?
However, Murrow's mournful cry was insignificant after all. There is no doubt about the supremacy of consumption. For example, the "Bund Pictorial" that once declared that "credibility is vitality" will inevitably fall into the "consumption is vitality" model of "Weekend Pictorial". What kind of media the public is willing to consume is naturally not something that the media itself can decide. But without the media's hype about consumption earlier, would fashion books be thriving or even domineering today? In fact, before I knew it, I myself had become a loyal consumerist.
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