Places and forms of power: the power of media

Place and forms of power

Introduction:

I will introduce the concept of "place and form of power". The place and form of power can be referred to symbolic places of power. There are different types of powers as the political, economic, social power or family. We can ask: "What is the power of the media ?" and "What are the different forms of resistance ?" Firstly we'll see the power of the media and then, we'll see the resistance to power: African/American civil right movement.

I) The power of the media

If we look at the power of the media, we can see how much it can influence the public opinion. The mass media plays on important role in forming our personality, enriching our knowledge, providind us with information of any kind. Mass media can have an effect on our personal identity: it can help us feel that we are part of a group (social networks) but on the other hand it can contribute to a feeling isolation. Media can have a strong political influence or can shape the way we perceive certain groups of society. Mass media is powerful because it makes us believe what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour (reality TV). The dangers for children who are able to access Internet materials that are inappropriate their age. The internet can facilitate an invasion of privacy.                                                                  

II) The resistance to power: African/American civil right movement

The Civil Rightd Movement encompasses social movements in the US whose goals were to end racial segregation and discrimination against African/Americans and to secure legal recognition and federal protection of the citizenship rights enumerated in the Constitution and federal law. The movement was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance. Between 1955 and 1968, actsn of non-violent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations and productive dialogues between activits and government authorities. Most of the resistance was implemented by non-violents actions, but the Black Power movement followed the idiology of Malcom X using a "by any means necessary" approach to stop inequality. The Civil Rights acts of 1964 banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin in employment practices and ended unequal application of voter registration requierements and racial segregation in schools at the workplace and by public accomodations. The voting Rights Acts of 1965 restored and protected voting rights.

Conclusion:

We have just seen that the media are means to apply a power. Indeed, they influence people's lifes and opinions. However, we can not always agree with the authority that the state imposes on us, it then sets up a form of resistance.

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