In class on thursday, I enjoyed trying to define what “middle-class morality” was. I found it helpful that I was able to try to describe the concept in my own words. This made me feel more comfortable to share my thoughts in the future. After class, I did some digging on what this concept means. While searching online, I found a Prezi by John Kremar that explained what the middle-class morality is all about. In the presentation, middle-class morality was defined to be “ the way a person is expected to behave and think when they are a part of the middle class”(Kremar, 2013). By looking at this definition, I could easily apply it to what Bourdieu was trying to explain in his essay. These Tv celebrities and hosts are mostly paid to control the minds of the middle class. If we look at the middle class, they are the majority of people that live in America. Therefore, these two-bit celebrities are controlling the ideological mindset of the masses. For example, the Kardashians are making millions and millions of dollars doing just that. This whole family sets our fashion, social, and body trends, that consume the minds of the masses. The concept of individuality is technically stripped away because we are taught to be just like the people in “power” (aka the Kardashians or any other celebrity).
With my family being a member of the upper-middle class, I can see myself falling in line with the control of these two-bit celebrities. I feel like beauty standards are what I follow the most. Now with social media, I am always continually trying to find what Kylie Jenner is doing with her make- up to keep with the trend, or I am watching the Kardashian show to see where I should vacation next. By analyzing my behavior, I am almost ashamed that I am stripping away my own identity to fit in our “perfect” society. By studying Bourdieu’s work, I have become enlightened about the truth, and in the future, I will become more mindful about how to think about the world around us.
https://prezi.com/0xpm9ugiug0m/middle-class-morality/
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ReplyDeleteTiana,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your self-reflection section, especially when you mentioned looking to two-bit spirit guides for vacation and fashion advice. We look to make ourselves unique in many ways: From the way we dress (clothes/make-up), where we travel, our hobbies, to the media we consume (TV, streaming). We look to create a specific experience using the advice of news anchors, social media personalities or TV stars. The “middle class morality” is perversion of independent ideals. The middle class is rewarded by adherence to metanarratives, many are employed by the very agencies that are tasked with enforcing these views.
I do not think that you should condemn yourself for following the path of the millions surrounding you. We have all been there, middle of the night trying to sleep, you see an exciting video about electric longboards on Youtube. Next thing you know it is 3 am and I am are pricing out the best color combo to match those Monday vibes. Then I remember that I cannot even ride a skateboard. It has always been amazing to me how easy it is to slip into a lull of pointless research. I connected this to a quote from Umberto Eco:
“Disneyland is also a place of total passivity. Its visitors must agree to behave like robots”
The passive nature of two-bit digital guides slips human consciousness into in unaware yet ironically logical mindset. In the absence of a true negative our minds use some kind of cognitive dissonance method to justify hours wasted researching electric skateboards. This pacification of the middle class could benefit society; the danger is allowing the mindset of the controlling (majority) class to be manipulated by whomever can afford to own our idols.