Monday, April 23, 2007

Public Opinion/Phantom Public

The Piece Public Opinion/The Phantom Public by Walter Lippmann is by far one of the most interesting pieces that i have read throughout the course. It details alot of points that are of keen interest on my behalf. One of the most interesting points that Walter Lippmann touches base upon is stereotypes. in his piece he goes on to describe stereotypes as "The most subtlest and most prevasive of all influences are those which create and maintain the repertory of stereotypes. we are told about the world before we see it. we imagine most things before we experience them"(Lippmann pg 183). I agree with the point about stereotypes that Walter Lippmann is making in this direct instance. The message that Lippmann is trying to convey is that a stereotypes are feed to us before we can have an perspective or view about anything. I agree with this point because in the fabricated world we live in that is dominated by media we are feed lots of cruel and harsh things about individuals pertaining to things such as race sex or sexual orientation. the media feeds us negative stereotypes , especially about things that we know little or nothing about. As Walter Lippmann goes on to dictate his views about stereotypes he goes on to mention a film that i am very familiar with. This flim was "Birth of A Nation" by D.C. Grifffin. this film depicts African Americans in the worse way possible. this flim was generally in a sense used as a spoon to feed Americans a negative portrayal of African Americans. It is a good thing that Walter Lippmann used this flim as an example whole expressing his ideas on stereotypes.

1 Comments:

At 10:13 PM, Blogger A. Mattson said...

A good post.

Yes, you are right about "Birth of a Nation." Lippmann is commenting on the power of images and especially film to shape perception. Remember he believes that stereotypes are postive and negative, they are necessary patterns that help us make sense of the world without going insane from over-stimulation.

 

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