Brummett last left off examining the ways a text can be read through a psychoanalytical lens. He moves, in chapter 5, to feminism, and provides insights on how it can be used to explain the implications of a text. This school of thought is found under the notion/observation that women are belittled by a naturally patriarchal society. The patterns of empowerment of the sexes are unconsciously reinforced in individual minds as society practices them in daily life, whether or not it is explicitly intended to cause a disturbance. (Language, and the usage of signs, be it certain phrases or words, interrelates, suggests, or discourages linked ideas). However, this pertains not only to women as “feminism” suggests, but also to groups who aren’t considered the “norm”. Queer theory describes just that. It explores the idea of gender-role-reversal that the LGBT community tends lead. They challenge feminism in a way that society has never before seen.
The media’s importance in influencing thought is not something many have not heard of. However, it is an area that is overlooked, perhaps because most believe they have the basic gist of it down. Brummett challenges the critic to take a deeper look into the subject. Tragedy and comedy as they are patronized by millions of TV watchers, offers important insight on how individuals deal with stress or a discordance of thoughts. Comedies portray its’ main character often as comic fool, who despite his failure, is reinstated back into society and forgiven. Tragedies portray the tragic hero. Both of these ideas form a parallel to the ways stressed is coped with. The mediums which such programs are viewed also shed light on how the media changes people’s mindsets as they engage in television watching, net surfing, etc. Media logic suggests that “habitual use of a mechanism creates distinct ways of thinking”. For example, television shows blurs the perception of reality because of the effort spent making television appear as real as possible. Computers have brought the mindset of fluidity (ease of access), speed and control, and dispersal through online shopping, youtube, Google, etc.
Brummett's earlier chapters and Olthius's On Worldviews have agreed, that once perceptions have been changed, actions tend to follow suit.
Furthur reading:
- More on Kenneth Burke's legacy "Tragedy and Comedy"
- Dan Chandler's Cultivation Theory (related to influence of television on perception)
A Penny For Your Thoughts?
- It is incredible that so many perspectives can be applied to one film, The Wizard of Oz, which seems to be Brummett's favourite movie. But if such films were at some points trying to, for example, expose disjunction in governments (as by the deception of the wizard) or to reverse the gender roles, how are we to say that it has been successful if people are seemingly unaware?
- Brummett talks about language as a tool for suggesting or discouraging certain images so as to, in a way, manipulate people's perceptions, such as in the God-Guide-Guard example. If it supposedly affects us unconsciously, how would you explain those who strongly believe against it? (In a way, this is similar to the first question- what about people who truly do not see the references made in text?)
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