By Muhamad Hidayat, edited by Edward Tripp
25 July 2010
There are two rudimentary functions of the media: first, to indoctrinate “the elites” so that they know how to serve the ruler best; and second, to alienate the “non-elites” from public debates so that they don’t try to interfere with decision making-process in the government level. The non-elites are supposed to become lost and unaware that their voices don’t count and don’t matter much.
1. Media as Indoctrination Device for Elites
The elites here include those belonging to the “political class”—those whose voices in one way or another matter to the authority’s decision-making process. They are politicians, judges, prosecutors, members of parliament, ministers, and pretty much those who work for the government (Mrs. Michele Obama and Mrs. Ani Yudhoyono may join if they wish). “Businessmen class” also belongs to this cohort. They comprise powerful employers and big people involved in determining the company’s policies. Another crucial member of this group is the “intellectual class,” to which intellectuals and smart people in universities—professors, college students, researchers, whatever—belong. The last member of the political class includes journalists and those working for large, profit-driven, mainstream media. Those people altogether constitute the staunch supporters of Western “democracy,” meaning, democracy as determined by World Bank and the IMF, through which the US channels its hegemonic enterprise.
Elite segment of society suffers from the most intense media indoctrination and propaganda. They read big mainstream newspapers, journals, magazines and other elite media which are heavily subsidized by ads and corporations whose analyses and contents cannot be read and understood easily by laymen. The elites are too cool to mingle with common people. They admire complexity, and are too fastidious in everything, from food to music to cool philosophers to read. The more complex and intricate things going on, the better for them.
In America, they may read New York Times, or Wall Street Journal, or Washington Post. In Indonesia, they read Kompas, Media Indonesia, Jakarta Post or Tempo. However, not the entire contents of mainstream media are propaganda, but language used and tones mostly are.
Why those cool people are the most indoctrinated? They are mutually hooked to each other. The president and members of parliament must be smart enough to satisfy rich and powerful businessmen (giant multinationals, primarily those coming from America and Europe), otherwise they would risk their reelection and the rich men would flee their country, lacking of investments. That is why free market exists. Poor people and local, small businessmen must be flogged with cut of subsidy, wage cuts and lay-offs, so that they won’t become too mawkish. Life is competition, and solidarity is irrational and excessive. So don’t ever disappoint the rich and powerful. The rich and the super-rich, on the other hand, must choose their presidents and friends in government with due care, or they would put their speculative investments at risk. Intellectuals don’t want to be outdone either; their duty is to maintain the continuity of this system until generations to come—in short, to inherit the system.
2. Media to alienate the non-elites from public debates.
The second function of the media is to alienate the common people from public debates, and keep them clueless of essential issues (although they may very much concern people’s lives). Let important matters be taken care of by “big guys in government.” Don’t let the people know that there is something going on.
People are wild, undomesticated, unmannered, and not well-behaved, and if they knew a little, they would rage uncontrollably. So there has to be media that keeps them mute. If smart people read New York Times or Kompas, those clouds should also be offered some “reading materials” to keep them busy and feel included. Then came the entertainment media: the gossips, soap operas, Disney, Animal Planet, cooking magazines, MTV, World Cup, etc. Don’t they need some hard news? Let’s give them reports on youth violence, or sex scandals, or “three-headed babies,” in Chomsky’s words. So they must be provided with some “not-really-serious” matters, and then be allowed to come to a voting box once in four or five years.
Sometimes there are some people who climb into success and make good careers. For instance, their children are managed to study in good schools, so they would receive good education and trainings and be aware of the etiquette in pleasing rulers and bosses of big corporations. But a great number of them must remain the same, so that corporations do not run out of consumers.
3. Product of Media
Like having transactions in market, the media also sells its product. What is the product and who is the buyer? The product of the media is the reader of that media, while the customer is the advertiser, or the business world, or corporations.
Look. Mainstream media is a parasitic institution. They got money from advertisers. And there has to be some “agreement” between the advertisers and the media. In other words, the interests of the media has to, one way or another, agree with the interests of business world. So if the business world favors free market, the media has to automatically picture free market positively and spread propaganda to advance free market principles.
In summary, the society, as the product of the media, are marketed and sold to the business world to become consumers. This analogy is more easily understood as far as entertainment media is concerned. But how about the elite media? Same thing. The elite people, readers of elite media, are sold to corporations, not merely as consumers, but as “special people” who would be in charge of taking over this somewhat complex system. The point is, the association among the elite political class is arranged very cleanly and automatically. But how come? Because they have all been “socialized” from kindergarten up to university, Chomsky concludes. So, how much do you cost now?
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