The salient influence of the media's portrayal of social class

An analysis of the following quote referenced in the following article:

Framing Class: Media Representations of Wealth and Poverty in America by Diana Kendall

"We overidentify with the wealthy, because the media socialize us to believe that people in the upper classes are better than we are. The media also suggest that we need have no allegiance to people in our own class or to those who are less fortunate" (Kendall, 449)..."The issue of class in the United States is portrayed in the media not through a realistic assessment of wealth, poverty, or inequality but instead through its patterns of rampant consumerism" (Kendall, 452)

      Some people say that one of the most influential and revolutionary changes took place when nearly every home in the United States had a television. From that point on, society was hooked, and truly fell victim to the clever marketing and advertising tactics of thousands of companies. Humans are very easily influenced, and just as it was mentioned in a previous post, are unaware of how quick they are to judge, based purely on preconceived notions...

      This article delved into the media's influence, and how rather than doing society justice, it portrays many different aspects of social class, all of which focus on the wrong thing...Rather than showing the true successes of the "average" american, it shows the pitfalls of not being wealthy, by praising many rich stars on television today. Rather than highlighting the good nature of people, the media displays the importance of brand names and a luxurious lifestyle. Most importantly, rather than accurately displaying the many hardships that some in the lower class face, the media portrays these individuals as the less than us, the stigmatized other that is destined to fail, and who is deserving of such travesties. These common misrepresentations are what is causing American society to crumble quicker than they can say "money". By focusing on the elite, and conditioning members of society to emulate those in such high status, we are denigrating everyone else, including ourselves. We are setting ourselves up for failure before we even recognize our own accomplishments! By setting the standard acceptable lifestyle at this far-fetched elite level, we are literally belittling the life that we have right in front of us, ultimately striving to be better than the rest of society, and further bolstering the competitive nature within the primitive psyche of what Freud calls the id. The value of our lifestyle should never be based on the material possessions that we possess, but based on the media's portrayal of power and the importance of brands, we have been taught differently. As represented in the quote above, one of the most important points made in this article is the fact that we have become a society that is constantly engaged in hedonistic consumerism, rather than in a search for inter-class understanding and mobility. By emulating those who have more than they truly know what to do with, members of society begin to value many things in life, and regrettably ignore those intangible items that are of true importance...

While reading this article, I couldn't help but become more and more angry with how impressionable we are as a society. Rather than understanding that a luxurious lifestyle and material objects do not make a person happy, people strive to "get rich", and it's truly terrible that this desire is noticeable at ages as young as preteens. When I was younger, my friends would watch some of those shows that involved taking a look into some celebrities lifestyles, and I always remember how it felt looking at those houses, cars, and other things, and it always astonished me that those celebrities were revered and emulated. I have always tried to live my life with the idea that money is not what will make you happy, it is love from those around you and even though some rich individuals may seem perfectly content, there are always problems, and the desire for more continues to heighten...As I continued to read this article, I kept thinking of a song, (and in fact it has been stuck in my head the entire time reading and writing this), that truly bolsters my contention...In 2002, rock bank Good Charlotte debuted the song "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous", and it didn't focus on the importance of getting rich, but rather that rich folks apparently were just as unhappy as the average person. (Yes there are two hyperbolic references about how being rich gets you out of certain things, but I'm focusing on the chorus and some other parts of the song). In my opinion, this was a song that dared to shun those that everyone else had been emulating, and it showed that even those "elite" folks are not untouchable after all...Some awesome and important lyrics of the song are as follows: 

"

Always see it on TV
Or read it in the magazines 
Celebrities want sympathy
All they do is piss and moan
Inside the Rolling Stone
Talkin' about how hard life can be

I'd like to see them spend a week

Livin' life out on the street

I don't think they would survive

If they could spend a day or two

Walkin' in someone else's shoes

I think they'd stumble and they'd fall

They would fall (fall)

Lifestyles of the rich and the famous

They're always complainin'

Always complainin'

If money is such a problem

Well, they got mansions

Think we should rob them

"

As a person who has always despised the idea of money representing a person's true worth, all I can truly say is that Oscar Wilde said it perfectly..."Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you" (Oscar Wilde)...

Here is the video if you'd like to hear the whole song...

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous