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Part A: Understanding Media “It’s not the case, as the naïve might think, that indoctrination is inconsistent with democracy, rather, it’s the essence of democracy.” I believe that what Noam Chomsky is trying to say is that indoctrination (propaganda) plays a huge role in our democratic society. Our society thinks we have the freedom of choice but in reality we don’t. Take education for example. The idea that without an education, you cannot be successful in life has been taught to us since we were kids. We are constantly told and shown by the media that if you do not go to school and get an education, there’s no way you can succeed in life. There are constant messages in the media showing society the outcome of your life without an education. In T.V sitcoms the uneducated characters are portrayed in a very negative way. They are usually the factory worker, trucker, or the lonely, depressed person without a family. The message they are sending out to the viewers is that without an education you cannot be successful and live a happy, fulfilling life. They are indoctrinating us with the idea that education equals to success and success is defined as having a lot of money. It is not common to see parents encourage their kids to drop out of school and follow their dream of being an entrepreneur, taxi driver, janitor, waitress, etc. Those are not “acceptable” dreams in our society. People with these jobs are seen as uneducated and unsuccessful people. Just because their salaries aren’t high paying, they are not seen as success people in the eyes of our society. I strongly agree with statement, I do feel that indoctrination is the essence to our society. We believe anything that is told to us, especially by authoritative figures or “the experts.” When the 9-11 situation took place, America was seen as the victim. For the past year the media has flooded us with sad images of America, how America has to fight back against terrorists and protect their country from any harm.
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