Bourdieu Pre-No Class 11/4

Having read the two readings for tomorrows class that isnt happening due to our schools 125th Anniversary, I found the Bordieu article to be the more fascinating and relevant. Although Bordieu is writing about French media, I think everything he says directly correlates and applies to American media. Bordieu discusses the constant battle between television and print media and brings interesting facts into the article. What I found the most compelling about this piece was his coverage of television and the use of diffusion, homogenization, simplistic criticismcensorship, public visibility, broad circulation, agenda, joournalist human ideal, the race for the scoop and the audience rating system. He has an interesting take on each and enlightened me a great deal on the mindset and processes behind mass mediated television journalism.
The most interesting quote I took out of the reading draws the connection between television journalists and literature and art:

"Our news anchors, our talk show hosts, and our sports announcers have turned into two-bit spiritual guides, represenetatives of middle-class morality. They are always telling us what we 'should think' about what they call 'social problems,' such as violence in the inner city or in the schools. The same is true for art and literature, where teh best-known of the so-called literary programs serve the establishment and ever-more obsequiously promote social conformity and market values." (Bordieu 329)

I found this quote so interesting because I had never thought of televised media functioning the same way as popular literature and art - they are all acts of social conformity. We think the best artists, authors, works and pieces are as such because we are conditioned to. I liked this connection as I had never thought about it or even remotely considered it. I found it funny that I'd never thought that the books we read in school are acts of conformity and as such social constructs to civilize, condition and socialize us from a young age. Looking at the book "The Outsiders" which pretty much everyone I know has read, pushed through schools everywhere the message is social conformity even if you are in a subculture - the characters are punks but by the end you see their humanity and throughout social conformity is pushed on all of the characters. It chronicles teenage rebellion as universal but as a phase nonetheless before adulthood exhibited through the older brother. The book instills a lot of values and conditions those who read it subconsciously on acceptable social performativity. I came away from this article both shocked and disappointed in myself for not seeing the social conformity of popular literature and art having only seen and considered those of advertising, TV and films. Bordieu has given me a new perspective and a very interesting one at that.