Sorry I missed you guys today really wasn’t very well; however I have still managed to do some work
So from my understanding we are concentrating specifically on media and control, but I think it’s important that we also include general thought on the control of society, even if it’s just a mention.
From William Pawlett’s book Jean Baudrillard, I have found some very interesting and what seems to me to be relevant statements in relation to control whether of the self or society I think this can be applied.
To take the point of social control, in Pawlett’s book he states that ‘we are expected to produce and reproduce ourselves as value, we must maximise ourselves exploit our potential, and this, for Baudrillard, is the most fundamental, insidious and developed form of social control
(Pawlett, 2007, Pg 31)
So in a sense what we can take from this is that we feel the ‘need’ to do the above mentioned in order to feel value, so it is here that may be we can take this further by concentrating on media manipulation and control, and how this is a form of ‘social control’
A major thing to note from my reading is that Baudrillard’s school of thought although arguably develops on the Marxist school of thought he opposes it he claims that Marx was not able to see the fundamental relationship between political economy and the systems of representations, Baudrillard’s believes they are so interlinked to the extent that ‘it becomes impossible to think outside the form of production and the form of representation’ (Pawlett, 2007, Pg 34)
Also what may be a crucial point in our debate is the master slave relation within the feudal system, which Baudrillard explains it as a unique relationship. Within his book William Pawlett on page 35 explains further about the nature of this relationship and suggests that what is exchanged is ‘status and role’. The relationship is bound by a sense of reciprocity; he delves deeper into this relationship stating that it is not a relationship based on alienation or exploitation although one is still dominating over the other.
“The slave is obligated to fulfil a role but so too is the master”
(Pawlett, 2007, Pg 35)
What is interesting is the belief that even when we get out of this master slave reality in terms of our influences on work or life in general, we through what Baudrillard believes to be ‘interiorisation’ become our own master and our own slave!! From this we could develop perhaps on the point of ruling the self?
Another key point is that of symbolic exchange as it basically tells us that only through a form of symbolic exchange can we be actually be free of the control of some exterior authority. Below is a quotation from the book explaining the essence of symbolic exchange:
“For Baudrillard everything that is symbolically exchanged is a ‘mortal threat’ to the dominant order because the dominant order in all its dimensions- linguistic, economic and political-is built upon the expulsion, barring or denial of symbolic exchange. Systems of representation and meaning, systems of political economy and finance, systems of communication and mediation can only function as commodity-signs if symbolic exchanges are barred”
On a lighter note we may want to entertain the audience with a video clip such as the one added below, just a suggestion the one below I just the results of a quick YouTube search, but if we decide to show a video clip then we can do some research around the net। I would suggest a shorter clip but I think this guy definitely got something to say LOL!!! Very good watch I think in relation the kind of thing we are trying to raise।
The book I was referring to in the above post is: Pawlett,W.(2007)Jean Baudrillard. Abingdon, Oxon:Routledge
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