This blog is part of the thinking activity assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad under the course - Cultural Studies, Media, Power, and the Truly Educated Person. In today’s world, we live in a media-saturated environment where television, newspapers, social media, and digital platforms dominate our daily lives. Media is not just a channel for information; it shapes our beliefs, values, and even behaviors.
Introduction :
In today’s hyperconnected world, where screens dominate our lives and information flows faster than our ability to process it, the relationship between media, power, and education has become a subject of deep importance. Media is no longer just a channel of communication; it has become a structure of power — a tool that shapes our thoughts, emotions, politics, and culture. Cultural Studies, as Dr. Dilip Barad explains, allows us to critically examine how media constructs reality, reinforces hierarchies, and manufactures consent. Through this lens, we can begin to understand that being “truly educated” in the modern world is not about memorizing information, but about developing the ability to question, interpret, and resist manipulation.
This blog reflects upon three interconnected questions:
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How do media and power intersect in shaping modern culture?
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Why is critical media literacy essential to education?
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What does it mean to be a truly educated person in our media-saturated world?
Drawing insights from videos and theories by Noam Chomsky, Michel Foucault, Jay Van Bavel, and Dr. Dilip Barad’s reflections on Cultural Studies, this essay aims to connect global media power structures with our personal experiences of learning, thinking, questioning and For a deeper understanding of these concepts, you can explore Dr. Dilip Barad's detailed analysis in his blog post: Cultural Studies: Media, Power, and Truly Educated Person
1. How Media and Power Intersect in Shaping Modern Culture.
👉🏻 When we speak of “power,” we often imagine political authority — governments, leaders, or corporations. But as Foucault teaches us, power is not just something held by a few; it circulates through institutions, knowledge systems, and discourses. Media, as one of the most influential institutions of our age, becomes both the instrument and expression of power. It controls not only what we know, but also how we know it.
In the video shared by Barad Sir “Where Power Comes From”
So through this video, we see how power is constructed through relationships — between rulers and citizens, producers and consumers, elites and common people. Power functions through acceptance, not only coercion. This means that media, by shaping our perceptions and values, creates a world where we willingly conform to dominant ideologies.
For instance, when news channels frame a political protest as “violence” rather than “resistance,” or when advertisements equate happiness with consumption, they subtly guide our thinking toward certain social and economic behaviors. In this sense, media operates as the ideological arm of power. It doesn’t just reflect reality; it creates it.
Chomsky’s “Five Filters” of Media Control
To understand this dynamic, Noam Chomsky’s model of media control is particularly illuminating. In his book Manufacturing Consent (1988, co-authored with Edward Herman), Chomsky explains that media in capitalist democracies functions through five filters that determine what becomes “newsworthy” and what remains invisible:
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Media Ownership: Large corporations own most media outlets, and thus their profit motives influence content.
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Advertising: Media depends on advertisers for revenue, so content that threatens corporate interests is suppressed.
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Media Elite: Experts and officials shape narratives, promoting the worldview of those in power.
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Flack: Negative responses or threats discourage dissenting journalism.
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Common Enemy: Media creates fear around an “enemy” — terrorists, immigrants, rival nations — to unify audiences under authority.
The video “Manufacturing Consent” explains these filters visually and convincingly. Watching it made me realize how invisible these mechanisms are in our daily media consumption. When scrolling through social media, I often feel as though I am choosing what to read or believe, but in reality, algorithms — driven by corporate or political agendas — are choosing for me.
The illusion of freedom is what Chomsky calls “manufactured consent.” We believe we are informed citizens, yet we are subtly shaped into passive consumers and obedient participants of a system that thrives on our engagement and distraction.
Foucault and the Power of Discourse :
Michel Foucault’s ideas further deepen this understanding. In his debate with Chomsky in 1971, Foucault argues that human nature is not fixed but socially constructed through institutions like education, media, and politics. Power operates not just through laws or force, but through knowledge — what we accept as “truth.”
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News narratives decide who is a “patriot” and who is a “traitor.”
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Social media trends decide what is “cool” and what is “cancelled.”
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Influencers decide what is “authentic” and what is “fake.”
Thus, modern culture is not simply lived — it is mediated.
Personal Observation: On social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, the “influencer culture” demonstrates media’s power to shape lifestyles and consumption patterns. Brands use influencers to create aspirational images, influencing youth behavior and purchasing decisions. This subtle control over tastes and aspirations is an example of how power operates through media in contemporary culture.
2. The importance of critical media literacy as a component of education.
👉🏻 In such a world, education cannot merely mean reading books or scoring grades. It must mean learning to read the world — critically and independently. Critical media literacy becomes a vital tool for survival in the age of misinformation, algorithmic bias, and digital manMatters on.
Why Critical Media Literacy Matters:
Van Bavel’s talk reminded me of how political news spreads on social media in India. During election seasons, my WhatsApp is flooded with videos, memes, and messages supporting one political group while demonizing another. Most of these messages are shared without verification. The result is polarization — friends and families divided by ideology, not because of real knowledge but because of mediated perception.
This is precisely why Cultural Studies, as taught by Dr. Barad, insists that media must be read as a text — full of signs, symbols, and ideologies that must be interpreted. Just as we analyze a poem or a novel for hidden meanings, we must analyze advertisements, news bulletins, and social media trends for power relations.
Media Literacy in Practice
Critical media literacy involves asking questions such as:
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Who owns this media outlet or platform?
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What is the purpose behind this message?
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What ideologies are being reinforced?
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Whose voices are missing from this narrative?
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How do visuals, language, and emotions manipulate my response?
For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I noticed how news channels sensationalized certain events while ignoring others. The crisis became a spectacle, with emotional music, dramatic visuals, and political blame games. What was missing were the voices of the poor, the migrants, and the marginalized. This selective framing reveals how media power can silence subaltern experiences, just as postcolonial theorists like Gayatri Spivak question whether “the subaltern can speak.”
Therefore, true education in the modern world requires us to become critical readers of media, not just consumers of it.
3. Your perspective on what it means to be a "truly educated person" in today’s media-saturated world.
In the final question this video shared by Dr. Barad Sir, Noam Chomsky defines the essence of a truly educated person. His words resonate deeply:
“It’s not important what we cover in class; it’s important what you discover.”
For Chomsky, education is not about filling the mind with facts but about cultivating the capacity to think independently, to “formulate serious questions,” and to “question standard doctrine.” A truly educated person does not blindly accept information — they interrogate it.
Education as Liberation, Not Domestication
In this sense, the “truly educated person” is not necessarily the one with degrees or titles, but the one who possesses intellectual humility — the courage to doubt, the curiosity to explore, and the empathy to listen.
Being Truly Educated in the Age of Algorithms
In our time, the challenge is even greater. The digital revolution has created a world where information is abundant but wisdom is scarce. Artificial intelligence curates our choices, social media rewards conformity through likes and shares, and the pressure to be constantly visible often replaces the need to be deeply thoughtful.
To be “truly educated” in this media-saturated world means:
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Resisting the temptation of instant opinions.
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Taking time to verify, reflect, and contextualize.
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Recognizing how our digital footprints shape our worldviews.
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Using technology not just for consumption but for creation — for expressing, questioning, and sharing meaningful ideas.
For example, when I began watching educational videos like those shared by Dr. Barad — on Foucault, Chomsky, and Van Bavel — I realized how differently I started perceiving news and social media. I began asking, “Who benefits from this narrative?” “What ideology is being promoted here?” This habit of questioning, I believe, is the first step toward true education.
➡️ In one sentence: a truly educated person today is someone who can read, question, and create meaning from media — not passively consume it — while maintaining intellectual humility, ethical awareness, and the habits needed to act responsibly in public life.
Below I break that down into clear, practical dimensions: cognitive skills, habits, values, classroom implications, and concrete examples you can recognise in daily life.
1. Cognitive skills — how a truly educated mind thinks about media
a. Critical reading of sources
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Sees media content as constructed (who made it, for what purpose?) rather than transparent truth.
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Asks: Who owns this outlet? Who benefits? What’s omitted?Example: When a news story uses anonymous “experts,” a critically educated person asks what perspectives are missing (e.g., grassroots voices).
b. Source verification & evidence evaluation
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Checks primary sources, cross-references claims, and distinguishes between correlation and causation.
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Knows basic signs of manipulated images/video and understands how deepfakes and edited clips can mislead.
c. Cognitive self-awareness (meta-cognition)
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Recognises personal biases (political, social, emotional) and how partisanship distorts judgement (as Jay Van Bavel’s work shows).
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Delays immediate sharing or judgment until verifying — resists the “share-first, verify-later” reflex.
d. Contextual thinking
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Places a story in historical, social, and economic context. Understands how discourses shape what is perceived as “normal” or “dangerous” (a Foucauldian insight).
2. Practical habits — daily routines that show real education
a. Slow consumption
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Prioritises depth over speed: reads full articles, listens to thoughtful podcasts, follows threads rather than headlines.
b. Cross-media triangulation
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Compares coverage across platforms (local press, independent outlets, academic writing, social media) before forming conclusions.
c. Digital hygiene
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Curates feeds deliberately: follows diverse viewpoints, mutes echo chambers, checks algorithmic bubbles.
d. Evidence-based sharing
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Shares only when they can cite or explain the source and context. When uncertain, they label it as such.
3. Ethical and civic dispositions — why education is moral, not just technical
a. Empathy and listening
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Values marginalized voices and resists reducing people to memeable caricatures.Example: Instead of retweeting a victimising clip, they seek fuller narratives about those affected.
b. Responsibility for public truth
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Treats information as a public good. Avoids spreading sensational rumours that harm communities.
c. Openness to revision
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Changes views when evidence requires it — intellectual humility over dogma.
4. Creative and productive capacities — education as making, not only consuming
a. Media production literacy
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Knows how narratives are produced: basic skills in writing, video/audio editing, and framing so they can produce counter-narratives responsibly.
b. Storytelling with ethics
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Uses production skills to amplify underrepresented perspectives, not to manipulate.
c. Participatory citizenship
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Uses media tools to organize, educate, and mobilize around civic issues — turning critical attention into action.
5. Pedagogical implications — what schools and teachers should teach
a. Integrate media studies across subjects
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Not just an add-on: analyse news in history class, propaganda techniques in civics, representation in literature.
b. Teach verification tools and digital tools
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Practical exercises: reverse-image searches, fact-checking assignments, analyzing algorithms.
c. Encourage debate and reflective writing
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Assign tasks requiring students to change their minds based on evidence, and to document why and how their view changed.
6. Real-world examples and micro-stories
Example 3 — Social media outrage cycles:
Instead of joining a pile-on, an educated person investigates: Was the person’s statement taken out of context? What structural problems does the incident reveal? Then they engage in constructive, evidence-based critique rather than performative shaming.
7. Quick practical checklist — are you moving toward being truly educated?
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Do I pause before sharing a dubious claim?
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Can I name the owner/funder of the platform I’m using?
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Do I follow at least three credible sources with different viewpoints?
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Am I willing to revise my position when better evidence appears?
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Can I produce a short explanation of why a story is framed the way it is?
If you can answer “yes” to most of these, you’re on the right path.
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