Analyzing Media's Overview of Class: Watching MTV Cribs

figure 1.1 Chad Kroeger on MTV Cribs
Source: Youtube

In the sixth chapter of Critical Media Studies: an Introduction, Ott and Mack are suggestive of the fact that the activity of media analysis opens many valuable doors to one who wishes to study the ever flowing American belief systems in reference to the country’s different classes (136). Two perceptions are attainable when engaging with significant media role-players, illustrated in the conception of television for instance, as well as their postulations within the subject matter of class (Ott and Mack 136). The first illustration is one which conveys no sense of ambiguity in depicting the presence of differentiation in the midst of different people stationed within constructs of class, each of which are painted with significantly different brushes (ibid 136). As the authors suggested, take the MTV television show Cribs for the purposes of an explanatory device (ibid 136), a program which I have utilized in the construction of my blog through the segment offering view upon Nickelback’s lead singer, Chad Kroeger, and his residence. In becoming acquainted with the tremendous things which come to constitute the house, evident in the glamorous swimming pool residing within the home’s construction and the inventive and tremendous kitchen where cuisine is prepared, among other examples (Youtube: Chad Kroeger on MTV Cribs Smooth), there is a suggestion which arises from this representation for the consumer: The viewer, who is suggested as being a constituent of the middle class position, if not the lower, perceives the discord between their life’s standing, and that characterizing a celebrity (Ott and Mack 136). As Ott and Mack suggest however, another acknowledgement is housed within this dynamic constituted by the media’s directives in connection with class. The other suggestion which arises is the postulation that if one imbues themselves with significant effort and tremendous aspirations, they will simultaneously fail to succumb to economic disadvantage but instead experience the conception of elevated life (ibid 136).

When I used to watch MTV Cribs, I never felt a poor disposition or disadvantageous in relation to the famous figures within society appearing on the program, despite the wealth illustrated. Speaking for myself, I would not characterize the differentiation suggested by Ott and Mack as an instance of detriment for those grasping a station of class located in lesser conceptions than celebrities. Instead, the construction offered in the Cultural Analysis chapter betrays, if anything, positivity. As the authors suggest, American media acknowledges that putting one’s tremendous strength in the formula for the grasping of the advantageous is integral, and in my opinion, this suggestions is marked by positivity (ibid 136).

                                                                              Works Cited

Humosch. "Chad Kroeger on MTV Cribs Smooth." Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 9

     Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

Ott, Brian L., and Robert L. Mack. "Cultural Analysis." Critical Media Studies: an Introduction.

     Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. 123-150. Print.