Class Matters… Short Description of a Section of the Book Essay

Class Matters by Bell Hooks, the section â€Å"The Me-Me Class: The Young and the Ruthless† examines how the mass media influences ideas that everyone living in the united States is rich, into the minds of foreigners. This section further notes that the media makes it seem as though social and economic backgrounds have little or no influence on the world of spending because most advertisements seem to make items seems affordable and cheap to acquire. The media reveals the fantasies of life to make people think that the things shown in the media are reality, especially in the eyes of teenagers. This section notes that the media brings about the â€Å"psychological torment; envy† amongst teenagers. The way the media presents issues regarding children/students, makes it seem as though it is easier to acquire money wealth on an outward appearance. This may be done to bring about competition into society, which develops envy amongst individuals if they are unable to acquire a particular item. In this section, it states that it is easier to acquire money and goods than it is to find meaningful values and ethics. This is a really profound statement because it portrays the influence the media has had on the youth to the extent that their values and ethics don’t really have as much meaning to them as that of the money and goods the acquire. This further demonstrates the culture of the youth and how materialistic things have an impact on the way youth view today’s world. The media is indirectly educating the youth with items that seem relevant in the world rather than showcasing the importance of education. This may be the reason why many schools have decided to enforce a rule that students need to wear uniforms. This lessens the amount of items students will be competing with each other. Although the world is set up in a way that competition exists, the fact that students have the same items means that they are less likely to be envious of each other.