Am I a Follower?

Super brief summaries on the Readings: 

The chapter on pragmatism really went into who and how corporations control the media; and how the government has put laws in place for different types of regulation. The chapter on rhetoric went through the different forms of rhetoric that media uses to reach an certain audience. The chapter on cultural analysis was very informative with how different cultures are portrayed in the media. 

My own response to the Readings: 

Well the readings for this week have really got me thinking about the media that I watch during the week, and why I watch certain television shows and not others. For example, one show I am currently watching is The Following with Kevin Bacon. Now, I like this show because of the content which contains: 

1. Severe Violence
2. Minimal Sexuality
3. Edgar Allan Poe
4. Psychological Thriller

Mainly the show has a white male protagonist who is manipulated into being a hero. Now, why would I watch this and not a show that has minority as the main character? I have been rumbling over this for a while now and can only conclude that most drama based shows are primarily white male dominant/ meaning that only the man can save the girl not the other way around. Alias was a show that flipped this idea--with a female protagonist that was constantly seen as a hero. However, the problem with Alias is that the female protagonist was white and had a boss and he was a white male. The ideology behind these shows indicate what drama is in our society or more importantly what the hegemony is of what one is expected to see. After reading and realizing that I was only watching this because I was accustomed to it made me wonder if I would watch the show if it had a different cast. Mainly, I like the show because of the violence and Poe. I don't think the main character would change the way I think about it, but I don't know. 

I feel like a sucker for playing into the way media has set up stereotypes and genres with certain characteristics that americans have grown so accustomed too. These ideologies have gotten in my head and messed with the way I see shows now. ARGH!