The Media Image of “Effortles Life”

• Main Authors: Tatjana Milivojević, Katarina Dragović
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Center for Philosophy of Media and Media Research 2014-05-01
• Series: In Medias Res
• Subjects: effortless life; illusion; receptive orientation; media; social character
• Online Access: http://www.centar-fm.org/inmediasres/images/pdf/4/Tatjana%20M.%20i%20Katarina%20D.%20-%20Medijska%20slika%20lakog%20zivota.pdf

The ways of transferring knowledge and values have drastically changed, and the “others directed” people, the market and/or receptive orientation people, as Fromm would call them, turn to others in order to confirm their self-value. Others, however, are often only intermediaries in promoting what the mass media have defined as “currently desirable” attitude, behaviour or set of qualities. A radical example is a problem of being torn apart between the illusion that life should be easy and the (repressed) feeling that it is not, as quoted by Riesman, which results in unfounded belief in the possibilities of effortless life and rapid success, among other things. The mutual influences of the media and the social character of the public and individuals are emphasized in the paper.