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The media seems to become more and more drastically polarized and utterly divided each
day within our current political climate. As a society, we must question what factors have lead us
to our new hermit holes of narrowed perspective, which prevent us from acknowledging a
different viewpoint entirely. Sunstein argues that social media provides consumers of media with
a means to filter only what they want to absorb, “a free society gives people a great deal of
power to filter out unwanted materials” (Sunstein, 11). Thus, individuals are lacking more than a
one sided perspective, which only reaffirms what they previously agreed with. However, he also
promoted the ideology that to avoid such extreme polarization, individuals should consume
materials they wouldn’t typically seek out, through unplanned and unanticipated exposure
(Sunstein, 8).
Deluca, in contrast to Sunstein, proposes that social media provides the platform from
which those who possess diverse perspectives can not only be heard, but can spread their
menagerie of political protesters manage to shake the banking and political foundations of the
United States and transform the political debate of the nation” (DeLuca, 485)? His answer to this
question is social media, being that it isn’t restricted to the narrow agenda set by those in power
(Deluca, 487). Although Sunstein and DeLuca differ along the lines of the role social media
plays within civic life, both believe that exposure through media is essential to democracy
because it provides the platform for diverse opinions to be shared. Unplanned exposure to
alternative points of view creates well rounded citizens who can facilitate and foster a more open
understanding that through exposure, such as a fertilizer, media provides a platform that adds
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Hook argues that the media typically reflects the status quo of our society, thus accurate
minority portrayal and representation is slim to none. However, with this notion, Hook presents
the oppositional gaze which is a critical tool which can be used to stand against the mainstream
in resistance and protest to create change within society. “These scenes invite the audience to
look differently. They act to critically intervene and transform conventional filmic practices,
changing notions of spectatorship” (Hook, 130). Hook calls upon media viewers to take initiative
upon their consumption by utilizing the oppositional gaze to reflect on what can or should
Similarly to Hook, Olson argues that the status quo values within society are promoted
and justified through the mainstream media. Olson promotes that the epideictic is responsible in
society, “because it strengthens the disposition toward action by increasing adherence to the
values it lauds (Olson, 458). However, the epideictic dimension is the analytical tool which can
be used by audiences to detect what the underlying message being promoted by the mainstream
media is. This tool also calls upon viewers to assess how the media specifically incorporates the
status quo agenda to reinforce and justify the set values within society. Both authors provide
consumers with self-efficacy to take active agency in their media consumption by critically
analyzing what they are processing and the impact it creates upon society. Together, these ideas
can be viewed as a tool, such as a soil tester, which similarly to the epideictic dimension and the
oppositional gaze, is used to determine what the flowerbed, of our mainstream democracy, is
These categories, soil tester and fertilizer, work together to first critically analyze the
mainstream soil to assess what elements are most prominent. As active gardeners, they are then
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able to reflect upon what can be done to create change that allows for diverse representation
within the flowerbed. Next, fertilizer is used to provide the opportunity to change the consistency
of the ph balance within the soil with random exposure of diverse elements. Both tools are
essential to a balanced flower bed, yet differ upon the conditions of how they are facilitated. The
soil tester calls upon gardeners to take gumption and analyze the soil makeup on their own to
create change. Whereas, fertilizer provides gardeners with the direct means to plant diversity
directly into the soil. Each component of gardening allows individuals to reflect upon the present
components within the soil and the effect that such limited elements have upon the greater flower
bed as a whole. Once gaining an understanding of the mainstream impacts, gardeners can
evaluate what tools and necessary measures are needed to create a flower bed which promotes a