The topic I will explore this semester has to do with access, class and media. Two main questions will drive my research: first, I will examine the ways in which people of various socioeconomic classes are portrayed in the media. I am interested in discovering what people and families of all socioeconomic levels look like according to mass media sources. These sources of representation will cover a broad range of media outlets ranging from newspaper sources to sitcoms and advertisements. While studying this I will also look into the socioeconomic class of those who are making decisions about these portrayals. I hope to use Marxist Theory to help understand the ways the economic levels of individuals are imagined by the media.
Second, I would like to investigate the socioeconomic status of those who typically interact with particular forms of mass media. I would like to know if there are specific forms of media that lower income families tend to consume. Beyond that, I would like to note the ways in which socioeconomic class is portrayed in the forms of media most viewed by this demographic. In this way, my two research questions overlap: I am interested to see who has access to which forms of media and at the same time, consider the ways in which media recreates levels of income within these sources. Again, I will attempt to use a Marxist lens to uncover potential purposes and implications of the variations of media representation and sources among levels of class.
At this point, I will not limit my focus to US American media sources. Should my topic need narrowing, however, this will be a likely course of action.
