Culture Of Silence Summary

Marcuse’s performance principle is a “society is stratified according to the competitive economic performances of its members” (Marcuse, Kindle). It is a system that encourages consumerism as a way for people to display their status thus encouraging people to earn more money in order to improve their status. He discusses how sphere of technology should allow people to have more freedom because less labor is needed to produce society’s fundamental needs. Basic repression is the minimum level of labor needed to produce the required societal needs which should be dramatically less than the labor required one hundred, fifty, or even twenty years ago. Yet those in power continue to demand the same level of labor that was needed many years ago leading …show more content…
He states that “rather than being encouraged and equipped to know and respond to the concrete realities of their world, they were kept “submerged” in a situation in which such critical awareness and response were practically impossible” (Feire, Kindle). Freire discusses how the ‘culture of silence’ in societies is created in school because students are encouraged to simply accept information given without questions. The teacher has all the knowledge while the student is simply is simply a canvas absorbing the lessons told to them. If they repeat what the teacher said they get approval, if they question the authority they are called defiant or distracting; this teaches the student not to question authority and instead to simply accept what is fed to them. In the banking system the student learns that those who follow the rules and simply memorize and repeat information get rewarded, they are discouraged from thinking critically and having their own perspective. Children are encouraged not think for themselves and instead to look to someone with authority (Lecture) for the “correct” answer. Throughout life “knowledge holder” changes from a teacher in our youth to an elite in adulthood; but in each of these situations the oppressed stays powerless and voiceless while the oppressor continues to push the system that keeps him …show more content…
He believes that the lack of culture and consciousness allows people to easily be consent to their own subjugation. Gramsci how people in power shape society in such a way that their needs and their wellbeing becomes the status quo. It is “a form of rule based on the intellectual and moral leadership, authority or consensus as distinguished from force, maintained in civil society by creating cultural and political consensus through families, schools, media, religion, etc. that ruled classes and social groups accept” (Lecture). Gramsci argues that domination isn 't dependent on force; he argues that just because people accept a system of oppression that it doesn’t mean they are not oppressed. Gramsci describes how the media and popular culture are partially responsible for society’s indifference about their oppression. He realizes that it can also lead people to become apathetic about social issues. Gramsci realizes that both pop culture and media can be tools used to influence people it can be used to disseminate information radical ideas and encourage people to fight