Christina Sahaidak
(Kamyanets-Podilsky Ivan Ohiienko National University)
Scientific Supervisor: M.V. Matkovska, Senior Lecturer
THE SUBSTITUTION OF CONCEPTS IN THE MEDIA AND ITS IMPACT ON PEOPLE’S MINDS
The media is a powerful tool for shaping people’s perceptions and beliefs towards various issues. It has the ability to influence people’s thoughts about a range of topics, including politics, social issues, and consumerism. Substitution of concepts is one such tool used by the media to influence people’s attitudes and beliefs towards products or issues. Therefore, the aim of this article is to explore the concept of substitution of concepts in the media and to analyse its impact on people’s minds.
The substitution of concepts in media refers to the replacement of one idea or concept with another in various forms of media such as advertising, news, and entertainment. Examples of this include using the term “freedom” to promote a political agenda or using a celebrity to endorse a product. Another example is the use of euphemisms to replace harsh or negative terms with more positive ones, such as using “downsizing” instead of “layoffs” in the workplace.
The concept of substitution was introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist who is considered one of the founders of Modern linguistics. Saussure argued that language is based on a system of signs that are inherently arbitrary, and that the meaning of a sign is determined by its relationship to other signs in the system [4].
The concept of substitution has also been applied more broadly to the field of media studies, where scholars have explored how media messages substitute certain concepts for others in order to shape public opinion and maintain existing power structures. The study of substitution of concepts in the media has been explored by various scholars and researchers. Some notable names in this area of research include Stuart Hall, Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman and Neil Postman.
Hall’s work often focused on how media representations shape perceptions of race, ethnicity, and culture. “Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse” by Stuart Hall [1]. Another notable scholar who studied the substitution of concepts in the media is Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is a linguist and political commentator who is known for his critique of the mainstream media in the United States, particularly with regard to its role in shaping public opinion and promoting government propaganda. “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media” by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky [2]. Edward Herman and Neil Postman are also scholars who have studied the role of the media in shaping public discourse and have written extensively on the subject of media manipulation and propaganda. “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business” by Neil Postman [3].
These works, among others, highlight the importance of studying the substitution of concepts in the media, and its impact on public discourse and understanding. There are many examples of the substitution of concepts in media, some of which are:
- War on Terror: After the 9/11 attacks, the US government initiated a military campaign against terrorism, calling it the “War on Terror”. This phrase substituted the broader concept of “war” with the more specific concept of “terror”, framing the issue as a battle against an elusive enemy rather than a traditional conflict between nations. This substituted concept helped to rally public support for the campaign and legitimize the use of military force.
- Enhanced interrogation techniques: During the Bush administration, techniques such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and stress positions were used to extract information from suspected terrorists. The administration substituted the term “enhanced interrogation techniques” for “torture”, which had negative connotations and was illegal under international law. This substitution allowed the government to justify the use of these harsh methods as a necessary means of protecting national security. Concepts are considered the building blocks of knowledge representation, constructed at the interface between raw perception and sensation (a bottom-up conception of learning) and a priori understanding (top-down interpretation). Few psychologists would argue explicitly for a purely empiricist or a purely rational origin of concepts in the mind of a speaker, yet there is still a range of positions between these extremes large enough to allow a wide variety of views amongst psychologists [3, p. 121–123].
In conclusion, the substitution of concepts in media can have a powerful impact on people’s minds, as it shapes their understanding of complex issues and influences their opinions and behaviors. Whether it is framing a military campaign as a “War on Terror”, legitimizing torture as “enhanced interrogation techniques”, the substitution of concepts in media can distort reality, manipulate public opinion, and obscure the underlying issues. It is essential that we remain aware of the power of language and propaganda in the media and actively seek out diverse, nuanced perspectives to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues at hand. By doing so, we can avoid falling victim to simplistic or misleading narratives and contribute to a more informed and engaged citizenry.
REFERENCES
- Hall S. Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse. Birmingham: University of Birmingham, 1973. URL: http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/2962/
- Herman, E., Chomsky N. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. London: Pantheon, 486 p.
- Postman, N. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. London: Methuen Publishing, 184 p.
- Semiotics for Beginners by Daniel Chandler. Retrieved from: https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~chazelle/courses/BIB/semio2.htm.