Reading Between the Screens: Media, Culture, Power and Education
This Blog is a part of Thinking Activity on Postcolonial Studies and cinematic representation assigned by Dr. and Prof. Dilip Barad sir wherin I will talk about the intersections of media, power, and education through the lens of Cultural Studies.
1. Media and Power
After reading the blog, I understood that media and power are deeply interconnected in contemporary society. Earlier, I mostly thought of media as a means of receiving information, entertainment and news. However, Barad's discussion made me realise that media does much more than simply communicate information. It can influence the way I perceive reality, culture, people and even social issues.
It argues that the study of Cultural Studies is incomplete without the study of power. It explains that in our time media can become a tool through which power operates, mentioning print, radio, television, electronic, digital and social media. He also introduces Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman's idea of the Five Filters of Mass Media—media ownership, advertising, media elite, flak and the common enemy.
I can connect this idea very easily with contemporary media. Today, I do not necessarily have to sit in front of a television to receive news. I can open Instagram, YouTube or WhatsApp and immediately encounter news, political commentary, advertisements, opinions and reactions. The Reuters Institute's 2026 India report describes the country's news environment as increasingly shaped by online and social-media platforms, with video-based platforms providing space for both established news organisations and independent creators.
This makes me think about who decides what I see. Earlier, there was an editor who selected what appeared in a newspaper. Today, there are also algorithms that decide what may appear prominently on my feed. If I watch several videos about one particular topic, I may continue receiving similar videos. As a result, I can gradually become surrounded by one type of perspective.
For example, during major public events or elections, I may see completely different interpretations of the same event depending on which accounts or channels I follow. One creator may present something as extremely important, while another may barely mention it. This does not automatically mean that one side is lying, but it reminds me that media representation is selective.
I have therefore started asking myself questions such as: Who created this content? Why was it created? What evidence is being provided? Whose perspective is being presented? Whose perspective is missing?
I think these questions are at the heart of Cultural Studies because they help me understand the connection between representation and power.
Another contemporary issue is AI-generated media. News organisations in India are already experimenting with AI anchors, AI characters and automated forms of news presentation. This makes media literacy even more important for me because in the future I may not always be able to assume that a photograph, voice or video represents an actual event exactly as it appears.
Therefore, I now understand media not simply as a source of information but as a cultural space in which information, representation, technology and power intersect.
2. Role of Education
The idea of the “truly educated person” in Barad's blog made me reconsider what education actually means.
Traditionally, when I think of an educated person, I think of someone who has degrees, good marks, knowledge of different subjects and academic qualifications. These things are important, but Barad presents a much broader understanding of education.
According to the blog, Cultural Studies encourages students to question one discipline through the findings of another, to “unlearn” certain assumptions and, importantly, to understand controversies. Barad also discusses Noam Chomsky's ideas about the truly educated person, particularly the importance of independent inquiry, creative autonomy, formulating serious questions and questioning established doctrines when appropriate.
I strongly connect this idea with my own experience as a student of English Literature. I have realised that studying literature is not simply about remembering authors, dates, movements and literary terms. When I study a text through Cultural Studies, I can ask questions about gender, class, caste, ideology, politics, media, representation and power.
For example, when I watch a film, I do not have to look only at whether I enjoyed the story. I can also ask why a particular character has been represented in a particular way. Why is one character given authority while another is silenced? What social values does the film reproduce? Does it challenge any existing stereotype?
This is where I think education becomes much more meaningful.
In today's world, information is extremely easy to access. I can search for almost anything within seconds. Therefore, I don't think being educated can simply mean possessing information anymore.
I think being educated means knowing how to evaluate information.
For example, if I see a viral claim on Instagram or WhatsApp, I should not believe it simply because thousands of people have shared it. I should check the original source, look for reliable reporting and compare different accounts. The Reuters Institute's research shows that misinformation is a significant concern in India's digital news environment, while its 2025 research also found that people commonly turn to trusted news sources, official sources and fact-checkers when they want to verify information.
For me, therefore, media literacy has become an essential part of education.
A truly educated person should be able to ask:
Is this information true? How do I know that it is true? Who is presenting it? What evidence supports it?
I think the ability to ask these questions is more important than simply having a large amount of information.
3. Cultural Practices
Media has a powerful influence on the way I understand culture and identity. I encounter representations of beauty, gender, family, relationships, success, language, lifestyle and social status through films, advertisements, television and social media.
When I repeatedly see a particular type of person represented in a particular way, that representation can begin to seem normal to me.
For example, advertisements and social-media content can create particular ideas about what a successful person should look like, what kind of lifestyle is desirable or what kind of appearance is considered attractive. Similarly, films and television can influence ideas about gender roles and relationships.
This becomes even more significant when we talk about marginalised communities. If a particular community is repeatedly represented through stereotypes, audiences may begin to associate those stereotypes with the community as a whole.
I therefore think representation is closely connected with power. The question is not simply “Who is represented?” but also “How are they represented?”
At the same time, I do not think media should be understood only as a tool of domination. It can also become a tool of resistance.
Social media has allowed people to tell their own stories rather than depending entirely on traditional media organisations. Independent journalists, filmmakers, activists, writers and ordinary users can create alternative narratives and challenge dominant representations.
A contemporary example is the growth of independent and digital-born news platforms in India. The Reuters Institute has documented collaborations among digital news organisations that use YouTube and other platforms to provide alternative forms of news coverage and analysis.
I find this important because it shows that media is not a one-way process in which powerful institutions simply control audiences. Audiences can also produce, circulate and challenge cultural meanings.
Therefore, I see media as a space of contestation. It can reinforce dominant power, but it can also provide opportunities to question and resist that power.
4. Critical Media Consumption
When I reflect on my own media consumption, I realise that media influences my everyday life much more than I sometimes recognise.
I use social media, watch films and videos, follow educational content and encounter information through different digital platforms. Sometimes I deliberately search for information, but sometimes information simply appears in front of me.
One thing I have particularly noticed is how quickly a topic can become popular online. A particular video, meme, controversy or news story can suddenly appear everywhere. When I see the same thing repeatedly, I may automatically feel that it is extremely important.
But repetition does not necessarily make something true.
This is where I think algorithms and media literacy become important. The Reuters Institute's research describes India's news environment as increasingly platform-driven, with social media and video platforms playing an important role in how people encounter news.
I therefore think I need to become an active rather than passive media consumer.
For example, when I encounter a viral post, I can ask:
- Who created this?
- What is the original source?
- Is the information supported by evidence?
- Is this fact, opinion or interpretation?
- Is the headline exaggerating the actual content?
- What information has been left out?
- Am I seeing this because it is genuinely important or because an algorithm has repeatedly recommended it?
- Can I find another reliable source discussing the same issue?
I also think this has become particularly important because of AI-generated content. As AI becomes capable of producing realistic images, videos, voices and text, I cannot rely only on what something looks or sounds like. I increasingly need to verify its origin and context.
For me, critical media consumption does not mean that I should distrust everything. It means that I should think before accepting.
My Overall Reflection
After critically analysing, I have started looking at media in a much more critical way. I now understand that media is not simply something that provides entertainment or information. It is part of culture, and therefore it is also connected with identity, ideology and power.
The argument that Cultural Studies cannot be separated from power becomes particularly relevant in today's digital environment. I am constantly surrounded by media, and therefore I am also constantly surrounded by different representations of reality.
What has changed for me is that I no longer want to accept those representations automatically.
For example, if I watch a film, I can ask why a particular character has been represented in a particular way. If I see an advertisement, I can ask what idea of beauty or success it is promoting. If I see a news post, I can ask who produced it and what evidence supports it. If I see a viral social-media claim, I can check whether reliable sources confirm it.
This is where I connect Barad's idea of the truly educated person with my own understanding of education.
For me, a truly educated person is not simply someone who has completed a degree or memorised a large amount of information. A truly educated person is someone who can think independently, ask meaningful questions, examine evidence, understand different perspectives and recognise the influence of power and representation.
I particularly appreciate Chomsky's idea, discussed by Barad, that education should lead to intellectual freedom and creative autonomy. I understand this to mean that education should help me develop my own ability to think rather than simply teaching me what conclusions I should reach.
In fact, I think the most important quality of an educated person today is the ability to say:
“I need to examine this before I decide what I believe.”
That attitude is especially necessary in a media-saturated world.
Today, I have access to more information than ever before. But having access to information does not automatically make me knowledgeable, and having knowledge does not automatically make me critical. I need to learn how to evaluate, question and interpret what I encounter.
I also realise that critical thinking does not mean rejecting every dominant narrative or automatically accepting an alternative one. Sometimes an alternative perspective can also be incomplete or misleading. Therefore, I need to evaluate evidence rather than simply choosing the perspective that agrees with me.
This, for me, is where Cultural Studies becomes relevant to everyday life.
It teaches me to look beyond the surface—to examine the relationship between media and power, representation and identity, education and critical thinking.
Ultimately, I would define a truly educated person as someone who remains curious, questions responsibly, thinks independently, understands the cultural and political contexts of information, and is willing to reconsider an assumption when better evidence becomes available.
In today's world, I do not think education ends when I leave the classroom. Every film I watch, every social-media post I encounter, every advertisement I see and every news story I read can become an opportunity to practise critical thinking.
Therefore, for me, being truly educated today means not simply asking “What am I being told?”, but also asking:
“How am I being told this, why am I being told this, who is telling me this, and what should I examine before I accept it?”
That is the kind of critical awareness that I believe makes Cultural Studies meaningful in contemporary society.
References-
Barad, Dilip. “Cultural Studies: Media, Power and Truly Educated Person.” Dilip Barad | Teacher Blog, 22 Mar. 2017, https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2017/03/cultural-studies-media-power-and-truly.html. Accessed 16 Sept. 2026.
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