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The prevailing message in media I see is that the workers should unionise
this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2026
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I see the message that anyone who is not rich is a loser. That's what the problem is. All media characters are aspiring to be rich or they are totally miserable.
There is no respect for the middle class or working class people who are just happy.
Even characters that are presented as poor or middle class have homes, cars, and clothing that would well exceed their means in the real world.
You'll have a show with a 20 something couple that are "just staring out", he's a mechanic at a small independent garage and she's a struggling singer-songwriter. Without support from their parents they somehow have a 1200 square foot loft in a major city, brand new MacBooks, a top of the line TV, coordinated decor with no flatpack furniture, brand name clothing, and a late model crossover with all the options.
I know product placement is part of it, but it's still bullshit and unrealistic.
the NU-MOVIES are pretty much that.
I was happy even when apparently far below the poverty line. Had everything I thought I needed.
The media is owned by capitalists. Anything that threatens capital needs to be snuffed out.
This is Tupac who was murdered.
This is Kanye West who is a professed Nazi and still alive.
These songs were within a decade of each other. I know that's not enough data, but I think the differences in tone can be accounted for which was was more acceptable to power.
it also leans heavily into pro-govt propaganda for most mvoies and show.
I doubt Tupac was murdered by capitalists because he didn't like them
Maybe. This is all conjecture, but it seems convenient that Tupac who advocated for helping the poor in his music was murdered and all the black artists who popped up after him (Beyonce,JayZ, Kanye for example) are all about "get my money" music.
Of course, I have no evidence, but if you've read about all the various CIA psyops over the past 80 years, it doesn't sound that far fetched.
Capitalist propaganda. Capitalists pay to make that media, so it's their culture that gets represented.
That's why I routinely listen to this to fight back against The Hustle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxW789jHXII Link for those who can't access the other due to country restrictions.
yes, the billionaires own the "popular media" and want to continue the "Don't worry that your life sucks NOW, work hard, eek out an existence, MAYBE MAYBE you too could be wealthy, but if not, don't worry, AFTER DEATH you get to be wealthy for sure, trust me brah....."
people watching and supporting Ellisons paramounts and htier show are just as responsible as he is what hes doing with it. aka nutrek.
and other news, HP and jk rowlings.
Yes. And people just eat it up. I get it. I got caught up in the “hustle and grind” of life. I tried multiple income sources and I was proudly working 80 hours/week while missing my children grow up. But a life altering event caused me to pause and reassess my life. I started working less and spending more time with my family. I worked on myself from being low tempered to be more “go with the flow”
i knew someone in cc that was doing 68hrs/week, end up pratically sleeping at school whenever he can, then had some kind "breakdown" and changed his major away from the "MD" field, yea it wasnt realistic as he wasnt even acing those Pre-stem classes(not even upper division yet), and it would be too expensive , stressful to even compete, i assume it was because he had a AVERAGE in a gen chem class, he wont survive in things like organic chem, biochem(which i took in a 4 year), even physics was brutal for non-scientists. he went with a 180 degree into something totally different. dont know how web designer as a industry is doing now.
dont know how web designer as a industry is doing now.
Bereft with AI slop following sweeping layoffs, so not well.
so i suspected, he probably regrets steering away from health field now.(couldve went nursing or something adjacent0.
not at all, I'm 60, semi retired at 35 and fully retired at 40.
i say work your ass off
I’m am of course also aware that a solid work ethic is a generally positive trait.
I saw a columnist opine we need work or people will get up to no end of mischief.
More people need to do less, most of the destruction of the environment on which we all depend is people doing endless busy work.
and we realize its propaganda to distract people from politics, if you are tired from work all day, you arnt concerned about what politicians are doing behind your back. kinda make sense with republican voters in that some of them , expenses arent super high since they are living in HCOL areas and they can afford to be "watching fox all day" to vote one way. keeping people uneducated and angry plays a part into that.
That kind of media doesn't really appeal to me so I don't consume it. A lot of rap and country is about that (in different ways; hustling vs working hard at your job). The only recent show or movie I watched that I can think of that emphasizes overworking is The Pitt, but I'm not sure it glorifies it.
I do think working hard (or smart or whatever) is important and admirable, but only if the work is exceptionally important and beneficial to society (not most work), and not if you're being exploited by your employer (most work). The most important work is probably the labor people don't typically get paid to do (or get paid little).
I'm also of the opinion that trying to work too much is usually counterproductive and people get less work done. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of studies that confirm this.
Dolla dolla bill, yo
It's a peculiar thing
Very American
I want to work as little as I possibly can. I have plenty to do with my life and making money for someone else isn't important to me
Not really anymore. I think it was definitely the dominant messaging in the 2010s when people were fighting to be rewarded for their hustle (e.g., lean-in feminism, LGBTQ consumerism, Asian Americans as tech entrepreneurs, rise of the [insert minority here] owned business labeling, etc.), but I find the pendulum has been swinging back the other way towards nihilist external-locus-of-control counterculture. I think we are slowly realizing as a society that we can't, in fact, work our asses out of systemic oppression by the elites.
It seems to be a very common thing in the US, and some around here takes to it from social media, but most people are to busy prioritising life to jump into such a depressing mindset.
When you say media, do you mean Rap?
Not sure about OP, but I see this in tons of genres of music along with a lot of films/shows. Working hard, even if not compensated enough to live a happy life, is often portrayed as the best thing you can do while relaxing and not wanting to work is portrayed as lazy and undesirable.
just like these wealthy people releasing thier daily schedule to the media, activities as being "busy" when in fact they have so much time to do anything else but work,
Never forget Musk "works" 120 hours a week, but has enough time to nonstop tweet out random nonsense
silly, hes able to do that becauses hes on cocaine 24/7
Work will set you free silly goose... fun is for children
Gates over Auschwitz:
Arbeit macht frei, dumme Gans.
Oh snap you got me... ughhhh
and nazis got thier "ethics, segregation" from america, its comes back full circle.
I think only in US which has tons of really weird propaganda (glorifying police violence, military, nationalism, capitalism and so on). In Europe I think this is mostly promoted in some corporate circles which are very "Americanized".
To be honest I only interpret that kind of messaging as "buy my course!" shilling. nobody in real life believes that, so I just disregard it as if I was reading an ad. barely notice it.
There's an interesting video on this topic: "Hollywood's obsession with ambition"
You might find it interesting, also gives examples of the opposite portrayed in media.
That was a great watch. If anyone else has any other movie/series recommendations like Perfect Days (2023), let me know
“Popular media” shouldn’t determine how you want to live.
However, you should objectively look at what it would take to achieve your goals. And reassess at regular intervals.
Whats funny is I used to be more motivated to be that way but its because my motivation is more intrinsict and I worked in research and such. Its hard to feel excited to contribute if society is not moving net positive for people in general.
Who the hell is writing songs glorifying working too much?
songs are usually about struggles, he might meant MOVIES/shows, which are full of glorifying work.
Isn't this typically said by gangster rappers, anyway? Lots of them have fake personas, and if it's real their hustle is often crime - not exactly something to aspire to, and there's already tons of discussion about the questionable messages of gangsters rap.
But also, I'd definitely be more motivated to work my ass off if I was living my dream, like most music artists are doing - not necessarily for money, but for being able to continue to live my dream, and make the most of however much time I have as a professional artist.
Prevailing message in media ... well ... most of the music I listen to doesn't have vocals ... I do consume a lot of fantasy content (books, games, TV shows/movies), where "get rich or die trying" is definitely a thing, though a lot of it also has more lofty motivations such as saving the world (which at least in games usually needs material wealth to accomplish), or the protagonist is just fighting for their life.
“Work as hard and amass as much money as you possibly can and nothing else matters?” Or do you see something different/better?
The hell with money obsession (I quit a great job many years ago, to get my life back).
But making stuff is not just about earning money. It's about making. Making something out of nothing or out of some raw material (be it a piece of wood before one starts sculpting it, or some vague idea before one starts making a book out of it). And that, that is indeed hard work. It requires efforts, humility (one needs to be ok with being bad at first), and patience (o learn to get better at doing it).
Imvho, that hard work is the very reason why we're alive, we just need to re-learn that we don't have to make a business out of it.
Edit: clarifications.
they also become more conservative the more money they own, plus them having more free time to go to the gym which draws them in further conservative-wise.
I work my ass off. More than anyone would think is reasonable. Thing is I'm not sure what else to do with myself anyway.
But also I'm sitting at a resort with the love of my life in the Dominican Republic soaking my balls in a pleasantly cool pool and smoking a cigar. Which I can do because I work my ass off. I wouldn't tell anyone they should follow my example because I'm probably going to work myself into an early heart attack and there are plenty of less expensive ways to enjoy yourself on a week off. And my back is so bad from sitting at a desk all day that I can barely walk most mornings.
But right at this moment I feel like I'm living my best life. And swimming in the ocean every day has improved my back so much in a week. I need to get a house on the ocean some day.
Idk if this sounds like humble bragging I don't mean it that way. I really have nothing to do with my time but work. I don't have any friends other than family and whomever happens to sit nearby for a few minutes. I really don't recommend it if you're not driven to be this way.