MANIPULATIVE POWER OF MEDIA IN TODAY’S CONSUMERIST SOCIETIES

In today’s postmodern capitalist societies, media has an undeniable role and effect on people’s lives with its printed and visual devices. As a result of the consumerist demands of capitalism, media imposes a manipulative power through advertisements and commercials broadcast constantly. Through them, masses are targeted to be persuaded in artificial realities and their lifestyles, ideas as well as their worldviews are shaped, so consumerism is fuelled and the permanence of the capitalist system is guaranteed. Thus, this paper aims to analyze, with the help of examples, how the perception and practice of some familiar figures, ideals, fictional characters or traditional values are twisted and manipulated in field of advertising to make masses believe in artificially constructed realities that serve financial goals.