Colonized Minds and Ideological Echo Chambers: How Corporate Media Erodes Class and Social Consciousness

Abstract

Most working-class communities in the U.S. desire similar things, including higher pay, affordable healthcare, accessible education, public transit, and a sound housing system. Despite this widespread alignment in material interests among middle and lower-income populations, public discourse – particularly in the media – remains fragmented along political, cultural, and racial lines. This decentralization often manifests as mutual blame across identity groups, obscuring shared economic concerns and limiting collective action. Conflicts surrounding issues such as race, gender, and immigration often devolve due to an inability to realize common goals or recognize intersectionality, reinforcing division rather than solidarity. Focusing on media coverage of Luigi Mangione’s alleged murder of Brian Thompson and Mangione’s subsequent trial, this essay adopts a qualitative, comparative discourse analysis methodology to examine how narratives are constructed and disseminated across news sources. It argues that by redirecting attention toward ideological and identity-based divisions, modern mainstream media, while functioning as a form of propaganda, attempts to erode class and social consciousness.