--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What the media is playing is what people…" description: "\"What the media is playing is what people want is really a false idea. Capitalism and people who control the market have a large hand in everything. It ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/boots-riley-3549_capitalism_what-the-media-is-playing-is-what-people_1901821.jpg" --- # What the media is playing is what people want is really a… ![“What the media is playing is what people want is really a false idea. Capitalism and people who control the market have a large hand in everything. It doesn't have anything to do with figuring out what the crowd wants to hear. It has to do with the media deciding what they think people want to hear.” quote by Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/boots-riley-3549_capitalism_what-the-media-is-playing-is-what-people_1901821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/boots-riley-3549_capitalism_what-the-media-is-playing-is-what-people_1901821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/boots-riley-3549_capitalism_what-the-media-is-playing-is-what-people_1901821.jpg) > “What the media is playing is what people want is really a false idea. Capitalism and people who control the market have a large hand in everything. It doesn't have anything to do with figuring out what the crowd wants to hear. It has to do with the media deciding what they think people want to hear.” [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The media shapes perceived demand, often reflecting owners' interests rather than genuine public desire. **In simple terms:** Media influences what people think they want. Key Takeaway Question who controls the narrative. Themes media influence control perception capitalism public opinion Mood skeptical critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - advertising - news reporting - political campaigns - consumer trends Key Concepts propaganda agenda setting market power Questions to Reflect On - How does ownership affect content? - Can we trust media to reflect true public interest? A Different Perspective Audience preferences may be manipulated, not discovered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Capitalism and people who control the market have a large hand in everything. 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And the guys in charge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/patriotism-is-just-an-idea-so-is-capitalism-or-communism-but-ideas/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [To one American family out of four, the idea of capitalism as a benign system of comfort , dignity , and personal advance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heilbroner/to-one-american-family-out-of-four-the-idea-of-capitalism-as-a-benign/) [Robert Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heilbroner/) > [The idea of capitalism is not just success but also the failure that allows success to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-idea-of-capitalism-is-not-just-success-but-also-the-failure-that/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The ultimate joke was the idea that capitalism would eat its own feces in order to make money, that would make fun of itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-ultimate-joke-was-the-idea-that-capitalism-would-eat-its-own/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [The Family in particular, but also other really \*\*\*\* conservatives come to call what is "Biblical Capitalism." The idea that capitalism is ordained in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sharlet/the-family-in-particular-but-also-other-really-conservatives-come-to/) [Jeff Sharlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sharlet/) > [China is not a great idea: capitalism and a dictator. It's like the two worst possible things you could imagine together. It's a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/china-is-not-a-great-idea-capitalism-and-a-dictator-it-s-like-the-two/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Any form of government, not just Capitalism, is whatever people who have all our money, drunk or sober, sane or insane, decide to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-form-of-government-not-just-capitalism-is-whatever-people-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are people who don't like capitalism, and people who don't like PCs. But there's no-one who likes the PC who doesn't like Microsoft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/there-are-people-who-don-t-like-capitalism-and-people-who-don-t-like/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“Just like the myth of the people’s or popular capitalism, which was propagated since the mid1950s in the countries to the west of Berlin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todor-bombov/just-like-the-myth-of-the-people-s-or-popular-capitalism-which-was/) [Todor Bombov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todor-bombov/) > [I'm not a Communist. I'm an American. I'm a capitalist. I mean, I'm not a very good capitalist, myself. I'm not very good at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-m-not-a-communist-i-m-an-american-i-m-a-capitalist-i-mean-i-m-not-a/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Capitalism is what people do if you leave them alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-minogue/capitalism-is-what-people-do-if-you-leave-them-alone/) [Kenneth Minogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-minogue/) > [Look at those numbers running. Money makes time. It used to be the other way around. Clock time accelerated the rise of capitalism. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/look-at-those-numbers-running-money-makes-time-it-used-to-be-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More by Boots Riley > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [I think it's important for us not just to edit the culture that capitalism creates but to create the material basis for a culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/i-think-it-s-important-for-us-not-just-to-edit-the-culture-that/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [The tech world is not a new phenomenon; it's a new era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/the-tech-world-is-not-a-new-phenomenon-it-s-a-new-era/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [What I'm trying to do is make music that people relate to, that talks about ideas that are personal but also make that connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/what-i-m-trying-to-do-is-make-music-that-people-relate-to-that-talks/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [I thought my parents were always having card parties - and they were - but they were actually also having meetings to organize people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/i-thought-my-parents-were-always-having-card-parties-and-they-were/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [Going to school in San Francisco, you're not going to meet as many people that are making films as you would if you went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/going-to-school-in-san-francisco-you-re-not-going-to-meet-as-many/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [What I like about music is that you make a song, you've got your ideas in it, and people make that song part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/what-i-like-about-music-is-that-you-make-a-song-you-ve-got-your-ideas/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [What first got me involved in politics was being 14, and a youth organizer comes to my house with a van full of 14…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/what-first-got-me-involved-in-politics-was-being-14-and-a-youth/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [I think most people would love for us to be a socialist society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/i-think-most-people-would-love-for-us-to-be-a-socialist-society/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [A lot of organizers tell me that while they are making signs or doing whatever they do, they are listening to the Coup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/a-lot-of-organizers-tell-me-that-while-they-are-making-signs-or-doing/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [When we were doing shows in the mid-'90s, the audiences were 95% black. 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Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) F. A. Harper > [The free market is ugly and stupid, like going to the mall; the unfree market is just as ugly and just as stupid, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-free-market-is-ugly-and-stupid-like-going-to-the-mall-the-unfree/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/capitalism-communism-it-s-all-garbage/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [There are no two countries with the same style of economic mechanism, with the same capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/there-are-no-two-countries-with-the-same-style-of-economic-mechanism/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [Historically, usury was defined as any interest whatever on an unproductive loan.Our whole banking system I have ever abhorred, I continue to abhor, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/historically-usury-was-defined-as-any-interest-whatever-on-an/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Socialism is humanity's second nature. 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