The notion that the images we see on television and at the movies play no role in shaping the way we see ourselves and our world is simply not true; though I do believe this is much less true of the movies because of differences in the technology.
Actually what we see and hear through our senses presents us with tools we use to create foundational "truths" to support the veracity of our actions. Authorities in our lives play a role in helping us make sense of our experience but the driving factor for determining validity is what we directly experience and thereby believe we know for sure. Television and films mimic direct experience in a way that often makes it difficult to draw a clear line between the two and since one is manufactured while the other is natural (and for some sacred) therein lies an enormous opportunity for a self serving shaping of "knowing" that can be mistakenly embraced as truth. When we are watching flickering pictures on a screen we are not having an experience and though we may think we already know this, the truth is that many of us do not have the tools needed to actually tell the difference and in certain circumstances none of us will be able to tell the difference.
