...out with optimism among America’s youth that was unprecedented in history. Before too long headlines of civil rights, university reform, pacifist movement against the Vietnam War, women’s rights, and sexual liberation were made and the “Camelot” vision was quickly shattered. America’s youth began to revolt against the establishment and the foregone conclusion that they would adopt the lifestyle of their parents. In ten short years societal norms were turned completely around. Never before had change happened so quickly or been driven by the same group. This rapid change is breathtaking, considering most young people are generally naïve and disinterested in events outside their immediate scope. I have therefore decided to investigate what role the media played in the youth revolutions of the 1960s. This paper will identify media’s influence in driving change and analyze relationships between media, specific historical events, and the reaction of America’s youth. This will be achieved by looking at both primary and secondary sources to determine how much influence the media played in manipulating America’s youth via songs, marketing, and select writings. The media industry’s reaction to the social and technological upheavals of the twentieth century was to encapsulate the mantra “youth as fun” and sell it to America’s teens. . It was the social exposure that the media promoted that resulted in the heightening of knowledge among America’s youth, leading to their liberalized...
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...The use and abuse of psychoactive substances have long prevailed through history. For decades society has known about psychoactive substances and many are presented through media as a norm. Throughout, the American popular culture, the media frequently documented these substances through movies, songs, TV shows, TV commercials, etc. Both society and the media have implemented good and bad stereotypes of drug use. On one side, they indicate that media cannot portray more than it is actually shown in the media. On the other hand, longitudinal studies support a connection between media portrayals of drug use and other drugs among children, adolescents and young adults. For this said, I decided to choose one of America’s popular movies, Scarface,...
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... American stereotypes are far from scarce. The most recent ones I came across were in the blog called Tobsy says on “10 common German prejudices about the USA,” where certain typecasts about Americans were listed, such as being extremely superficial and the need for everything to be in an XXL (houses, cars, burgers, breast implant, etc). It’s quite fascinating how prejudices can sometimes be so precise. The American society as a whole has no one to blame for our habits and lifestyle except ourselves, well maybe the media might also play a small part in shaping our minds to be this way. The statistics on media use in this country is staggering. In this day and age, the average American adult uses 6.43 hours a day in media attention, with American teenagers using up to an average 7.48 hours a day. It is therefore kind of hard to deny that the media has become an intricate part of American society. All the media we are exposed to influences our decisions on what’s important, what to enjoy, and even what to wear. It’s no coincidence that the total advertising revenue in the United States was 285.1 billion dollars in 2008, which was approximately 44% of the worldwide advertising revenue. Why are these advertisers paying so much money, especially in America, to get their products out there? It’s because it works. Advertisements are out to persuade audiences to buy their products and they have done so with great success. So much so, that it is kind of hard to walk...
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...(2004) who asserts that adolescent crimes can occur regardless of good parenting. Keeler’s argument describes a teen who has dropped out school and is involved in criminal behavior. The worst of the behavior being several instances of drunk driving. There is a parent who appears genuine in her concern for her teen. Unfortunately, the argument also illustrates the parent’s frustration with her teen to the point where she releases the child first to relatives, then juvenile services. It was only after this transition that the child’s difficult behavior escalated to a criminal in nature. Parents must be encouraged to give their youth support and guidance, anything less can be detrimental to the youth and potentially others. Vaughn (2012) explains that parents should be aware of juveniles who exhibit chaotic and difficult behavior. After school clubs, youth clubs, and extra-curricular activities can be a resource for parents to use in discouraging criminal behavior. Since parents have the earliest chance of identifying and...
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...Insecurity: A strategy to save our youth from organized crime Introduction Organized crime is criminal organizations are terms which categorise transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals, who intend to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit Literature Review In his study, Irving Spergel (1990) found out that gangs exist in large, middle sized cities and they are now spreading to suburban and smaller countries around the world. Gangs have turned out to be important social institutions for low income male youths and youth adults from newcomer and residual populations. This can be attributed to the fact that gangs serve social, cultural and economic functions that are no longer adequately performed by the families of these young people, the schools they go to and finally the labor market. Youth gangs are now present in both socialist and free market societies, developing and developed countries, these clearly shows that society as a whole failing terribly in regard to proper upbringing and guidance of the youth. A study by Jeff Ferrell showed that cultural space has a significant impact on youth crime. Cultural space denotes those arenas in which young people construct meaning, perception and identity from e.g. media factories, political machines and legal bureaucracies. The media displays popular culture as a youthful lifestyle that involves drugs, a lot of money, violence and delinquent behavior....
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...Chivalrous knights. Athenian olympic athletes crowned in laurels. Composed samurai. Confederate soldiers with glints of stone-cold malice in their eyes. Professional football players built like massive siege walls. World War II soldiers supported by shining, unmoving medals of honor. From a young age, the idea that boys and men must be creatures of warrior-like stoicism and Herculean athleticness is reinforced, at the cost of emotional depth and academic success. One can find the culprits of this embedded in America’s archetypes of masculine ‘normality’, the school system’s dependence on sport-programs, and culture’s reverence of military honor. The stereotypes of American heroes and men are heavily entrenched in the toxicity of masculinity,...
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...In the book , The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein(source1)explains his bias point of view on some alarming trends amongst America’s youth and young adults. He cites numerous statistics that reveal an escalated number of young Americans that are dropping out of high school and college. Literacy rates are falling each year, and importance on traditional knowledge and values is rapidly decreasing. He also claims that today’s youth has changed in how they use their time, and their priorities differ greatly from past generations. In addition to these changes, Bauerlein offers some possible explanations as to why young Americans have changed ,but not everybody thinks the same some people would say we are one of the generations with most benefits...
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...fact that the main purpose of publicity should be the informational aspect, advertisers use their influence in a distinct way. Sometimes manipulative, their controversial techniques use psychological appeals in order to increase purchases. Publicity has unfavorable side effects on individuals, especially on young and vulnerable consumers: children. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that food habits, lifestyles and behaviors are guided by advertising detrimental models. Teenagers represented core targets for advertisers because media has become one of the most substantial socialization agents known today. Adolescents spent 140 billion dollars a year in 2004 in various products, and 12 years old kids 25 billion dollars, but they are also able to act upon a $200 billion dollar budget (Mary Story and Simone French, Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US). According to the Professor Sharon Beder, “[y]oung children are increasingly the target of publicity and marketing because of the amount of money they spend themselves, the influence they have on their parents spending […] and because of the money they will spend when they grow up” (101). The powerful advertising industry has understood since few years the potential of the adolescent market force. They have seen an opportunity to infiltrate what is today the third major market. Youth is the target of an intensive advertising because they...
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...Youth Violence Ever since the horrible tragedy at Columbine High School, there has been a number of recent school shootings in America. Youth violence is a main issue in today’s society. Many people fear what causes youngsters to be so violent, committing atrocious. There are many wonders that go around about why young adolescents commit such violent crimes. These questions vary from why kids take guns to school, or how do we know if they are putting others in danger, what signs are there, what should be looked at, and what can be done to stop these acts of violence. I remember watching the MTV special “Warning Signs”; it explained the violence in our society today. In the video they talked with young adolescents and asked them questions dealing with crimes they have been institutionalized for. The video also explained warning signs of someone who may be planning to commit an act of violence. Study has shown that anger plays a major role in ones behavior problem. Aggression is any form of behavior intended to harm or injure another living being. There are many reasons why someone acts in an aggressive way. First, many people have an instinct of being aggressive towards certain individuals, second genes are another factor that can develop from a complex interaction of biology, social experience, and each individuals behavior, t... The potential influence of violent video games on youth violence remains an issue of concern for psychologists, policymakers...
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...Mass Media Billy Taylor III University of phoenix Michael Hilley Mass Media Popular American culture is artifacts and symbols that reflect or influence a person’s everyday way of life during that specific time or place. Since the dawn of this new era, the economy has relied on fast food, sports, and television as their primary source of entertainment. The three categories listed above have overlapping patterns suggesting individuals to purchase their product being mentally or physically. Food industry’s use artificial visual prop’s such as plastic or wax items to help portray luscious tasting food to help entice a hunger experience. Driving by Arby’s a billboard picture shows five roast beef sandwiches for five dollars, leading individuals to believe this is an excellent value. On the other hand, Arby’s does not inform customers of the calorie intake, sodium, and other ingredients that are harmful to individuals’ health. Consequently, these additives tremendously increased over the years. Another example of a food artifact is McDonald’s golden arches. In most cities children in general recognize McDonald’s for their symbol of a golden arches. Sadly, this fast food establishment has been deemed un-healthy of all chain restaurants which has been proven to be a fact through medical research. I for one, after seeing the movie “Super Size” have refrained from being a regular customer do to these findings...
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...English 101 May 10, 2009 A Media Driven Society Raises Today’s Youth “Beep!” “Beep!” “Beep!”… Its 7 o’clock am, I rise to an alarm set to 94.5 where I hear the latest news and media gossip. I jump into the shower where I continue to catch up on the world’s news reports. My pre-set coffee brewer has coffee already prepared for an on-the-go person such as myself. I grab my laptop, cell phone, ipod, and jet off to work. After work I stop at a local café where I can pick up free wi-fi and sign in to my online classes. I email a few friends in the process of emailing a professor about the assigned paper. I can’t forget to check my facebook to catch up on the latest gossip while listening to lecture notes podcasted from the previous day. Once finished, I stop at the local grocery store to pick up dinner and while standing in line at the cashier I feel compelled to buy a magazine to keep up on the celebrity gossip and check out new poperotsy photos. On my way home a billboard advertising the new corona makes me stop at the local 7-elleven for a six-pack. I speed home to pop my tv dinner in the microwave and sip a beer. While I wait, I turn the television on and watch the news on one screen while watching another show on the split screen monitor. After a long day, I set the coffee pot, my alarm, plug the ipod, computer, and cell phone in to charge and lay my head on my pillow. As I close my eyes, I think of all the information I’ve seen, heard, and communicated...
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...Why Do Urban Youth Join gangs? There is no universal agreed upon definition of a gang. According to the national institute of justice the federal definition is “An association of three or more individuals whose members collectively identify themselves by adopting a group identity, which they use to create an atmosphere of fear or intimidation, frequently by employing one or more of the following: a common name, slogan, identifying sign, symbol, tattoo or other physical marking, style or color of clothing, hairstyle, hand sign or graffiti.” The purpose of a gang is to engage in criminal activity and which uses violence or intimidation to further its criminal objectives. Gangs come in all different types, there are multiple types of gangs; for example motorcycle gangs, prison gangs, hate groups, adult organized crime groups, terrorist organizations and other types of security threat groups. The reasons people tend to join gangs are lack of jobs, poverty, domestic violence, and lack of education. The most common age for youth to join a gang is between 13 and 15. Youth join gangs for various reasons; money, sense of support and belonging, peer status, and a sense of protection are seemingly provided by the gang. Youth in gangs are more likely to abuse drugs, engage in high risk sexual behaviors, and experience long term health and social consequences. The reason that today’s youth join gangs is because of environmental factors, early academic failure and lack of school attachment...
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...years, the media has been indulging society with the images and videos of what everyone is supposed to be, by their norms. Although more and more teens are texting, and not only could that result in ignorance of English proficiency, but also the loss of lives due to texting and driving; the media is creating these images we are supposed to live up to and therefore influencing Americans to change rather than focusing on issues such as texting. The media influences society to live up to these standards that are unrealistic, not healthy, and not accurate. You can pick up the latest issue of any magazine and that front cover photograph has been altered from the original to appeal to us all, and to an unrealistic manner. With the average woman weighing at 147 pounds, in comparison to the average runway model weighing at 110 pounds (Sexton, Timothy). This is a dramatic difference and young girls will believe that a model is their standard. All these unrealistic images are not only making women feel inferior but also not proud of their bodies. (Sands, Breezy). It is unclear to look at a high end fashion magazine and feel that you are not the best just because of the woman in a smaller dress size. From make up products to the latest trendy diets everyone is trying, yet no one is gaining anything from it, but temporary results. Being forced to look at these images at a young age creates society into thinking it is right. With all these influential images in the media, they are causing...
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...Images of the unobtainable thin body can be seen anywhere. The media has many different outlets; television, movies, magazines billboards, and the internet. I myself can attest to watching television and thinking why isn’t my body like that. I know what it feels like to not feel beautiful because the image of beauty that the media portrays is the complete opposite of myself. The media portrays tall and thin as the “ideal” image of beauty. The National Eating Disorder Association (2012) reports that the media and its portrayal of beauty is acknowledged as one of the factors contributing to the rise of eating disorders. In our culture, the media portrays tall and thin as the ideal image of beauty. Magazines, television , movies, commercials, and more portray attractive women as being extremely thin. It is nearly impossible to escape the influence of the media and children today are being exposed to these portrayals earlier and earlier in life. Since we have immediate access to all sorts of media, could the constant reminder of the “ideal” body type cause a negative body image and low self-esteem? Body image as defined by Dina L.G. Borzekowski and Angela M. Bayer is “the internal representation of one's own outer appearance which reflects physical and perceptual dimensions.”(Borzekowski & Bayer, 2005) They also state that body image is closely related to self-esteem and self-concept. During one’s juvenile years, poor body image is especially harmful, because all of the...
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...Images of the unobtainable thin body can be seen anywhere. The media has many different outlets; television, movies, magazines billboards, and the internet. I myself can attest to watching television and thinking why isn’t my body like that. I know what it feels like to not feel beautiful because the image of beauty that the media portrays is the complete opposite of myself. The media portrays tall and thin as the “ideal” image of beauty. The National Eating Disorder Association (2012) reports that the media and its portrayal of beauty is acknowledged as one of the factors contributing to the rise of eating disorders. In our culture, the media portrays tall and thin as the ideal image of beauty. Magazines, television , movies, commercials, and more portray attractive women as being extremely thin. It is nearly impossible to escape the influence of the media and children today are being exposed to these portrayals earlier and earlier in life. Since we have immediate access to all sorts of media, could the constant reminder of the “ideal” body type cause a negative body image and low self-esteem? Body image as defined by Dina L.G. Borzekowski and Angela M. Bayer is “the internal representation of one's own outer appearance which reflects physical and perceptual dimensions.”(Borzekowski & Bayer, 2005) They also state that body image is closely related to self-esteem and self-concept. During one’s juvenile years, poor body image is especially harmful, because all of the rapid...
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