...this growth in not only the popularity of media, but also the authority of media in society. In today’s society, the media stands as the ultimate source of truth to many individuals as news channels successfully influence a person’s beliefs regarding society. Furthermore, when an individual relies upon the media for valid information, he allows only one perspective to influence his beliefs, and this closed-mindedness often results in him inadvertently acting prejudicially towards minority groups. While hatred has always existed in the world, the ever growing authority...
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...Ana V. COM-126 Historical need People live in a world of media and technology, making it our way of communication. Unfortunately, we are becoming more attached to these needs that our communication is lacking of reality. Therefore, "it is clear that mass-media influence our values, attitude, culture etc." (Enache, R., Pescaru, A., Stan, E., & Safta, C. (2010), p. 31). This media has a long history behind its back and has walked a long way to be transformed into this large communication connection we all live with today. Like all stories with a beginning, media started in the early years of 3000 B.C with the introduction of the alphabet, devised by the Semites (“Major Events in the History of Mass Communications”, n.d.). During this early era of media, not only the early form of paper was invented by the Egyptians, but the printing method was created. Johannes Gutenberg, with his printing invention, opened “the possibility of distributing identical messages to many people located in different places" (Bogart, 1991, p. 63) - this big step would really begin mass media, giving it a start to the printing production of books. A follow up century which would take a big leap in the media history is the Telegraph Era. From 1800s to 1900s the first telegraph line would be first introduced by Samuel Morse, along with the invention of the telephone and radio. These inventions took media development into a big significant time in which more and more people would gain...
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...they do, and magazines and television advertisements are constantly telling women how they too can be “beautiful” by selling them weight loss products, exercise programs, and other image enhancers. The constant exposure to the media’s version of beautiful is not something that is often thought of as negative. However, their portrayal of what is beautiful has become distorted over the years, to the point where achieving this “thin-ideal”, which will be defined later, is nearly impossible for women if done through healthy means. Because of this, many women develop body dissatisfaction, which can lead to serious and dangerous consequences, such as the development of eating disorders, in order to be “beautiful”. While there are many factors that can be linked to eating disorders, research has found that the media’s influence on society’s portrayal of extremely thin females as the ideal body is directly correlated to the increase in body dissatisfaction, eating disorders and other harmful conditions found in women. By analyzing this from a feminist perspective, it can be argued that not only does the media’s influence on the idealization of thinness effect females physical and mental health negatively, but it also acts as reinforcement for the patriarchal culture prevalent in today’s society. There is a wide range of eating disorders, ranging from minor to severe. Body dissatisfaction, which is “a psychiatric condition in which the affected person suffers from a flawed perception that...
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...Chapter 1 – Media’s Perception of Terrorism and Influence over the Audience By principle, the media should be impartial, unbiased and independent while illustrating their duties. The main aim and task of the media is to give accurate information to the public which should be based on the truth. During times of war the western media has become a place where the opinion of the audience at home is of vital importance to the success and failure of the war being fought against terrorism. In today’s time, the media is the main means of expression through which people receive information on terrorism or any other conflict, which then enlighten us about the unfolding events. Since the western media undisputedly is the most powerful, it has the means to present government actions in a supportive way, expose atrocities on either side and raise issues to the public which assist their governmental agenda. Here the question that comes to mind is whether the western media portrays terrorism, Muslims and Arabs in an accurate aspect. The western media uses certain techniques to depict terrorists in their own view which have had disastrous effects on Arabs as well as Americans all over the world. It is very unfortunate that despite all the recent terrorist attacks, weather they were significant or minor, the media still has not come up with a definitive definition of “terrorism” and “who is a terrorist”. The main issue with western media reporting on terrorism is their flaw of having discrepancies...
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...Aviva Hurvitz 24 November 2015 Feminism and the Media Representation of Women in the 1970’s Major social change happens when enough people strongly believe in it. The media influences public opinion and thus has the ability to support or destroy these social change movements. In the 1970’s, the second wave feminist movement was attempting to create wide spread social change. Its leading organization, the National Organization for Women (NOW), was focused on dismantling workplace inequality, such as denial of access to better jobs and salary inequity, and protecting women’s rights, such as stopping domestic violence. They attempted to do this through creating legislation and changing public opinion. The media’s representation of women overall at this time counteracted these goals. By creating a derogatory picture of the “feminist”, the media made her unsympathetic to the public. Rather than creating support for the core goals of the feminist movement, the media focused on more controversial topics, specifically gay rights. This negative media coverage of the women’s movement hurt its ability to implement meaningful legislation, such as the Equal Rights Amendment. The way in which print media degraded women, demonized feminists, and connected feminism to controversial topics damaged the progress of second wave feminism in the 1970’s. The definition of a feminist is a person who believes in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes (Miriam Webster...
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...Entertainment Media and Culture sitting in a tree… The relationship between culture and entertainment media could best be described as a partnership. Entertainment media is used to sell brands and introduce different cultures to the four corners of the world. Culture is influenced by art form. Art imitates life. Entertainment is one of those art forms that drive culture. Media’s role is to communicate culture to the masses. Society has both positive and negative influences from entertainment media that shapes American culture. Media literacy understood by the masses could have a changing affect on the relationship between culture and media. Entertainment has shaped American culture and its values. An enjoyable event or performance partner with products or services helps sales. Popular dances of the day are borrowed for traditional ceremonies like weddings. Media companies use different forms of entertainment to sell products or services and traditional events host advertisement. Most often entertainment is the highlight of cultural events. For example, prom night in American high schools traditional celebrate with a dance. The Macy’s Day Parade sponsored by the retail giant is a merger of products, services, and people united by entertainment. Entertainment has a way of influencing culture by drawing massive audiences. TV themed talent shows like American Idol are shaping culture by interacting with a global audience of millions through a cell phone text...
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...information came from, or if it was valid or not. Media can influence the opinions of people in severe ways, both good and bad, for example government influence on media can sway the opinions of the people exposed to that specific media. As the media plays such an influential role in the lives of most Americans, we need to ask ourselves, “Are we in control of the media, or is the media in control of us?” Media’s drastic growth has lead society to become more aware of what is going on socially, economically, etc. As people become more aware about what is truly going on, and taking about it through emerging media sources and exposing themselves to many different sources of traditional media, the individual is able to find the truth and form his or her own educated opinion, and American culture holds this as a very important factor in the people’s everyday lives. Communication started with the radio from hearing news broadcast to listening to music and plays that all happened before television. The radio was very real and came to life without having the visual effects of today’s technology and still had the effect of making people feel as if they were in the play itself, radio was the first wireless form of mass communication. The next big step in mass media was television people were able to have the visual capabilities with sound and movement and quickly became popular in every home, with a big impact on American culture and throughout the world. Watching theatre, shows, news broadcast...
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...found in America, but the majority of Americans will most likely agree that most people have abandoned racism. In fact, 1 in every 5 couples in the US will be interracial. Yet, despite popular belief, racism is still very prominent in America, especially within the media. The media has the power to influence the minds of many unsuspecting viewers. In recent years, the media has used its control over the American mentality to diminish the black culture by portraying African Americans on the news or on general television as various forms of degenerates such as thugs and criminals. This negative image of minorities created within production has...
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...American mass media is telecasted into homes throughout the world. However, it is justifiably argued that the spread of western values and western pop culture is media imperialism. As a result, the national cultures are influenced by western values and soon the national culture and values are no longer traditional, but have clearly evolved into a society heavily influenced by western civilization. However, others oppose this perspective of American mass media in foreign countries. In countries like India, parents worried about the influence of an American based pop culture, more specifically music television, on their children. An India born professor conducted research on this topic, analyzed the data, and wrote Becoming a Global Audience: Longing and Belonging in Indian Music Television, an analysis of the impact of music television on the people of India. Three years of research by a University of San Francisco academic, Vamsee Juluri, was conducted to assess the influence of an American based pop culture music television, mainly MTV and Channel V, on the traditional culture of the people of India. Juluri interviewed nine groups of Indian teenagers to adults in their early thirty’s who watched music television. In the early 1990’s, MTV and Channel V realized that when they entered Indian living rooms, the rebellious, anti-parent youth which succeeded in the West will not work in India. However, there are differences between the American household and Indian household that...
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...Results In our results we looked into three fundamental basis of our research and concluded that Gender, Sexualization and Media influence our perception of what men and women are supposed to be. In addition how GQ magazine enables women to be sexualized and forces men into the media’s ideal masculinity. All these three factors are intertwined. In today’s media there is an outflow of how body image, masculinity and femininity, also how gender roles should be determined. We look into the basis that in the modern age, we are predetermined to look a certain way, mainly by the media’s portrayal of what a man and women should exhibit. Subliminal messages are thrown out in our everyday life. For example, to toy Bratz force children at a young age to associate this toy with what beauty should be. Another example, young boys are forced into a vicious cycle of what a man is supposed to be. They are subjected to the media’s voice of how a man should act....
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...The Media’s Effect on Women’s Body Image Women and young girls are obsessively trying to alter their appearance just to look like the perfect body images we see in movies and magazines. What is body image? Body image is how people picture themselves and how they think other people picture them. It is basically how you feel about your body, and it includes your imagination, emotions, and perception. Images portrayed by the media tend to make people strive to be someone else's idea of perfect, while ignoring their own goals. The media influences us through television, health magazines, fashion, music videos, film, commercials, and various other advertisements. Sadly, as a result, this frequent exposure, the "thin" ideal, can lead many young girls in triggering depression, stress, low self-esteem, and suicide. The media's ideal body image has led to wide-ranging effects including, surgical procedures, body dissatisfaction, and clinical eating disorders. In “Body Image of Women” by Tabitha Farrar, she points out that the “thin-ideal media” concept highlights thinness as a desirable thing to be even if it comes to the point of damaging a person’s health. Farrar indicated that marketers will do anything that they can to sell a product and make a profit. She also mentioned that poor body image can lead to depression, anxiety, problems in relationships, unhappiness, and various health problems. Farrar suggested that people can focus on their good qualities, work with self-esteem...
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...Chapter 6 The media, government accountability, and citizen engagement Katrin Voltmer The past two decades or so have seen an unprecedented spread of democracy around the globe. With the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, the ‘third wave’ of democratization, which started in the early seventies, now encompasses countries in Asia and Africa.1 And even in states whose governments continue to resist a more open and participatory form of governance, such as North Korea, Burma or Zimbabwe, the idea of democracy is a powerful force that inspires people to take on a more active role in public life. However, many of the newly emerging democracies seem to fall short of some, often many, of the basic standards that define democratic rule, with irregular voting procedures, corruption, inefficiency and autocratic styles of government being but a few of the maladies. In addition, as many of the newly emerging democracies belong to the developing world, inequality and poverty remain severe obstacles to full self‐determination of the people. The experiences of the past decades have shown that democracy is not a one‐way road and that a viable democracy requires more than the implementation of the key institutions of government. Rather, an accountable and efficient government is embedded in a complex web of interdependent conditions that ...
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...generalisations that ultimately deny an individual's 'unique contribution to humanity' (Lester, 1996, p.1). When the mass media engage in stereotyping, misleading representations concerning members from diverse cultural groups are confirmed. In this essay, a broad range of texts will be used to examine the ways in which the mass media construct and reinforce social stereotypes around gender, ethnicity and age, as well as how the media shape one's imagination though direct images. It cannot be doubted that the media profoundly influence people's attitudes and outlooks. They convey a whole variety of information which individuals would not otherwise acquire. Newspapers, books, television, radio, films, recorded music and popular magazines (Giddens, 1989, p.79) bring individuals into close contact with experiences of which we 'would otherwise have little awareness' (Giddens, 1989, p. 79). There are very few societies, in current times, even among the more traditional cultures, which remain completely untouched by the mass media. Electronic communication is accessible even to those who are completely illiterate, or in isolated areas of the world. According to Juredini and Poole, gender usually refers to the 'behavioural and attitudinal characteristics' as well as roles that are learned and derived from a 'particular cultural milieu' (2000, p.171). An important source of gender information in a consumer society is television. Despite some notable exceptions, for example 'Sesame Street', most...
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...Support, Inc." Eating Disorder Recovery Support, Inc. N.p., 5 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. ""Hollywood Likes to Point to The... - Miss Representation | Facebook." "Hollywood Likes to Point to The... - Miss Representation | Facebook. BBC, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. "Jane's Quotes in Miss Representation." Missrepresentation.org, 2011. Web. American females have been struggled a constant combat for inclusive equality in a culture that maintains an accommodation for men. Despite the fact that remarkable paces have been created for women, until our present day we are still known as victims of distortion and social prejudice. Miss Representation film demonstrates the humiliating interpretations of females' association in media through the lack of women's power in culture. Miss representation is an intuitive documentary film directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and Kimberlee Acquaro. It disputes the restrictive and hideous realities of female's image in American media, demonstrating the overall impact on women and girls' self assurance and their healthy body, while supplying to the largely depression of women in modern culture. Assemble from the principle, the medium of film forces the media producers to be more ethical through employing affirmative female role models. The message of the film clearly illustrates how observers are been overwhelmed by over-sexualized media representations of females in divergence with pictures of enormous matter and leadership roles of females...
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...but sharply circumscribed role to ideology. The writers of the 1950s drew on the official rationales that the Truman administration had used to explain the nature of the Cold War and the necessity for the American Cold War policy of containment. This literature portrayed the Soviets as bent on expansion, driven by a combination of traditional interests and Marxist-Leninist ideology. The United States in response acted prudently and pragmatically to defend its interests against this obvious security threat. This view did not go unchallenged. Although initially an advocate of containing the Soviet Union, George Kennan soon joined another realist critic, Walter Lippmann, and turned against his creation. Kennan argued that the Truman Doctrine overcommitted the United States by defining American interests in ideological and expansive terms. For Kennan and Lippmann both, ideology influenced not only Soviet but also American policymakers. Beginning in the 1960s revisionist scholars turned traditional scholarship on its head, arguing that American, not Soviet, policy was ideological, and that the Soviet actions in the immediate postwar period were motivated by legitimate security needs. How has the media influenced our understanding, both positively and negatively, of other cultures? Be prepared to give specific examples. We humans are a bunch of manipulatable species where the media feeds off this ever-growing trait that lies within us all. It affects us in so many ways both consciously...
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