...Mass media messages and effects Heather Gilliland BSCOM/268 06-06-16 Mabelle Reynoso Mass media messages and effects Introduction The mass media is in the business of steering your thoughts about subjects and controlling how the public thinks. The press, the television, and the radio play an important role in society. The mass media informs, educates, and entertains the public. They also influence how society looks at the world and can often alter that view. Mass media shapes public opinion on many different matters. When you want to see the most current events, read about the news or listen to get the latest gossip on celebrities, or learn the latest fashion trends, members of society usually turn on the television, the radio, or access the internet through your computer or smartphone. Mass media has developed a technology to reach the vast majority of the population. The mass media is constantly changing and growing as new technological advances are being made. The public is exposed to vast amounts of content in the stories they read and the news they listen to, and even though we depend on mass media for almost everything we listen to, all the stories may not be very ethical. There are many undependable sources of mass media out there, but there are also true, dependable and reliable sources that we are exposed to as well. As the public depends on the media to such a great degree, it is important to know which sources to trust, and which to disregard as unreliable...
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...The media as a whole has many hidden messages or ideas that the entertainment world wants to get across. The media uses subliminal messages through radio, television, and advertisement. “A subliminal message is a signal in the form of a picture or sound that is designed to pass the normal limits of perception,” which means when people receive images or ideas consciously they also receive it subconsciously in their mind (Subliminal Messages in Movies and Media). There have been many controversial issues concerning the usage of this technique (Subliminal Messages in Movies and Media). There were rumors stating that Bush has used subliminal messages in some of his campaign speeches in order to deliver hidden messages to the world (Subliminal Messages in Movies and Media). One example of this would have been when; “A similar accusation was made against a promotional film of the Liberal party of Canada, where after dissecting their ad, one could clearly see a gun being fired at the viewer” (Subliminal Messages in Movies and Media). The Bush promo is rumored to be filled to the brim with subliminal images of a disturbing nature: fire, explosions, terrified children, mutilation, ghost-like figures and several acts of violence” (Subliminal Messages in Movies and Media). In the manipulation of many viewers, it was first to be just a tested experiment that could determine the facts of subliminal messages (Subliminal Messages in Movies and Media). A movie theatre in New Jersey did an experiment...
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...Mass media have played and will continue to play a crucial role in the way white Americans perceive African-Americans. As a result of the overwhelming media focus on crime, drug use, gang violence, and other forms of anti-social behavior among African-Americans, the media have fostered a distorted and pernicious public perception of African-Americans. 1 The history of African-Americans is a centuries old struggle against oppression and discrimination. The media have played a key role in perpetuating the effects of this historical oppression and in contributing to African-Americans' continuing status as second-class citizens. As a result, white America has suffered from a deep uncertainty as to who African-Americans really are. Despite this racial divide, something indisputably American about African-Americans has raised doubts about the white man's value system. Indeed, it has also aroused the troubling suspicion that whatever else the true American is, he is also somehow black. 2 Racism Before attempting to understand racism and mass media, one must understand the history of racism. Race has become an institutional part of American society. From the Founding on, race has played an integral part in shaping the American consciousness. David Goldberg's Racist Culture argues that racial discourse may be interpreted as aversive, academic, scientific, legalistic, bureaucratic, economic, cultural, linguistic, religion, mythical, or ideological. 3 He also stresses that racialized...
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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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...Mass media From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The mass media are diversified media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place varies. Broadcast media such as radio, recorded music, film and television transmit their information electronically. Print media use a physical object such as a newspaper, book, pamphlet or comics,[1] to distribute their information. Outdoor media is a form of mass media that comprises billboards, signs or placards placed inside and outside of commercial buildings, sports stadiums, shops and buses. Other outdoor media include flying billboards (signs in tow of airplanes), blimps, and skywriting.[2] Public speaking and event organising can also be considered as forms of mass media.[3] The digital media comprises both Internet and mobile mass communication. Internet media provides many mass media services, such as email, websites, blogs, and internet based radio and television. Many other mass media outlets have a presence on the web, by such things as having TV ads that link to a website, or distributing a QR Code in print or outdoor media to direct a mobile user to a website. In this way, they can utilise the easy accessibility that the Internet has, and the outreach that Internet affords, as information can easily be broadcast to many different regions of the world simultaneously and cost-efficiently. The organizations that...
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...IWT Task 1 (0813) This paper will analyze, critique, and help us to understand the music of the Harlem Renaissance and the Pop Art periods. The social conditions that influenced the art and the characteristics of the artists’ style were in many ways similar; however, with advancing technology, they had differing struggles to overcome. The Harlem Renaissance was sparked by the Great Migration from 1919 – 1926 in which African Americans began moving to northern cities to find employment and a better way of life. The musicians of this era were very influential in renewing the culture and history of the United States. Jazz, race, and class divided Harlem and New York cities. Some historians have said the best way to understand the Harlem Renaissance is by understanding the music (http://historyoftheharlemrenaissance.weebly.com/index.html; www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/Harlem-Renaissance-1920s.html). With the roots of jazz coming from slave songs, it is truly an African-American invention. This newly formed music utilized the dissonant “blue” note. This modification to the to the standard major scale allowed the musician to play the note flat; usually the third, fifth, or seventh note of the scale. Music critic Sidney Finkelstein stated, “It expresses the hope and struggle for freedom, the vitality which enables a people to wrest joy out of misery and to assert the triumph of human beings over the obstacles that would grind them down.” ("MindEdge," 2014) Jazz was the sound...
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...Beonka Robinson April 24, 2012 Women’s Studies 301 Anorexia A common disease afflicting an enormous number of young Americans is anorexia. While other mischiefs are characterized by the over consumption or the misuse of a product, anorexia is described as an anti-consumption behavior. In this paper, I will discuss what anorexia is, who takes part in it, how it related to race/ethnicity, and the effects of mass media. Anorexia is an eating disorder defined by excessive food restriction, illogical fear of gaining weight, and a misleading negative body self-perception (Nogal & Lewinski, 2008). The disorder naturally consists of extreme weight loss. It is frequently developed during adolescence and early adulthood. People with this disorder constrain the amount of food they consume because of the fear of gaining weight to live up to the delusion of a “perfect person” which does not exist. This causes metabolic and hormonal disorders that may cause long-term effect to the body (Carlson & Heth, 2007). Anorexia is a medical term for the lack of appetite. On the other hand, people with anorexia do not lose their appetites. It has many complex allegations and may be thought of as a constant illness that may never be truly cured, but only managed over time. Anorexia is characterized by low body weight, inappropriate eating habits, and obsession with having a thin figure. Those who suffer from it may also practice repeated weighing, measuring, and mirror gazing, in conjunction...
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... Media Has Affected African-American Children Self-image Modern advertisements have devastatingly affected African-American children through teenagers; pushing realized their own faults, marketers bombarded them with magazine covers and ads of “perfect” beauty. Media images have great influence on societal ideals–particularly when it comes to African-American children. African-Americans are often portrayed in movies as low income citizens, criminals, or drug addicts. Mass media portrays white females as being the primarily beauty, it's no wonder African-American children focus on looking more Americanize. Children are bombarded with gender and racial stereotypes. The media misrepresented and manipulated purposely to make children believe they should look a certain way. Today’s media has affected African-American children self-image. In the 1940s an experiment was conducted by Kenneth and Mamie Clark. They asked African-American children about two dolls, one white and one black. The research test African-American and white children abilities to distinguish their difference in race. “According to Ahuja the majority -- 63 percent of them -- said they'd rather play with the white doll. Most said the white doll was nicer than the black doll and in the most poignant answer of all, 44 percent of the black children said the white doll looked most like them”(Ahuja). These results were devastating to watch African-American children prefer white doll that...
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...Stereotypes are oversimplified beliefs in a particular group of people. Stereotypes are usually based on race, ethnicity, or gender. Someone that is judged by their membership in a group instead of on their own individual differences. Prejudice An opinion of belief learned from environmental factors such as friends, relatives, and mass media. Though there are many theories about prejudices and how they are created and approached, most believe that prejudices are taught from a very young age. Labeling theory The labeling theory is the belief that the view of deviance according to which being labeled as a "deviant" leads a person to engage in deviant behavior. The labeling theory explains why people’s behavior clashes with social norms. A person that is labeled may incorporate the label into his/her self-concept. Part II Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each: • Race • Ethnicity • Religion • Gender • Sexual orientation • Age • Disability Category Stereotype 1 Stereotype 2 Stereotype 3 Race All African Americans are good at sports. All Americans are lazy and obese. All Mexicans are illegal aliens. Ethnicity All Arabs or Muslims are terrorists. All Jews are greedy. All Irish people are drunks. Sexual Orientation All masculine women are lesbians. All feminine men are Gay. All lesbians are liberal democrats. Part III Answer each question in 100 to 150 words related to those...
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...Black Women in the Media Media is defined as a form of mass communication through the use of radio, television, the Internet, music, film, and etc. Throughout history, American media has not only been used as a form of communication and entertainment, but it has also been utilized to spread stereotypes and hegemonic ideals reinforcing the racial hierarchy that has continued to survive even after the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century. According to Tilicia L. Mayo, Indiana University communications graduate, images in the media contain the ability to teach many different lessons. Mayo states, “Contemporary films and television shows deliver images that communicate ideologies such as class, standing and position in society” (vi). After the abolition of slavery, White America searched for means of social control through the media since they lacked the power of legal control. Black women, being of the lowest racial and gender classes in America, have repeatedly been stereotyped and victimized through the use of degrading images in contemporary media. The origins of these images can be found in the racist ideologies of the African slave woman created by White Euro-American slave owners. The images of black women in American media have directly affected how black women and other people in society define black womanhood. This influence directly shows how people utilize fictitious and stereotypical images from the media in trying to understand the stereotyped group and...
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...Despite being one of the wealthiest nations, it is alarming the number of African-Americans who go hungry on a daily basis. According to Eric Mitchell, director of government relations at Bread for the World, African Americans suffer from some of the highest rates of hunger and poverty in the country as the lack of jobs that pay fair wages, prevents people of color from moving out of poverty and the recession. (“African-Americans Disproportionately,” 2015). There has been a sudden increase in unemployment and a shocking loss of income since the recession. A wide range of economic data taken before the recession shows that the result of the labor market for blacks was far worse than for whites. (“The State of Working Americans,” 2015). More specifically, research states that of the 104 U.S. counties with a majority black population, 92 percent of these counties also record high food insecurity rates. (Workneh, 2013) In 2013, the median income for African-Americans was $24,864, lower than for all Americans and poverty is the contributing factor that affects nearly three out of ten African-Americans or nearly twice the average rate for the general population. (“African-Americans Disproportionately,” 2015). The crisis is increased by the effects of mass incarceration as African-Americans form nearly half of the total prison population in the country. This makes it extremely difficult for one to provide for their families and many are denied access to programs such as SNAP (Supplemental...
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...The above quote relays the ways exploitative rhetoric used by 1960’s politicians created fear among whites. As well as a foreshadowment of the analogous issues in the 1980s. Moreover the introduction of harsher sentencing due to the white’s public fear illustrates the effects the majority and public opinion have on dominating the minority. Tocqueville stated, “In all the American republics the central government is only occupied with a small number of matters important enough to attract its attention. It does not undertake to regulate society’s secondary concerns, and there is no indication of that has ever conceived the desire to do so.” (Tocqueville 262) The basis of the above quote reveals the government's tendency to appease the primary...
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...Mass media is distorted mirror of society (Maneri and Wal). It is as if being held prisoner in a funhouse, the distortion of the mirror image slowly becomes reality and it is impossible to remember what life is really like. The news medium is one aspect of mass media that has contributed heavily to this distorted reality. Even though the news is supposed to remain objective, it seems as if racial biases have somehow made their way to the headlines. Can the consistent racial preference in the news enforce prejudice ideology through the public? The goal of this essay is to discuss the reason why behind misrepresentation of minorities in the news medium, and how the misrepresentation affects society. Even with minorities making up roughly one...
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...interviewee gave his opinion on African women’s desire for lighter complexion, going on to say: […] most of the women wants [sic] to have, cause what they see on TV over there, lighter skinned women with nice hair and all of that stuff-so some of them want, want to be like that, so that’s why, some of them bleach their skin, cause they think the lighter their skin is, the [more] chances they have to actually one day be on TV, or get noticed by people, so they think bleaching their skin or lighter skin, is much, much better than dark skin. (Duke and Chansin) The issue being described is not only present among those belonging to African-American community (Herring 3), but the Filipino, and general Asian community as well (Dychiu 87). Given this, mass media should use its influence to help lessen instead of perpetuate occurrences of colorism in Philippine society. In order to have a clearer understanding of mass media, it must first be defined. By definition, a medium is a form of disemminating knowledge, and a mass is a large amount of people. Put together, mass media is a term that covers different forms of communicating knowledge and information to a multitude of people (Livesey n.p). There are different forms of mass media, ranging from print, to broadcast, to internet advertising and outdoor or mural media. Print media covers newspapers, magazines and journals, while broadcast media consists of television and the radio. Internet advertising media covers social networking sites...
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...most diverse and wealthiest countries in the world. Although the United States is wealthy, not all individuals have benefited from that wealth. Throughout society, African American communities have become marginalized, with areas of poverty, high crime rates, discrimination and few opportunities for advancement. These areas are often locations where racial and cultural minorities live. Racial disparities exist within the criminal justice system and have shown many problems of inequality between the white and black race. In addition to having inequality within the criminal justice system, the criminals also have impacted their family members in different ways due to being incarcerated. The media has misrepresented African Americans by emphasizing African Americans participating in crimes while ignoring crimes committed by whites. People in society are assuming that only black people commit crimes, which is unfair because the incidences of people committing crimes are about equal between the races. Racial disparity favors white people over black people in the criminal justice system. Therefore, society must reevaluate the way society portrays who commits crimes, and where they are committed. Throughout many decades of history, black people had been discriminated against and treated as second class citizens in American society, even though they participated equally in the workforce. Discrimination has happened from slavery until present times. For example, during the 17th century...
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