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How does media manipulate public perception
Media and its effects
Media and its effects
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The power of language is indisputable. Being unable to ‘fit in’ because you cannot communicate effectively with the dominant discourse puts you at an enormous disadvantage. Those who know how to use the dominant discourse effectively and to their own advantage will be more powerful.
People use their knowledge of the power, inherent in the mastery of discourses, to manipulate others. Many texts show evidence of this. In fact, some texts actively criticise those, who less than ethically utilise their mastery of discourses to achieve their own ends. The media actively utilise their understanding of the dominant discourse to support many agendas. Novelists over the years have shown the ill-effects on individuals who might suffer through not mastering the dominant discourse. Those who know how to use a variety of discourses will become more powerful. Those who have difficulty with discourses will end up being alienated.
Alienation is the result of being unable to use other discourses or refusing to engage in the dominant discourse. One can gain power by preventing alienation of oneself and sublimating others via the use of alienation. Alienation is represented in all texts and films to effectively manipulate the minds of readers, so that they can compare their experiences with the characters in the narrative. This is clearly represented in the novel, “1984” by George Orwell, when the character Winston, challenges the dominant discourse. Another example can be seen in “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelly where Victor is alienated because he disobeyed ‘the rules’ of the dominant discourse.
The media however, uses a variety of discourses to manipulate the reader’s mind. Foregrounding certain topics and purposely leaving out certain information (silencing) are also techniques to use ‘the power of language’ to their own advantage. These techniques are used to convince the pubic, of a particular issue. To many people, this is like ‘brainwashing’ society.
Novelists express the abuse of power, such as ‘brain washing’. “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, gives an excellent example of this. He wrote: “To make them love it, is the task assigned in present day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda...”. thus, through hynopeadic teaching (brain washing), essential attendance to community gatherings and the use of drugs to control emotion. This was the dominant discourse of the characters. From this, it can be noticed that the ones in power can abuse their authority and lead to corruption.
A great representation of abuse of authority and corruption, is seen in “1984” and “Brave New World”.
Media, the plural form of medium, describes various ways in which we communicate in society. A phone call, email, radio, computer, news on TV, etc. are all forms of media. In our society today, the media plays a significantly large role in influencing society negatively, twisting one’s perspective of the truth. In author Brooke Gladstone’s, The Influencing Machine, she discusses how media is looked at as an “influencing machine,” that’s controlling the mind of its viewers. Throughout the reading, Gladstone guides her readers through perceptions of media and how it influences them to get readers to understand the truth about media and the manipulation behind it.
Political communication—communication with a political purpose about human interaction—takes many different forms including novels, poetry, music, television, and film, which all have their distinct advantages and disadvantages in communicating with the public. Although some political communication intends to enact or drive social changes, some political communication seeks to maintain the status quo. The film medium, which is the subject of this paper, has a much broader mass appeal than other medias and often changes the viewer’s original beliefs and perceptions when he or she experiences over an hour straight of visual indoctrination of only one view.
In the second chapter of Lies My Teacher Told Me Lowen argues that electronic media has decisively and irriversibly changed the character of our environment. He believes that we are now a culture whose information, ideas and epistemology are given form by televison not by the printed word. Loewen describes how discourse in America is now different from what it once was. Loewwen says discourse was once logical, serious, and rational and now under the governance of television it is shriveled and absurd. In addition, he writes about the definitions of truth and the sources in which the definitions come from. Loewen shows how the bias of a medium is unseen throughout a culture and he gives three examples of truth telling.
Another controlling method that is diffused through television, radio and written publications; is any reported information about world politics and news. Powerful political groups narrow people’s views of what is going on around them by tainting and twisting information to their own device. They decide what to say and when to say it, revealing as much or little information as desired, in ‘befitting’ instances; thus enabling them to hide information they consider deleterious to themselves, from the public. It also permits them to depict opponents in overly negative terms.
These examples display the inevitable fact that all over the world subtle but significant events are taking place that appear to signify a shifting toward a totalitarian government, much like the one present in 1984. This is extremely disturbing because most people will agree that the life lived by the characters in 1984, is not one of any value. Though they are “protected” from several of the problems that many of the free world citizens and officials face, they have no control over their thoughts or actions. This leads to unbearable uniformity. It is chilling to know that though George Orwell’s book was written as fiction, portions of it are becoming factual.
As the mind matures and grows, new opinions are formed with the help of the revolutionizing consciousness of humanity. The human conscious allows humanity to develop individually and gain unique cognitive patterns and thinking processes. However, these opinions can be manipulated by environmental sources, like the media. The media’s puppet strings can be used to influence the minds of the masses and control their overall thinking process. It takes away an individual’s freedom to think for themselves and form their own opinions. Manipulation is a key ingredient in attaining support for a side of an argument. News networks have this ability to twist the minds of their listeners and unconsciously force them to believe in their words. Two of the
individuals, society, or work. Some sociologists believe that alienation is inevitably produced not by the individual but by the shallowness and the lack of individuality in modern society. The concept of alienation has been held to account for behaviour patterns. as diverse as motiveless violence and total immobility. Alienation is a state in which the creations of humanity appear to humans as alien objects.
As shown in literature, corruption and the abuse of power is an ongoing discussion. When it comes down to the point where people are being used and abused physically and psychologically, it creates a hostile environment for both the subjects and the abuser. As represented in the two similar texts Lord Of the Flies and “I Only Came to use the Phone”, corrupted authority and abuse of power usually end up leading to the collapse of a society or a world of chaos and violence.
News media outlets do not shy away from media framing. Media framing is how information is presented to the public, whether it is leaving information out or exaggerating the details. Erving Goffman was the first to bring forth the idea and theory of framing and defined framing as a “schemata of interpretation” that enables individuals to “locate, perceive, identify and label” occurrences or life experiences (Goffman, 1974). In his 1993 discussion of framing, Robert Entman offered a more thorough explanation: “To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, casual interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation.” (Entman, p.52). Entman used the term “salient” when referring to framing. Salient terms are more noticeable and important. As he described it, “Texts can make bits of information more salient by placement or repetition, or by associating them with culturally familiar symbols” (Entman, p.53) Entman further explains that frames are a particular way in which the human consciousness can
The constant theme of betrayal in 1984 is being used by George Orwell to show how hopeless Winston’s struggle against the Totalitarian system is, giving the reader an idea of how bad this type of government is. The reader is introduced to this dark time and given hope in the form of the rebellious protagonist, Winston. However, the reader soon realises how hopelessly alone Winston is in his silent battle when they see that the government is against him, he has no support or allies, and that even his own mind can be turned against him. The message is clear and makes readers who live in a democracy happier with what they have.
The theme of alienation has been depicted by two different characters in a resembling series of events. The two protagonists were alienated by their peers, inflicting negative consequences they must undergo. Both characters are finally pushed to alienating themselves rather than being alienated. In conclusion, the struggles both characters undergo are practically identical to one another. They have experienced alienation in such similar ways that you must ask yourself: are all those who suffer from alienation alike in more ways than one?
The word language is most often associated with speech, yet it is also closely related to power. While many see language as a tool of unification and empowerment, it is also used to silence others. Society gives advantages to individuals that speak the dominant language, and those who are not fluent, are victims of social pressures such as ridicule, harassment, and isolation. Language gives individuals the power to manipulate and oppress others. Oppression occurs when one group has power over another group, and use that power to manipulate. Language gives dominant groups the power to oppress minority individuals through segregation, assimilation and hierarchies.
Theme of Alienation in Literature A common theme among the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne is alienation. Alienation is defined as emotional isolation or dissociation from others. In Hawthorne's novels and short stories, characters are consistently alienated and experience isolation from society. These characters are separated from their loved ones both physically and psychologically. The harsh judgmental conditions of Puritan society are the cause of isolation for these characters and eventually lead to their damnation.
Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In history what was viewed as a villain or wrong doer is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing, showcased in Animal Farm as Utopian ideals but with failed practices.
In conclusion, if a man or group has the absolute power, power that human cannot be handled, the power they have eventually corrupts or harm other people and social order. Also when they don’t have power and became powerful then before by gaining some degree, they will lose some of their unique human skills. This will also can be considered as some kind of corruption. However, not the all kind of power harm or damage anything such as power of knowledge or power of love.