American Values
Before one can decide how entertainment media affects American values, one must discern what exactly American values are. In 1965, Sociologist Robin Williams identified 12 American values: o Individualism o Achievement and success o Activity and work o Efficiency and practicality o Science and Technology o Progress o Material comfort o Humanitarianism o Freedom o Democracy o Equality o Racism and group superiority
In 1975, Sociologist James Henslin added three more values o Education o Religiosity o Romantic love (Schissler, 2008).
In what ways have various forms of entertainment media shaped American culture and its values?
When people watch a TV show, the events depicted are already happening around them, they are already
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Whether entertainment media has a negative or positive social influence depends upon the individual participants and their perspectives. Because everyone is raised differently and has different experiences in their lives they also have a different perspective of events; therefore, no two people see or hear the same thing. This has been demonstrated numerous times by witnesses of a crime. If you have five witnesses and ask each of them what they saw, you will get five different responses because each of them saw the event differently.
Some people may see a video game as being a negative influence on violent behavior. While others see it as an opportunity to do something they would never do in real life, or a positive way to take out their daily frustrations. Some shooter games have helped people to become better hunters because they can practice their aim without accidentally shooting an unintended target or wasting expensive
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I tend to see things differently than anyone else. I do not think entertainment media does shape American culture and values; I think American culture and values shape entertainment media. The events we live through on a daily basis; war, poverty, homelessness, crime, sacrifice, random acts of kindness, these are the things that shape the American culture. Our values begin at home, things our parents, churches, and society instill in us. As we go out on our own, sometimes those values can change because we learn that life is not black and white, it also comes in many shades of
The media is actually used as a channel of disseminating information to the audience. And the media influence cultural, moral, political, economic and religious values because they tend to set the agenda for its audience. Not only setting the agenda but also framing. The media tend to frame the central organizing ideas for news content, entertainment, which supplies a context and suggests what the issue is through the use of selection, emphasis exclusion and elaboration.
Though obviously people are aware of what they are listening to or watching, thoughts and assumptions can drift into their minds without even realizing it. These thoughts that drift in are extremely influential. The massive impact it can have on America's perceptions leads to generalizations, assumptions, and stigmas. Media influence is not always negative, however. In most cases, it has beneficial and positive aspects.
The third and probably most well known quality of the American culture is the influence that the population derives from the media. The USA has the most extensive and diverse set of outlets that supply the people with a sheer number of different kinds of entertainment. This creation of melodramatic amusement has created a sort of illusion within some of those who spend more time in front of the television than others. Although to be fair, even though this trend might have started in the USA, any country with decent and above satellite and Internet coverage has that separated pool of individuals that are extremely influenced by entertainment and played-out fiction stories that has them detached from reality and alienated from the rest of the community.
The United States is the biggest economical power in the world today, and consequently has also the strongest and largest media industry. Therefore, it is essential to take a look at the crucial relationship between the media and the popular culture within the social context of the United States for a better understanding of the issue. For a simpler analysis of the subject we shall divide the media industry into three main branches: Entertainment, News and Commercials (which is the essential device for the survival of the industry, and shall be considered in integration with Entertainment). Researches have shown that the most popular reason behind TV viewing is relaxation and emptying the mind.
Popular Culture has changed drastically over the decades with the biggest question being whether or not popular culture is a positive or negative expression of our ideas and reflections. American Pop Culture has an extremely important role that influences the United States and around the world. There are countless topics that make up pop culture and it is nearly impossible to name all of them. Some of the topics are Television, Music, Religion, Politics, Arts, Economy, Education, Family roles and structures. Three of the cultures that I believe has changed the most and seems to cause the most controversy are television, music and religion.
Television does much more then entertains its viewers. Reality shows has given the American people a bad reputation. The reality shows that Americans watch every day are also shown all over the world. For example, shows like Jersey Shore, The Real House Wives, Keeping up with the Kardashians, Hunny Boo Boo, and Duck Dynasty is representing Americans. The rest of the world sees Americans as childish, aggressive, spoiled, rich, dumb, disgusting, or/and as red necks.
One effect TV has had on how we view things is in the area of advertisement. A few weeks ago in English, my class had quite a discussion on the subject of commercials. A person can tell what type of society they live in by simply watching the commercials during any TV program. One example, in America, is the numerous ads for various types of medication. From this, it is easy to see that our society cares a lot about health care and making sure that they feel healthy.
Media has become a major part of our lives. Indeed it has shape the way we perceive other races. Minority races such as Latinos, African American, Native American and Asians are being misrepresented in media. Media has a huge impact on race, by presenting race stereotypes media is telling us that certain races behave a particular way which shapes the way society sees them and in many times the way they see themselves. We tend to believe everything media says about us and other races without questioning if it is actually true.
One of the greatest exports of American culture is American media. American media is one of the most widely distributed and consumed cultural forms from the United States. This means that not only do Americans consume large quantities of their own media, but many other countries in the world consume American media, too. People in other countries will not interpret or understand the media in precisely the same ways that Americans will and do, nonetheless, many aspects of American culture and American reality are communicated to numerous viewers as part of the content in the media. The media is an important tool in the discussion of race, class, and gender in America. It takes a savvy viewer to discriminate between and understand what media accurately represents reality, what media does not, or which aspects of experience are fictionalized, and which elements ...
The media, including television programming, cartoons, film, the news, as well as literature and magazines, is a very powerful and pervasive medium for expression. It can reach a large number of people and convey ideas, cultural norms, stereotypic roles, power relationships, ethics, and values. Through these messages, the mass media may have a strong influence on individual behavior, views, and values, as well as in shaping national character and culture. Although there is a great potential for the media to have a positive and affirming effect on the public and society at large, there may be important negative consequences when the messages conveyed are harmful, destructive, or violent.
Movies, TV programs have been a major part of our life entertainment, as watching films in the cinema or on the living room couch with friends or families at leisure, while actually, the impact that the movies and TV programs have on this society has already reached further than just entertainment. Some people might conceive that the movies are just made for divertissement, which should not be taken seriously, and that a movie needs stereotyped characters to make it looks interesting, representative, and attractive. However, the fact is a diametrically opposite that the so-called entertainment media is exactly molding people’s mind and attitude towards social issues and towards the
Television is a vital source from which most Americans receive information. News and media delegates on television have abused theirs powers over society through the airing of appealing news shows that misinform the public. Through literary research and experimentation, it has been proven that people's perception of reality has been altered by the information they receive from such programs. Manipulation, misinterpretation, word arrangement, picture placement and timing are all factors and tricks that play a major role in the case. Research, experimentation, and actual media coverage has pinpointed actual methods used for deceptive advertising. Television influences society in many ways. People are easily swayed to accept a belief that they may not normally have unless expressed on television, since many people think that everything they hear on television is true. This, however, is not always the case. It has been observed that over the past twenty to thirty years, normal social behavior, even actual life roles of men and women and media, regulatory policies have all been altered (Browne 1998). Media has changed with time, along with quality and respectability. Many Americans receive and accept false information that is merely used as an attention grabber that better the show's ratings and popularity. Many magazines and Journal reviews have periodically discussed the "muckraking" that many tabloid shows rely on to draw in their viewers. This involves sensationalizing a story to make it more interesting, therefore increasing the interest of the audience. "Along the way, all sorts of scandalous substance and goofy tricks appear, but not much mystery in the logic," (Garnson 1997). People often know that these shows aim to deceive them, but still accept the information as truth. Many times, people have strong opinions on certain topics. Yet, when they are exposed to the other side of the argument, they may be likely to agree with the opposite view. As Leon Festinger said, "If I chose to do it (or say it), I must believe in it," (Myers 1997). This is an example of Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, which pertains to acting contrary to our beliefs. Television influences many people to change their original beliefs. It has the viewers think that the majority of other people hold the contrary idea. Once these views are presented, people have the option to hol...
Media also influences the thinking of people and society in general through entertainment as well as advertising and marketing campaigns. It is the creative ideas and boost to the imagination that people get once they watch a television show, movie, commercial or listen to a certain song. The impact any of these forms of media can have on an individual’s thinking can change in that most of them view the various stars in the movies, TV or the music industry as role models and as a result, they start imitating them. This type of influence oftentimes will influence the way someone views a political
...ld influence somebody undoubtedly. Mass media audiences are arguably on the whole not passive, and so the amount of influence that is exerted upon the recipient depends entirely on the individual. As most pieces of media output are “polysemic” in nature, meaning that it is capable of having different meanings and readings from person to person (O’Sullivan, Dutton, Rayner: 1998:327), the way in which, or by how much, an individual is influenced is entirely through choice.
When asking yourself which media outlet continues to offer the most influential presence on our culture the answer is obvious. Television serves as the leading unifying media instrument in our society. Television has always reflected cultural changes and the increasing popularity of certain networks is due to reality television. This genre of television creates the concept of the “instant celebrity”. One example of a reality show that literally promises its participants fame and fortune is Project Runway.