In the early 1960‘s, Malcolm X stated that “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the mind of the masses.”("Great-Quotes.com") Although he was quoted over a half a century ago, Malcolm X’s words still strongly resonate the effect media has on today’s society. Society often does not recognize the media as a poor influence, however Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, Survivor, explores that notion. The story is told through the main character, Tender Branson, as he is thrust into the spotlight after becoming the sole survivor of the Creedish Death Cult. As a prominent figure in the media, Tender is forced to transform himself and consequently, inspire people to support the ideology of his agent. Survivor portrays the media as a negative aspect of society because it drives people to become something they are not by manipulating and brainwashing them. Palahniuk conveys this commentary through his use of characters, symbols and parallel plot lines while reflecting on today’s society within his novel.
Beautiful people with stellar personalities are often found within the media, whether it be in a television show, a movie, or a magazine. These so-called celebrities set the standards extremely high for appearance, making those who do not meet those standards come across as unappealing or unattractive. The media creates a negative stigma that unpleasant looking people are inferior to the good-looking, ergo, many people strive to become more attractive looking and are willing to do ludicrous things to themselves, such as plastic surgery, in order to obtain this fabricated sense of beauty. According to media standards, Pal...
... middle of paper ...
...odiment of the media, and Tender Branson’s transformation into someone the media deems as ‘attractive’, are all ways in which Palahniuk verifies his commentary. The media is a very powerful entity in today’s society, however with power comes great responsibility, which is currently being disregarded. If the media used it’s power for positive things such as promoting world peace, or used it’s money to eliminate world hunger, the world would be much more civilized for it’s priorities would be correctly in order.
Works Cited
Garica, J.. "Heidi montag obsessed with being "perfect"." People. People Magazine, 2011. Web.15 Jan 2012. .
"Malcolm X Quote." Great-Quotes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2012. .
Palahniuk, Chuck. Survivor. London: Vintage, 2000. Print.
If you’ve ever noticed, people tend to make comments about the media and the things they put out all the time, “the media is full of crap,” “everything they put out for us to view are lies,” and many more vulgar remarks, but you also notice that these people never seem to walk away from the media. Instead, they continue to go and constantly check the news sites and their social medias and this is because the media has taken control over them and their minds. Today’s society is extremely wrapped up in the media world, so wrapped up in it that if one even tried to give up on it they wouldn’t be able to. This example shows that media is like a drug and society is addicted to it, which further supports the irony Gladstone speaks
Violent Media is Good for Kids, by Gerard Jones, is an article which makes many claims to support the argument in which a controlled amount of violence could be beneficial for a young, developing child. Even though the topic of this article can be controversial, the claims serve to support the argument in many noteworthy ways. It is written in such a way that it tells a story, starting when the author was a child and works its way to his adulthood. In this case the author uses, what I believe to be just the correct amount of each rhetorical strategy, and fulfills his goal for writing the article. This argument is interesting and at the same time, effective. Throughout the analyzing process logos, ethos, and pathos are searched for and scrutinized.
Young journalists can learn a lot from Malcom’s book because it presents some troubling issues. A main issue would be the author-subject relationship and where the writer-friend line exist. The Journalist and the Murderer tells the story of Joe McGinnis and Jeffrey MacDonald. McGinnis is an author looking to write a book on MacDonald who is convicted of murdering his wife and two daughters. MacDonald wanted his voice to be heard, and he wanted to get his side of the story out to the world.
We hear sayings everyday such as “Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep”, yet we live in a decade that contradicts this very notion. If looks don’t matter, then why are so many women harming themselves because they are not satisfied with how they look? If looks don’t matter, then why is the media using airbrushing to hide any flaws that one has? This is because with the media establishing unattainable standards for body perfection, American Women have taken drastic measures to live up to these impractical societal expectations. “The ‘body image’ construct tends to comprise a mixture of self-perceptions, ideas and feelings about one’s physical attributes. It is linked to self-esteem and to the individual’s emotional stability” (Wykes 2). As portrayed throughout all aspects of our media, whether it is through the television, Internet, or social media, we are exploited to a look that we wish we could have; a toned body, long legs, and nicely delineated six-pack abs. Our society promotes a body image that is “beautiful” and a far cry from the average woman’s size 12, not 2. The effects are overwhelming and we need to make more suitable changes as a way to help women not feel the need to live up to these unrealistic standards that have been self-imposed throughout our society.
Media sensationalism is the first thought to come to mind when analyzing this piece from “Losing Matt Shepard”, by Beth Loffreda. A young man tied to a fence, sitting on the ground, beaten and found near death, would grab a reader’s attention, enough to shake our head and wonder what this world is coming to. A young man, slight and youthful in appearance, homosexual, tied to a fence “like a scarecrow” (238), beaten so badly that “the only spots not covered in blood were the tracks cleansed by his tears” (238), leaves the impression of stark brutality, meant to horrify the reader and leave an impression on an emotional level. Leaving an impression the media did, however, not an impression based on fact. The exaggerated journalism exercised in reporting the events of Matt Shepard is not uncommon; the media is catering to the preference of the masses. The public is the media’s platform and the more sensational the event is, the more we gravitate to it, regardless of the integrity of the piece.
All in all, the three chapters of “Amusing Ourselves to Death” work together theoretically and practically about the media influence towards its audience. Neil Postman asserts the public as victims to whatever media metaphor exists. The media shapes the perception of reality and truth. And that brings one to say that cultural, political, economic, religious and moral values are influenced by the media either negatively or positively.
Looking the historical moment we are living at, it is undeniable that the media plays a crucial role on who we are both as individuals and as a society, and how we look at the...
The concept of beauty and racism in modern western society is held to the highest of standards for all of it’s members; including celebrities. The perfect woman is described by Odette (2013), as solely for men’s pleasure and domination. If we look on the cover of any popular magazine, the women are usually: light skinned, slender, and tall. Men on the other hand must be tall and powerfully built. Our culture is valued on the basis of how men and women are perceived by their image, making it impossible for the average man or women to achieve the high beauty standard expected in society. Celebrities play an influential role in the way people view themselves, making the need to look like our favourite celebrities all the more desired. A person's
... as well as a socially important idea. The theory art imitates life and life imitates art reveals important connections between literary structures and cultural beliefs. Media literature is mirroring important parts of American life and selling the images back with a product attached. However, the cultural and social myths that are being promoted are not always evident on the surface of the text. A new movement to read media literature critically has begun. As the emerging way to view texts is reading them deconstructively, we must promote other critical approaches that allow a more open translation of literature and provide balance to the political act of reading.
Forty shades of grey (2011) The media and the ideal victim (blog). Available at: http://fortyshadesofgrey.blogspot.com/2011/01/media-and-ideal-victim.html. Accessed on 31 February 2011.
Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity. Dir. Sut Jhally. Media Education Foundation, 1999.
Flipping through the pages of Vogue's latest edition, 23 year-old Susan seems quite upset. She struggles with the thought of lacking the perfect body and delicate features in order to be considered attractive. Surprisingly, Susan is not alone in this kind of an internal struggle. In contemporary society, every other woman aspires to have the lips of Angelina Jolie and the perfect jaw line of Keira Knightley. Society today looks down upon individuals that do not fit in, whether in terms of body shape or facial attractiveness. This forces them to consider the option of 'ordering beauty.' Since cosmetic surgery is no longer a social taboo in America given its widespread popularity, more people are promoting it which ultimately affects the rest of the world due to the unwavering influence of American culture. Cosmetic surgery should be deterred in the US because it promotes the idea of valuing appearance over ability, gives rise to unrealistic expectations, and brings with it high cost to society.
Alexandra Scaturchio, in her article “Women in Media” (2008) describes the media’s idea of beauty as superficial. She supports her argument by placing two pictures side-by-side; a picture of a real, normal-looking woman and her picture after it has been severely digitally enhanced. Her purpose is to show young teenage girls that the models they envy for their looks are not real people, but computer designs. She also states, “the media truly distorts the truth and instills in women this false hope because…they will live their lives never truly attaining this ideal appearance”. Scaturchio wants her readers to realize the media’s distorting capabilities and feel beautiful about themselves, even with flaws.
...om humble and non-violent to harsh and violent. It can also may lead to a person awareness of one’s environment and taking responsibility for one's actions which is what the world requires(Rosengren, 2000). Society is able to transition from the past to the future through real-time information on the present (Hiebert & Gibbons, 2000). Society therefore becomes a living organization, complete with a feedback loop provided by the media, well equipped to sense oncoming danger and learn from its mistakes in readiness for tomorrow (Preiss, 2007). However, caution needs to be put in place to prevent the youth and children from participating in actions they do not have a clue on but do them on the justifications of the actions watched over the media (Wells & Hakanen, 1997). Mass media will remain beautiful but when precautionary measures are not in place, it becomes ugly.
“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses” (Thinkexist, 2010). The mass media, including news, movies, magazines, music, or other entertainment source has become a part of daily life for many people. As the quote mentions mass media and its power are capable of influencing people’s mind and behavior. Contents in the media introduced to young people make it difficult for them to distinguish between what is real and what is not, as a result stimulating confusion and blind imitation. The mass media plays an important role in the increase of violence, sexual activity, and risky behaviors among teenagers.