Newton Minow, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, in his famous “Vast Wasteland” address to the Nation Association of Broadcasters in May 1961, spoke about the power of television to influence the taste, knowledge and opinions of its viewers around the world. He warns that it has limitless capabilities for good and for evil and he places the responsibility to regulate television’s awesome power upon the NAB and the government. Minow has a valid argument that television has the power for good and evil, and the same could be said about the internet today. However, his validity sways when he suggests where responsibility should be placed. Television is simple to regulate, however the internet is more difficult, almost impossible to regulate.
They don't read scripts, they don't get told to act this or that, they say what they want and do what they like. Reality TV shows are very exciting to watch, cause you never know what those contestants got to say about certain things and their stories are often very interesting. The contestants argue between each other at times, and they don't do that because they're told to, they do that because they're expressing their true feelings like normal human. All normal human beings have emotions and they all need to express their feelings someway or another. In reality TV shows, they get to express their true feelings to whoever they like.
Dana Stevens "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box" is a direct response to Steven Johnson's essay " Watching TV makes you Smarter". Stevens said that she did not understand what his article was about. She did not really agree with anything besides that watching tv is okay-- you should'nt watch a lot of it but you should watch a decent amount of it. Some things that Stevens seemed to talk a lot about was that Johnson metioned something the show 24 saying that it is "nutritional" but fails to mention that there was controversy over plot lines that had to do with torture and representation of Muslim terrorists in the show. But she does mention that the show did somehow get social issues into the show which can open viewers eyes about what is going
Hyperbole is the first device that postman uses. The title Amusing Ourselves to Death is a good example. Of course it would be very difficult to actually kill yourself with amusement, but the point he is trying to get across is that our culture responds to entertainment more than to facts. He further shows how this is true in chapter 9 – Reach out and Elect Someone when he states that, “... it was not until the 1950’s that the television commercial made linguistic discourse obsolete as the basis for product decisions. By substituting images for claims, the pictorial commercial made emotional appeal, not tests of truth, the basis of consumer decisions.” (Pg.
He concludes that there should be a limit for how far one can go, when you are making reality TV show. Mr. Sam Mettler, Intervention’s creator says that it is not easy to show the reality on TV, sometimes he has to come forward and stop someone for hurting themselves like crack addicted or alcoholics. He adds that he can cross the line if someone is putting someone else in immediate danger, but it is very delicate balance. 161 words Outline Text 2: “When reality TV gets too real” is written by Jeremy W peters. The text is focusing on whether it’s the television station and the team behind the cameras that have the responsible for actions the participants may do to themselves or others such as a crime, while participating on the show.
Amber Anardi Poe ENG 151019 2/14/12 South Park’s Effectiveness on Mocking Important Issues Society has taught us to avoid making a mockery of important issues, but what if a television series with a million count fan base, gets sky rocketing ratings by using impertinent humor on worldly concerns? The fact of the matter is that using disrespectful humor to present issues common to our generation gets the best ratings by the public. South Park is a leading example of effectively using profane humor to entertain and get a point across to its audience. Given the media hype of today’s age, many of our youth’s presumptions on important issues are influenced by what they see on TV; the show South Park showcases multiple outlooks on each issue therefore giving the viewer the opportunity to formulate their own opinion on the matter. South Park effectively enlightens viewers on concerns that are relevant to daily life, while keeping their attention through bold humor on the issue presented in the episode.
This essay will use the concepts from Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959) to analyse whether two specific television shows accurately reflect reality: Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Big Brother. The two programs have vastly different premises: Big Brother is a competition between strangers and Keeping Up with the Kardashians is meant to portray the private life of a family. Goffman (1959) posits that people can be cynical or sincere performers, depending how they approach their roles. The premise of Keeping Up with the Kardashians requires that all actors be sincere. In contrast, a major element of Big Brother is speculation about who may be sincere and who may be deceptive.
With TV broadcasters that are free to edit their footage, and with viewers who watch reality-TV just to catch a break and turn off their brains for a few minutes, it might not always be completely ethical. But on the other hand many participants in this show feel that their participations have been a great experience, and behind the screens the viewers are really enjoying these shows. Reality has gained a lot of popularity lately, so why is there a problem? Boys and Girls Alone has received some discontented letters from concerned experts, and also some answers from educated people who cannot see the issues on the show. Andrew Mackenzie is Head of factual entertainment on Channel 4 and he sees no reason why Channel 4’s new show should be considered unethical, and states that “Reality television show on children did not pose a hazard to their welfare”.
The popularity of reality TV shouldn't come as a surprise considering the fact that we live in a culture that worships vanity, rather than virtue, and lives by the mantra of 'He with the most toys lives,' rather than 'He with the most joys lives.' It's been said that circumstances don't make a man, they only reveal him. Likewise, reality TV is merely a reflection of what our society has become. A society that
Reality Television: How Have They Changed Television Viewing Habits? Pamela Parker English Composition II Prof: Erica Ellsworth February 4, 2013 Reality Television has affected the moral fiber of our society dramatically. It portrays negative manners toward our younger generation, but ultimately it simulates the entire audience in some perspective. In today’s society Reality programs have become such a fad for American television serving an important part of people everyday life. A brief definition of reality television can be detailed in many ways, but basically its real life situations being displayed on television, which are also considered good money makers for the producers as well as the actors.