Thus, democracy and a fair voting group become tainted. I would definitely say that Comedy Central's Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report are part of the "media" that affects people’s opinion. These television shows are a way to provide comedic relief to the issues our economy faces; however, these shows still have an impact of how the viewer will understand an issue at hand. It is very difficult for anyone to be completely unbiased and with constantly hearing other people’s opinion through the media. We cannot make a decision of how “we” feel about the topic.
She then brings up the issue of unnerving newspaper headlines such as “Bloodlust Video Games Put Kids in the Crosshairs” (205). Sternheimer feels not enough emphasis has been given to other issues such as “social rejection and depression” (206). She also brings our attention to information on statistical evidence. Sternheimer believed it to be “controversial” and feels it “exclude[s] a host of other factors” (207). Sternheimer feels it is these other over looked factors that are truly the cause of “young killers” (210).
An enormous factor that plays into the number of viewers for The Super Bowl is the commercials; they are often very entertaining and usually funny. However, these endorsements are often very sexist and filled with logic fallacies. According to Merriam-Webster Online, sexism is “prejudice or discrimination based on sex” or “behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex.” These “sexual connotations” (Nilsen 36; 15) are shown throughout commercials year-round, but during the Super Bowl they are especially prevalent. Sexism is often shown through language. In the article “Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language,” Nilsen observes, “Going back to what I learned from my dictionary cards, I was surprised to realize how many pairs of words we have in which the feminine word has acquired sexual connotations while the masculine word
Neil Postman, the author of Amusing Ourselves to Death, presents bold new ideas about television and modern culture. He analyzes the media, past and present, as well as the mediums of cultures until present to come to one discovery. Public discourse, mainly political discourse, has been tainted because it is presented more in images than in words. Postman uses many different rhetorical devices to convince us it is terrible that pictures have replaced words as the chief mode of communication. Hyperbole is the first device that postman uses.
All around us, we can see a lot of propaganda ads on television, magazine, newspaper, and etc. What is propaganda? In the article by Ann McClintock, it states that propaganda “is a systematic effort to influence people’s opinions, to win them over to a certain view or side.” I believe we have been influenced by the propaganda advertisements. Some psychologists’ point of view consider that propaganda are in fact changing our mind and heart, because they make our spirits full of material desires. For instance, sometimes we purchase something that we don’t even need because of our desire.
With all the various T.V stations and programs we have it teaches people about society rules and how to fit in. There are many shows that give advice on dressing, for example the show What Not To Wear, and various dating shows. There are even shows that have videos of people doing outrageous things for pure entertainment and laughing, in which other people mimic because they believe it helps them fit in. An example of how media influences us "Following the 9/11 terrorism, media coverage followed accusations by government authorities that pointed toward al Qaeda as the group that carried out the attack on the United States and Osama bin Laden as leader of that group. Those news reports on the attack and the aftermath shaped public opinion to support the war on terrorism."
It is necessary to take a closer look at whether or not violence in the media really is responsible for this development and then to examine what censorship may entail before taking such a far-reaching decision. Many concerned people, ranging from worried parents through to reputable psychologists, deplore the ever-present nature of violence in the media, claiming that this is the reason why people are increasingly prepared to commit violent acts. They argue that violence is being propagated as normal or even entertaining. Violence is in the newspapers, on the news, in film plots and in cartoons. Violence is a source of laughter in children's programs; films present it as staple fare; it is served as pseudo-information in sensation-hungry newspapers and on reality TV; and it is even glorified by some musicians in their lyrics and performances.
This event showed the growing interest of Americans in television broadcasts, but consequently may have triggered some future negative issues for young people. Marika Tiggermann and Amanda S. Pickering, authors of Role of Television in Adolescent Women’s Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness, suggest that television has become the most prominent and influential form of the mass media, especially for young people (200). As the boom of television has occurred, the media has developed a negative influence on adolescent teens because it manipulates their minds by promoting a perfect body image, displaying unrealistic lifestyles, and presenting dangerous behaviors. Television tends to promote “perfect,” unrealistic, body images. Amy I. Nathanson and Renée A. Botta, authors of Shaping the Effects of Television on Adolescents’ Body Image Disturbance: The Role of Parental Mediation, came up with a simple definition of body image: “Body image is an overall concept consisting of related but distinct dimensions addressing feelings, thoughts, and perceptions about body size and shape” (305).
Many people attribute the increase in violent youth to the increase of violence in the media. There is a common belief that television, films and video games are to be blamed for making children deem that violence is not only acceptable, but a necessary way of solving conflict. Some blockbuster movies that top the charts tend to be action-packed, such as the Terminator in 1984 or films about superheroes that save the day by destroying the villains. Superman, Batman and Spiderman are the perfect examples. The youth are then influenced by observing these behaviours and mimicking the actions of these so-called heroes.
“Conservative and popular press especially indulges in sometimes blatant ‘foreigner bashing’ and reproduction and affirmation of racial prejudice” (Van Dijk, 1999). There are individuals out there who use social media to their advantage by spreading their biased ethnic discriminatory beliefs. The individuals who usually have this power are the social elites and political leaders. Social media has been a community with an aim to communicate with others but to promote and influence ideas to the audience (Umi Digital, 2013). Ethnicity discrimination continues to spread in different conventions and an aim to end this is