Blog Three

The initial purpose of the mass media was to be able to spread information quickly and efficiently throughout the world. Unfortunately, the mass media no longer gives only important or useful information to those exposed to it. It also spreads gossip and makes opinions and expectations known, whether they be hurtful or not. The mass media has become a tool of manipulation; it now sets the standards for how different races and genders should not only look, but act, as well. In turn, this has greatly affected how people perceive one another and themselves.

People no longer go to the media for the sole purpose of finding facts, partly because it offers so much more than that. It offers entertainment and advertisements for sports, clothing, restaurants, make-up, hair products, and so much more, all of which can be found in magazines, on billboards, the radio, or television. It’s literally everywhere, and along with the entertainment and advertisements come opinions and expectations. Television shows meant to entertain perhaps are the biggest culprits for setting the standards on behavior. They exploit a certain group of people, and inevitably as a result, people begin to expect certain behaviors from others, thus changing their perception on certain individuals and groups. This is how stereotypes are formed, such as all Asians are smart, or women should do all the cooking and cleaning at home. When these expectations are not met, people judge one another, whether or not they are of the same ethnicity, race or gender. Advertisements also set expectations, but typically for how people should look. Women in ads are edited and photo shopped until they appear flawless, which leaves most women feeling as if they, too, need to achieve flawlessness in order to be beautiful or accepted. Of course, this goal is unrealistic, but still, when women fail to look like a certain way, they may view themselves as being unattractive or unappealing, which can really lower their self esteem.

Learning outcome two, which shows an awareness of the potential for educational, political, or ideological influence of the media, is obvious in the media. The mass media influences the way people perceive one another, the way people behave, and what is considered a social norm. Advertisements manipulate individuals into conforming into their belief systems. Censorship only shows the audience certain things, which leads to them believing that what they see is the only possibility. More or less, the media prays on the insecurities of individuals until they follow the beliefs of the mass media.

Blog Two

Over the past century, technology has blossomed and grown considerably at a rather rapid rate. At the beginning of the 20^th century not many homes had electricity, kitchen appliances were not yet popular among the modern family and most forms of entertainment were live. It was not until the mid 1900’s that television, the radio, appliances such as the microwave or vacuum cleaner, and the telephone flooded into economy. Ever since then, technology has only continued to advance, leading the human race from one form of entertainment to the next. Music, movies, books; all of these things can now be accessed without having the actual thing. In the article “Our Media, Ourselves: Are We Headed for a Matrix?” by Bob Mondello, the author argues that people fear losing themselves as technology replaces the actual objects, that this fear is the product of one’s experiences with technology, and that we are heading towards a world of isolation. He uses the movie “The Matrix” and the short story, “The Machine Stops” by E.M Forster to support this claim. “Once you've felt the comfort of society,” Mondello writes, “you worry about losing it. So to remind yourself of how you're connected, you gather things around. And you cling to them, not so you won't lose them, or lose what makes you you, but so you won't lose the connections they represent. The fear is of emptiness — but of emptiness inside us, not of empty rooms.” Although Mondello backs his claim up with common sense and other writings, he fails to look at the other possibilities present. He does not consider any other reason at to why someone may trade in CD’s for an iPod, or books for a Kindle, and of course, vise versa. Perhaps people are not clinging to objects for security, but simply because they like the smell of the pages of an old book or enjoy having something to share with their guest. And on the other hand, there are those who tend to want nothing to do with the “real” thing, like books and movies, and would much rather use the technology available to them. Abandoning the old for the new does not necessarily mean that these people are trying to isolate themselves, though. Although technology does tend to consume much of people’s time and draws them away from others, the reality is that technology makes things much simpler. People no longer have to deal with a mess of clutter or rummage through their belongings just to find an old CD, because with technology, all of that can be theirs in the click of a button. Also, Mondello argues that these physical objects are what make people unique and give character to individuals. But rather than defining people by their possessions, shouldn’t they be defined by their preferences, their actions towards others, and their ideas? It is these things that make people humans; emotions, thoughts, opinions, ideas, and the bonds that are made between fellow human beings throughout life. In “The Machine Stops” Forster writes, “The sin against the body- it was for that they wept in chief; the centuries of wrong against the muscles and the nerves, and those five portals by which we can alone apprehend-glozing it over with talk of evolution, until the body was white pap, the home of ideas as colorless, last sloshy stirrings of a spirit that had grasped stars.” Yes, it would be sad it these things were to occur due to technology, but as long as humanity has an understanding of what really defines them, the idea of a world like one in “the Matrix” is highly unlikely, because people depend upon one another for survival.   

Blog One: Bansky Image

Image number two is an image that was created by none other than the mysterious Banksy. Typically, Banksy’s images have a political message either about war, the economy, or the government. All of his images can be found on the walls of buildings, such as this one. This particular image is of a white dove with its wings spread, a small green plant in its beak, and it is wearing what appears to be a bullet proof vest. On the dove’s chest is a red, cross target as someone aims a gun or weapon at it. The overall political message of the image is that because of war, innocent, and unexpected people are being murdered or targeted as enemies. It’s ironic that the dove is being made the target in this image, because doves are typically seen as very innocent creatures. They are thought of as being gentle birds that pose as no threat to humanity. Also, the color of a dove is symbolic in itself. White is a color that is usually associated with purity, holiness, good or innocent. But of course, the use of this bird in the image was intentional, because it was meant to represent the innocent people of the world. The dove also seems to be oblivious to the fact that it is being targeted as an enemy. The graceful bird seems to be looking directly towards the person who is aiming at it, yet it is completely unaware that it has been labeled as the foe. This perhaps could mean that the person with the gun is someone with whom the dove is familiar and trusts; otherwise it would not appear to be so calm at the face of death. Then again, the bird is wearing a bullet proof vest, which could imply that it is not so oblivious to the danger in which it faces, and that the person for whom it is a target could very well be a complete stranger. But because the dove is wearing a bullet proof vest, it still continues to feel not threatened. Assuming that is the case, then the gray bullet proof vest on the dove represents the false sense of security the dove feels. In reality, if a machine gun is being fired at a small, fragile human, or in this case, a dove, chances are it will not survive, even if it is under some form of protection. And that false sense of security or protection can come in the form of promises, bullet proof vests or even another human being, but the bottom line is that the innocent are not always physically well guarded, even if that is what they are told or believe. They make easy targets, and often times during war are murdered simply because they are vulnerable. Their military can not always be there to protect them, even if that is their job. The message of this image goes beyond just the fact that the innocent are targets during war times; it shows that the innocent can not always be protected and are sadly more susceptible to be targets during war.