1F25 Post 1: Media Impact
How significant do you think the impact of the mass media is on your worldview?
A major way mass media affects my life through social media. I think social media provides a great way to see the world because it makes the world feel closer and smaller. Social media sites I use the most are Facebook and YouTube. Social Media provides a gateway for anyone to send a message to a wide audience, like your own form of mass media. This allows anyone to send a message to a wide audience; not just big shady corporations. A lot of the news I receive comes from Facebook, through news articles posted by my friends. By reading them I learn about current events, form opinions, and even compare them with that of my friends. By watching videos on YouTube I get an idea of what kind of themes, ideas, and events society connects with. It is almost as if watching a funny cat video makes me more cultured. Since social media generates a wide range of opinions it prevents us from being close minded and encourages us to think.
Social media is a great way for people to send a message to a wide audience, however silly it may be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J—aiyznGQ
Some may argue that mass media can change our view of the world. But I think that we affect the media just as much as it affects us. I grew up watching Disney movies. I think they’re exciting, funny, and moving films. I recently read an article that Merida from the Disney Pixar film Brave was crowned into an official Disney Princess. Her coronation unfortunately came with a negative character redesign. Originally designed as a princess with imperfections and one who did not need saving. Disney redesigned her with unrealistic standards for a teenage girl. A lot of people, including the co-creator of the movie responded negatively to the redesign, believing it to be an inaccurate representation of her character. Disney responded by changing her back to her original design.
“She’s been completely redesigned”
If you want visual confirmation on Disney going back to her original design check out www.princess.disney.com …don’t judge me
The Mass Media is always adapting to a constantly changing world. An example of this can be seen in a Muppet named Cookie Monster. I remember Cookie Monster for his love of eating cookies. Growing up I noticed that Cookie Monster started calling cookies “sometimes food”. Cookie Monster’s new personality ties in with North America’s fight with obesity. Sesame Street changed his image in order to better promote an active lifestyle and healthy eating. The goal Sesame Street wanted to achieve was to maintain Cookie Monster’s personality while teach kids about eating in moderation. Sesame Street changed how they presented their characters so they can better relate to their audience and the world.
Fun Fact: Cookie Monster’s real name is Sid
Mass Media presents us with themes and ideas about the world. We can even compare our ideas with the ideas of others. How we choose to live our lives is a result of how we choose to interpret what mass media presents us. Our symbiotic relationship with the media will dictate how the media and the world will evolve over time.
Sources
Media and Society Fifth edition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J—aiyznGQ
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/may/16/disney-princess-merida-makeover
dcharles10 