The media has many effects towards people’s thoughts and behaviors and they have such an impact in today’s society. With the advancement of the media; movies, television, books, and music is a source of entertainment for people. We branch out using our imagination to see things that we have never seen before and this is where we begin to think certain thoughts and ways of people and of ourselves. I see my little sister so cautious with what she eats because she doesn’t want to get fat and she constantly complains about how she has little fat hanging out. She feels as if she would be made fun of for being fat and not “cool” looking as the other girls in her class. I believe the media has a way of pulling us in and persuading us to be someone who we are not such as looks. They have a great influence to people especially to younger crowds. We are constantly seeing these weight commercials and skinny celebrities and how amazing they look that we feel pressured to look and feel a certain way.
Prejudicial language is defined as loaded or emotive terms used to attach value or moral goodness to believing the proposition. It is the use of language to create a preconception in the audience. Watching movies that have certain racial comments that are meant to be funny shouldn’t upset people. We are all there to have fun and be entertained and should not be sensitive to them. I haven’t been affected by such comments and we all shouldn’t be. This reminds me of certain ethnic stereotypes such as: Asians are smart in math or they are bad drivers, White girls are snobby cheerleaders, Blacks are poor and ghetto and Hispanics are illegal immigrants. By doing this we automatically infer that a person has a whole range of characteristics and abilities that we assume all members of that group have. These give off a negative impression towards people and by this, the media is doing so.
What I and a handful of like-minded individuals believe is that the media wants the viewers to hate themselves and to adopt a clone personality. The media also implies that people need to certain way to be considered "good looking" whether it is implicit or explicit. As you said the media has a great influence on to younger crowds, because they want to be "cool" or "good looking". But honestly if you cannot be comfortable in your own skin then you will only be a subject of what other people want you to look and be like, living like a lifeless doll in a corrupt society.
ReplyDeleteAs for me I was not always comfortable in my own skin, I got picked on a lot because of my mixed ethnicity, my unique personality, and for not following the crowd. However I gradually accepted that I am different and I am not a subject to the will of other people, developing a sense of individuality. I eventually became so comfortable in my own skin I actually scare some people off because I am just too real for them (not to brag or anything). But that is just how I see things in regards to the issue of the pressure of media and other people.