Kim, you should report this review for a refund. It’s crap.
Criticism / Media: The Iron Cage of Mind Control (Analysis)
Media is defined in some dictionary sources as “the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines that reach or influence people widely”. Slowly faltering from that grace and now the poison apple of our society, televised media has served to not only inform the nation of political positions of future leaders, the regulations of our economy, and the extremities of foreign affairs, but has evolved into a weapon of violence, self-destruction, and knowingly strips mankind of their ability to form their own thoughts and opinions. (Digital Raven)
We enjoy being entertained and love a good story. As Americans, you need only attend one of our major motion pictures where millions of dollars were invested to see the glamourized lifestyles that the media thrives in and films glorify in presenting. Fiction and non-fiction become indecipherable, as televised media presents negative stories, often in exaggerated depictions of entertainment. (Digital Raven) Deaths of world leaders such as Pope John Paul II are painted with flowering grief and Catholics everywhere find the time to remorse while the media makes its fortune in a religious foundation. (Shaw) Death and violence become acceptable forms of entertainment if they occur to controversial people such as Terri Schiavo’s right-to-die case while lost soldiers are overlooked and become no more than names on a restless list. (Shaw)
“It doesn’t matter who you are, you always want to be that someone … the highest of expectations of someone you can’t, or never will, be.” These are the words of Marne Greenberg, one of many American women who suffered from the eating disorder, bulimia. (Salvatore) Televised media not only presents stories of death in grossly inhuman ways but serves its new role as a pinnacle in defining what we, in society, should look like. (Sexton) Women and men alike are exposed to the glossy images of young and beautiful celebrities caked with layers of make up and plastic surgery, washed in vivid lighting on many reality shows, television networks, and have their lives amplified by news broadcasters who put an emphasis on their place as “upper-class citizens” for their beauty, wealth, and success.
Like clockwork, so much exposure to these individuals leads us to strained relationships with ourselves. (Sexton) Americans become unhappy, resorting to violent eating disorders that leave their bodies suffering and in pain because they were so engrossed by the images of these beautiful people on television. (Salvatore) “Casts of television shows are made up of an inordinate number of attractive people that in no way reflects reality. Print advertising in particular provides a not only unrealistic, but unhealthy ideal of what it means to be physically attractive.” (Sexton)
The very idea that the information age of televised media is resulting in this sort of self-deterioration is near maddening. What was brought to help us communicate visually is devolving into a violent crux of uninformed citizens who are contending with whatever their televised program sells them through images of attractiveness. (Salvatore) Reality and rational truth are overwhelmed into these catatonic waves of useless information being broadcasted, while serious issues only captivate the audience if they are fluffed with unnecessary details. (Digital Raven)
In order for a democracy to function in its fullest capacity, it requires an educated public. (Roberts) By manipulating words, colourful graphics, and loose phrases such as “experts say this” and “studies reveal that”, we are captured by the subject and are expected to presume that the presentation is factual and the illusion is a carefully planned veil to better our lives as citizens. (Roberts) Barbara Bush verified her personal echelon in society by saying, “Why should we hear about body bags and deaths…? I mean, it’s not relevant… so why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?” Despite her ignorance, we descend silently as prisoners to an iron cage of mind control in media’s influence on the country.
Media influences society by capturing what we like to hear and utilizing it as a form of control in greater circumstances. (Roberts) As it is both informative and in some cases, educated, it is easily abused by corporations for either liberal or conservative views that are actively displayed. Two journalistic articles could carry the same headline and present the same statistics with only a few words changed and show entirely different meanings and opinions.
Televised media thrills in showing negative imagery, particularly in the case of our recent war time state with the Middle East and forgetting to cover the positive affects of soldiers dying for a cause in order to present a strong liberal perspective. We are sentenced to view the negative images of war cleverly implanted and broadcasters neglect in showing women being given greater rights in Afghanistan and Iraq or roads being rebuilt and other technological improvements. (Roberts)
Both “sides” of political issues are to be blamed in the broadcasting of information be they of conservative origin or liberal origin. The networks decide their support and present television shows, news programming, and other messages which grossly inhibit their responsibility to inform the masses as we are subjected to strong bias by corporations controlling the networks. (Gannaway)
All of these instances converge and form a horrible strain of mind control. Intelligence and personality traits are overlooked in the subject of beauty and elections are decided by what media networks are paid the most to cover candidates and televise their campaign commercials. “Mass media can support democracy only through information and ideas but most media content – especially in audio-visual content – is dedicated to entertainment. This entertainment cannot be categorized as non-political. It’s claimed to be wholly anti-political because it deflects public time and attention away from real-world matters that have political implications.” (Gannaway)
I believe that media has served to influence society in a negative fashion that is easily overlooked by the public and their desire to be entertained. This is no fault of our own, thanks to years of conditioning and how language is readily applied to appear seductive and manipulative with loosely-coined phrases and terminology that becomes appealing to our senses of hearing and sight. Our thrill for stories that appear to scrutinize various individual leaders and make light of celebrity gossip are viewed as important proves that we are losing ourselves to a self-inflicted monotony that is both damaging to individual thought steadily presenting the nation as controlled and degrading quickly to a state of an “unthinking, unmotivated, and wholly unchanging public”.
-Works Cited-
Craig, Roberts. “Craig Roberts – Media Mind Control in the War on Terror.” Newswithviews.com – Where Reality Shatters Illusion. 15, July 2005. News With Views. 22 Mar 2008 .
“Digital Raven on Mind Control.” Digital Raven: Black Bird Singing in the Dead of Night. 19, November 2005. Digital Raven. 20 Mar 2008 .
Gannaway, Noeline. “Mind Control and the Media.” Converge. Converge. 20 Mar 2008 .
Gupta, Chris. “How The Media Deceives You About Health Issues.” Communication Agents Initative – Official Home Page. 17, January 2004. Master New Media . 23 Mar 2008 .
Salvatore, Steve. “Media may feed weight problems of teen-aged girls.” CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment, and Video News. 14, November 1999. CNN. 20 Mar 2008 .
Sexton, Timothy. “The Media and Influence on Body Image and Beauty.” The People’s Media Company. 06, April 2006. Associated Content: The People’s Media Company. 22 Mar 2008 .
Shaw, Mary. “Mind Control and the American Media.” Democratic Underground. 12 April, 2005. Democratic Underground. 20 Mar 2008 .
You need to log in to urbis or create an urbis account to review this writing.
Reviews
Sort Reviews by Newest | Oldest | Highest Quality | Lowest Quality | Newest Comments |
mark_93 reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100%% of the Item
This 85 word review has not been unlocked.
djini35 reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100%% of the Item
This 119 word review has not been unlocked.
Thinspread reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100%% of the Item
This 337 word review has not been unlocked.
guild reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100%% of the Item
This 202 word review has not been unlocked.
Louminator reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100%% of the Item
This 383 word review has not been unlocked.
traceylb reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100%% of the Item
This 169 word review has not been unlocked.
ckbailey reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100%% of the Item
This 115 word review has not been unlocked.
Weishaupt123 reviewed Version 1 -
Read 80% of the Item
Good essay my friend, yet I believe a subject s lofty as this needs and deserves much more than 1262 words. No offense, but due to the format which in my opnion was sparse, rather too precise, and a little cold, kind of like “Wikipedia”, it is very evident that this was a paper written in college for a grade. You presented to us good points, such as the highlighting of the so called positive aspects of the wars in iraq and Afghanistan, yet you barely scratched the surface. Rather than just stating, “the media portrays womens rights in a better state” not a exat quote, how about showing how they portray them?
I agree with you, there is no doubt the media sold these wars to the American public, and that in itself could make a fine 10,000 word essay. For instance, media mogul Rupert Murdoch is a staunch neo conservative, and one could easily say that Murdochs politics influence how the news is presented. or what about the fact every media outlet is owned by only a handful of corporations?
Your essay did a good job in clueing people in who previousy may not have known that the media is biased. but again I believe your topic is too general and broad. A single source, such as Murdoch, Fox News, or the New York Times and examples of how they mutilate news would be better in my oponion.
I would like to know in what context the Barbara Bush quote was spoken? I do not doubt that she said it, since that old elitist is famous for bigotry. She said on NBC news after katrina that the refugees in Houston were “doing as good as could be expected, but they were poor, so they were used to challenging circumstances”. I really hate that family, and that is my bias.
So, good intentions, well written, but for me too general. This is a important subject and I believe more attention to detail is needed, but that is just my oponion. Still, thank you for being aware and concerned, that is encouraging.
- add/view comments (1)
Racquille reviewed Version 1 -
Read 80% of the Item
I can’t really find much fault with this! The topic is fascinating and I agree with your stance wholeheartedly. You did exactly what you set out to do: explore “the influence of media on the nation and society,” as you said.
Good luck – hope you get an A! :-)
jazzinjamerican reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100%% of the Item
This 17 word review has not been unlocked.
Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Next →
Review item
Add to favesCreator
Relevant Links
Item Stats
GENERAL
11 Reviews 2 Comments
Version 1
Latest Activity: about 1 year ago
REVIEW QUEUE
Appeared in Queue: 24 Times
Skipped: 5 Times
Ratings & Rankings
