Howard Brody ~ the Social Power of Expert Healers-Susan Douglas ~ Narcissism as Liberation-Greg Tate ~ I’m White! What’s Wrong with Michael Jackson?

In this essay the idea of power is expressed by how much of an impact a powerful person can have on a powerless person. In Montana 1948, an argument occurred between two characters. One was called Wesley Hayden and the other was Wesley powerful father Julian. The

Psychological development is essential in shaping the personalities, behaviors, and morals of human’s. Many factors influence the development of an individual’s psychological makeup; including heredity and environment. Michael Jackson is quite possibly the most famous person to live during the 21st Century. Born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana to struggling middle-class parents, Michael learned all too quickly the reality and price of being famous. Although the world adored him from the moment he was a small child as a member of the Jackson Five and throughout the rest of his life, it was difficult to ignore the obvious changes to his physical

Throughout the novel, Frank Hayden abuses his rights of being a doctor. This comes to light when Marie Little Soldier is sick in bed and doesn't want Frank to come and examine her. Marie stands very strongly with her statement that Frank has sexually assaulted Native American women. Marie has enough courage to tell Gail about why she doesn't want to be seen by him. Gail states this she’s when talking to Wesley about it, “ Listen to me, please. Marie said she didn't want to be alone with him. You should have seen her. She was practically hysterical about having me stay in the room. And once Frank left she told me all of it. He’s been doing it for years, Wes. When he examines an Indian, he…he does things he shouldn't. He takes Liberties. Indecent liberties” (Watson 34). What Marie states about Frank is the start of a new chapter in the Hayden family’s life, and reputation. Frank had been sexually assaulting these women; someone had to speak up and reveal the truth about it, and that someone happened to be Marie. Frank had been abusing his doctor degree to look at women and sexually assault them. Another way that power was abused in the novel is when Frank killed Marie. He was abusing his law as a doctor; because doctors are supposed to help people. Len stated, “ Wouldn't be hard, I suppose. A doctor. He’s probably got the means right there in his bag. Pills. A shot of something or other. Maybe he put a pillow over her face. Weak as she was, it wouldn't have taken much” (Watson 140). Frank abused his laws of

Power is defined as “the possession of control or command over others; authority...” (Dictionary.com), and all people have power, whether they notice it or not. Though some employ their power for respectable reasons, often times power is not used in honorable ways. The matter of abuse of authority is prevalent in the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck illustrates that those who have power abuse it exceedingly often, as shown by Curley attacking countless others, including Lennie, a mentally disabled man, Curley’s wife mistreating the men of the ranch, and Curley’s wife making demeaning comments about Crooks, the African American stable buck.

Media impacts our lives everyday. The average 14-to-28 year-old will be exposed to about 3,000 ads every day. Ben Franklin once said that nothing is certain is this life except death and taxes. I believe it is now safe to assume we can add advertisements to that list now. We are literally bombarded with them. After seeing all the advertisements I am led to believe that they are the most carefully constructed of all human communication, being it the most expensive too. In 2004, according to www.answers.com, advertisement was in excess of $450 billion in the United States alone. It is not our fault though that these advertisements display messages that we cannot perceive. When we see an ad, our conscious mind will filter out the things it cannot deal with and make an acceptable idea or image that is made conscious. This is

“The Language of Advertising” written by Charles A. O’Neill is an excerpt arguing as well as supporting popular criticisms against the advertising language by William Lutz, and other known criticisms of advertising. The concept of advertising is not something that has only been popular over the recent decades, but has been used as far back as the World Wars. The use of propaganda attracted thousands of eyes to the War, and without knowing it, created what we call today as typical advertising. After WWII many people with good reason, were concerned over the topic of scientific success, due to the recent usage of the Nuclear Bomb by the United States. Many giant American corporations started creating new materials, fabrics, vaccines and machines (the most important being plastic), thus creating a new wave of marketing. Now this process never stopped and has not stopped all throughout the past decades, our own, and the ones to come. But as newer, bigger and better products or services are created nobody really understands the power of how they marketed or advertised. Well “how does advertising work? Why is it so powerful? Why does it raise such concern? What case can be made for and against the advertising business?” (O’Neill 369). For you to understand the concept of advertising, Charles O’Neill makes it clear that you must first understand that it’s not about truth, virtue, or positive social values, but money. The most popular “tool” that advertisement creators use is that

Another way television misleads its viewers is by the way that they present candidates for an election of politicians. They spend all their time and money trying to put together a commercial that only puts down the other candidate. How are voters supposed to know whom to vote for if all they are presented with is negative ideas about each candidate? Television also tries to persuade us to vote for a certain proposition. Voters are also lured into voting for or against a proposition by listening to the music being played in the background of the commercial. An example of this type of situation may be the campaign on proposition 5 dealing with the Indian Casinos. They play sad, and convincing, music in the background of their commercial so the viewers can soften their hearts and vote “yes” on their proposition. Television is powerful enough to make our shopping easier. Actually, it is making us lazier. TV stations such as the Home Shopping Network make shopping as easy as dialing some numbers on a touch tone phone. People are also convinced to buy a certain product because a celebrity is presenting it. For example: if supermodel Cindy Crawford presents make-up, ladies will buy it and wear it because they believe that it will make them look like her.

There are many people in the world that have power. Their power is impactful to the people under them and maybe big enough for things like countries and the world. This is a big idea that Erich Remarque had when he was writing All Quiet on the Western Front. The war in the novel and the soldiers who take place in it are greatly impacted by the people who have control over them. The soldiers do not agree or like how they run things. A larger theme in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque is power is bad because instinct takes over.

Modern day power originates from the mind in that we give certain figures power based upon man-made forms of value or worth like money. The definition of power has fluctuated throughout time, and while the past may have emphasized the more violent aspects, today, we have shifted towards a more control based interpretation. Both Michael Foucault and John Berger delve into the idea of power and its functionality. Based on their texts, in our current socio-cultural setting, power is best exploited when the concept behind the power is deindividualized for many purposes, internalized by the people, and integrated throughout society to the point that its origins is mystified.

According to NY Daily News, Americans devote an average of 33 hours of television a week ( Hinckley, David). A quarter of that time goes to watching advertisements. This equates to 16.5 straight days a year. Advertisers see the benefits of spending time with their viewers. It’s their way to shape how we think about their products. They see the value in how time is effective in order to persuade your thinking. The same goes for activism. The best way to positively persuade somebody’s thoughts is to put in the time and effort into the audience.

Michael Jackson’s Black or White emphasized his desire for equality in all realms of life for American citizens. Specifically, this song highlights a desire for social, political, and economic equality for all citizens. The main focus of this song is pushing for racial equality and an end to racism. The music video for this song is especially interesting because it focuses on stereotypes of different races. Initially, this seemed counterproductive to Jackson’s original intention with this work of art

Therefore, what we mostly see on the screen is what the sponsors promote, which are usually mechanisms to keep society stable. This exactly what American media was doing from the muckrakers of the 20's to the war in Kosovo in the 90's. Let us now look at some examples of the use of TV as a mean of control over society. Before January 1991, public opinion polls showed that the American public was split into two groups, 50% each, about whether the U.S. should attack Iraq or not. Historians say however, if any anti-war voices had been heard in the mass media at this time, the outcome could have been completely different. The second example turns out to be a tragic one, when we talk about the freedom of speech. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the pictures of the irradiated Japanese were not made available to the American public until the 1980's. In both cases we see the control of society through TV, by those who control it, and directing society toward a certain destination, which is found to be the "way forward for the humanity", and keeping the system together by creating a popular culture based on consumerism; turns out to be a modern way of practicing authority in our lives.

Power is defined as a political action coerced to exercise or to pursuit. It influences and controls the content of political power. The theory of power is argued by Niccolo Machiavelli, Hannah Arendt, and Karl Emil (Max) Weber. Machiavelli’s position stood that power is held by individuals. As for Arendt, she believed power was maintained within groups, while Weber believed power lied in institutions.

Media has an affect on the popular culture more than most people think. It is simply everywhere you go and unavoidable. So either way you look at it, the mass media occurs in a person’s life on a daily basis. Which has a severe effect on the choices you make and the morals you live by. One cannot trust everything they see on TV either. Most commercials you would see today are overly exaggerated just to persuade consumers into buying the product. For example, in the 1930’s America’s first “drug czar” Harry J. Anslinger, began one of the world’s greatest public relations campaigns just to demoralize marijuana by telling apparent lies to society and persuading them to believe it. Such as that marijuana is more harmful to the body than

usually go for a snack when they come on and the small print can be