Pros And Cons Of Should War Be Televised

As more and more troops were being sent to Vietnam, and the casualties began to rise, people began to question the government’s involvement. “Even military troops came to mistrust their government’s reasons for keeping them there, as well as Washington’s claims that the war was being won”.(Vietnam War) The Vietnam war was the first war to be broadcast on television. This meant that for the first time the American people were able to see the war instead of just hearing about it on the radio. They were able to see firsthand the soldier’s faces, see the reality of where they were fighting and to see the

War leads to oppression and leaves negative implications on all people and societies by impacting the poor, women, children, and nations as a whole. "War is a state of violent conflict between one or more groups" (Rasenberger 3). Rasenberger defines war as a state of conflict between one group within itself or several groups in combat with each other, what is not mentioned are the after-effects of war. War itself leads to many civilian and military deaths, an estimated 1.5-3.8 million people died during the Vietnam War and an approximate 500,000 people died in the Iraq war. The biggest tragedy of War is that it always results in fatality, but another key, negative, factor to understand is that after the War many adverse implications arise. Post-war ramifications in the nation fall upon the poor, women, and children, making them weaker and less motivated leading to the downfall of a society. Regardless if a nation wins or is defeated in war they have to deal with consequences of war and find solutions to the impacted people and society. It is essential to understand that there is never a true victor in war because regardless of the outcome, fatality and a fall of morale within society on both sides are inevitable. War has often been the solution to situations that required force or violence, but in recent times this has

Was the Vietnam War an unpopular war? The soviet union winning a war caused a greater separation between communism and democracy or capitalism. The Americans joined the Vietnam war to support southern Vietnam in fighting against the communism in northern Vietnam. The Vietnam war was a very unpopular war because of economic, political, and social reasons.

War- a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict, typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War is inevitable; people thrive on the idea of war, engaging in bloody affairs, a chance to fight for their freedom and Americas freedom. The public reads of these bloody affairs, in the headlines splattered all over the television screen, imagining in their head the idea of war, the idea of blood, dead bodies, and weapons. Images of war would only put fear and anger into Americans, yet in times of war, the media has an obligation to provide the citizens of America, with these images of war, even if they are terrifying, violent, and bloody. If Americans do not

By 1968, more than half of the American people relied on television as their principal source of news. What they saw informed, engrossed, and unsettled them. CBS Evening News anchor Harry Reasoner referred to it as “horrors and failures.” The Vietnam War dominated the network newscast as it never had before. Suddenly the war was everywhere. The impact on the American public would indeed be great. It set off a critical reaction to the war within the American media and gave greater credence to arguments against the war that a vocal protest movement had been voicing for some time. The media coverage of the Tet Offensive had a great influence on the eventual outcome of the fighting and its aftermath. Clarence Wyatt, author of Paper

War is something that everyone has seen, whether it be up close and personal or through a screen, but it is clear, no matter where you are, that is it a liability for everyone involved. War was nothing more than a burden for the United States during World War I. It was no good and had the potential of affecting America negatively, economically, politically, and socially. George Washington conveys this idea in his Farewell Address. He states, “So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with

Although Campbell may believe in the positive impact television has on political electorate, he is wrong. Television has the ability to hinder political issues. Television has not fulfilled its early promise completely. Yes it does inform, but it does not stimulate the political interest of American electorate, in fact, it has done the opposite. From 1960 -1996 television ratings for presidential debates has gone down. In 1960 the rating was approximately 60 million views, but in 1996 the rating went down drastically to approximately 30 millions views (Source

The Vietnam War was the first televised war. This allowed news stations to bring the battles right to the television screen in someone’s home. The Vietnamese would use the American media to express their thoughts to the Americans. Americans were also able to see the brutal combat that was happening and get a first-hand experience of the war. Reporters had the ability to skew Americans’ views of the war by the way they reported. Since the Vietnam War was televised many people were influenced by the images they saw on their home television and caused them to take action.

The coincidence of the growth of television with the first military defeat for America was used by the government to explain why the war was lost: it wasn’t because of government policy or by underestimating the enemy but because television journalism and lack of censorship that undermined the whole operation “by ‘graphic and unremitting distortion’ of the facts, pessimism, and unvarnished depiction of both Americas youthful casualties and American ‘atrocities’ inflicted on the Vietnamese.” The amount of televisions in America was on the increase; ‘In 1950, only 9 percent of homes owned a television. By 1966, this figure rose to 93 percent.’ This alone shows the sheer coverage that the news had and the potential influence that it could impose upon the minds of the people. Not only did more people have television sets in their homes but more and more people were relying on television over any other medium to obtain their news. The survey conducted by the Roper organisation for the Television Information Office in 1972 shows us that 64% of people got most of their news from television, an 8% increase from the survey conducted in 1964. Another factor in the power of television was not just the fact that it reached a wide audience, it was also the fact that people were more likely to believe what the television news said over reports in the newspaper or radio, especially if the reports were conflicting in nature. This was due to two factors; the personality who

Furthermore, Americans placed trust in the presence of pictures, for they could “see it happen.” Because it was a visual medium, television depicted the raw horror of war and primarily focused on the negative. In addition, media recognized the potential for television to exploit the war’s sensationalism and to capture the minds of their viewers. The Tet Offensive was noted by many intellectuals

Television, more so than any other form of communication, has been the ultimate tool of the propaganda effort. It is the trustworthiest

Nothing can impact society like war. War can be viewed as noble and just, or cruel and inhuman, as well as everything in between. War affects everyone in society whether they are fighting in a foreign country or waiting at home for a loved one to return. War is an indispensable part of civilization; found at every chapter of human history. It is the culmination of the basic survival instinct when provoked. As has the technique of battle; society's view on war has changed as well. Today the act of war has become almost shameful, whereas in earlier eras war was glorified and heroic. American society's view on war has changed also. Our history, even as a young country has seen a great deal

Superficially, the entertainment industry thrives on war. Nonetheless, useful insight from war can be seen from this industry. In fact, some developers have gone so far as to observe that "War is to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th; the pillar that supports the global economy" (Kojima), and upon examination, we can certainly see this to be the case. War has

War has always been an unfortunate part of our society and civilization. War will sadly and undoubtedly be with us as long as we exist. However, the portrayal of war for many centuries gave a sense of patriotism and romanticism. Then the invention of the camera changed how humanity perceived war in the late to mid 19th century. And all of a sudden, images of war became of shear violence and destruction. The violence in these images would play a significant part in the social and political standpoints of war in our nation.

Talking about war tends to make people feel emotional, feel a sort of adrenaline rush, mad, and even proud. These emotions can at times, in my opinion, bring groups together and separate others because of disagreements on views and beliefs. While it is not easy to talk to anyone about delicate topics such as this one, it is important to acknowledge how war can influence societal behavior and culture. Many can argue that war unites people, particularly speaking of the United States; a country is known for its patriotism and pride when it comes down to its military forces and achievements across nations.