The Effects of MTV on American Culture Essay

The media has been a part of the daily life of the American people for the longest time, because of this fact, the media influences the decisions and views of how people should live. One big part of the media that tends to start to develop a sense of how the day-to-day American should live is Disney. Since kids are the main source of Disney’s billion dollar industry children have become an important dimension of the social theory (Giroux 1999: 65). “Within this context, television emerges as a consumer-oriented medium that reflects advertisers’ desire to reach a young, upscale, and primarily White audience” (Goodale1999; Henderson and Baldasty 2003: 100). As a result other races and ethnic groups other than white Americans are often put

One of the most recognized advancements was Mtv. It was first debuted on August 1, 1981. This gave way to the first video jockey (VJ). A video jockey was someone who announced videos and told a brief synopsis of the band. Mtv was an outlet for music videos and a gateway for musicians to get their music to the fans. When it first aired at 12:01 am, the first words were, “Ladies and Gentlemen, rock and roll”. The first video played by Mtv was, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. The digital phase wasn’t

There have been so many major developments in the evolution of mass media we now live in a day and age where we are constantly continuously connected. I have greatly always been fascinated by how much things have changed in just fifteen years. Fifteen years ago when I was sixteen and looking for a job. I would have to walk into an establishment and physically fill out a paper application and sometimes get an immediate interview. The other options were to use a news paper to look for jobs. Now just fifteen years later not even a century I can down load an application have my resume uploaded and apply for twenty jobs in a matter of minutes and receive call backs the same day it’s incredible. In the last century we have gone from the radio invention with just sound listening to movies, to black and white TV set, to color TV set to big flat screen TV that can go 3D.

In the media, reality TV stars like Snooki and Kim Kardashian are on the rise. Most channels on television have at least one reality show, from following housewives to remodeling homes of real life families. However, there are some reality programs that display bad examples, especially for young audiences that are keeping up with each episode. On MTV people see girls being drunk in public, addicts doing drugs, and young girls raising babies at young ages; these are situations seen on reality TV shows. Jeremy W. Peters’ “When Reality TV Gets Too Real” and James Poniewozik’s “Why Reality TV is Good for us” inform readers about what the general public can view on television and how it affects the minds of children. Reality TV shows such as

The era of 2000’s still has time for improvement and surprises. Music can go anywhere. The current music style of pop may receive damage in quality because of the current strive for image; however, music still remains important in the hearts of teenagers. According to Kathleen O'Toole's article on Standford online Report website "On average, American youth listen to music and watch music videos four to five hours a day, which is more time than they spend with their friends outside of school or watching television."

MTV provides the artists a place to visually promote their music and publicity. Therefore, it links the music industry closer to the entertainment business. At the time, when there was some limit to non-direct fan marketing platforms back at the 1980s, musicians used to rely on radio, promotions and record shops, and that is, briefly speaking, to gain exposure. MTV is a channel that provided not only audio but video experiences to their audience which lead to a much broader audience and to a chance for the artists of better expressing their music and building brand awareness. These eventually lead more artists to pay more attention on their style of appearance, and some of them even triggered trends in the fashion industry. As the song names and band names appearing at the start and the end of the music video, it visually

In today’s society, media is present in our lives 24/7 allowing it to have a major influence on our culture in both positive and negative ways.

As America headed into the 1980s, two decades of social and political upheaval have left the nation rattled and the economy weakened. The Iran hostage crisis shook America's confidence and many looked for a new kind of leader to steer the country into the new decade. Ronald Reagan led America into a new era of prosperity leaving the soul-searching of the 60s and 70s behind. The nation was ready to enjoy itself and with plenty of new toys to play like VCRs and video games, Americans spent more time at home and soon something called cable TV would make it even harder to leave the living room. With the new innovation of the TV, one of the ideas for a channel was a marriage between music and television. This new idea for a channel devoted to something called music videos would end up revolutionizing and often scandalizing an industry that had no choice but to embrace the fact that music in the 1980s had to have a face with videos. By having these music videos, they would change the way we look at music and the way we look at the world. This cutting- edge idea was a new medium perfectly suited to a new generation and that idea was called, MTV. This leads to the question: How did MTV influence pop culture of the 1980’s? This topic is worthy of investigation because the coming of MTV has had a significant impact on the way people see pop culture. Before researching the topic, the writer had limited knowledge on MTV and only knew about the music itself. In the paper, the writer was

Programming the new music video outlet in this manner made it as familiar as format commercial radio, while presenting it using the medium of television, to its young target audience.

Music Television gave a generation a voice. With the awakening of MTV, 1983 was a golden age for music television. The inception of hip-hop music videos caused wardrobe to be an important part of an artists “armor”. Rappers used outfits for promotional purposes. Certain outfits would be worn in pictures, performance, and

In 2000 only 8 hours and music videos were broadcasted, and then the number dropped again to a mere 3 hours a day. That is a big jump from the 24 hours of music when the network began. Times change, and so do people’s interests. MTV combated this change by producing more original content.

Popular culture can be defined as “The knowledge of current or up-to-date events. It can refer to music, television, film, sports, and anything in the public domain.” (reference.com.n.d.). MTV operates globally and one may argue that MTV shapes their audience tastes however in present times the public has vast options and therefore can easily dictate by choosing the channel that best suits their tastes and wants. MTV’s power to adapt to change has worked to their advantage as they have been able to capture their target audience throughout their existence.

Back in the 1920s people had receive news and entertainment through the radio, which then in turn out-shined newspapers and magazines. Now day’s social media sites have become the most popular form to get the news and information. The biggest tool in the media that generates revenue by the millions every day, is advertising. The media has its way of showing us constructive information when it comes to news channels, travel and other educational shows. Kids benefit from watching these, since it can boost self-esteem, heighten interest levels in a particular subject, or encourage them to ask relevant questions.

One of the biggest challenges for MTV was the controversial content that it is used to show on their normal channel and regarding this the main difference they had to adapt. The sexuality, use of alcohol, politic criticism and religion criticism are some of the main characteristics of MTV on other countries that are not as conservative as Arabs. With these characteristics MTV has achieved success through the Western hemisphere, be- cause the black humor they use is normal among the youngsters and instead of feeling sensible with these, they see it in a humorous way. But, in the Arab community they still conserve the traditional values supported by their culture. In an effort to adopt the strategy of “Think Globally, Act Locally” MTVN (Music Television Networks) executives made it a point to learn the cultures and make shows that relate to the cultures as op- pose to exporting the American culture. In order to achieve this goal the channel adopted a decentralized

MTV (short for Music Television), which pioneered the concept of a cable music channel, was launched on August 1, 1981, and marked the commencement of the cable TV revolution. It was promoted by Warner Amex Satellite Entertainment Company, a joint venture between Warner Communications and American Express. In 1984, the company was renamed MTV Networks (MTVN) with its operations confined to the US. At the time of its launch, the MTV channel primarily catered to those in the 12 to 24 age group, airing heavy-metal and rap music. However, over the years, it also launched many sister channels such as VH-1(short for video hits one) which was formed in 1985 to play light popular music; Rhythm and Blues (R&B,