The Media And Its Impact On Society

In “The roots of racism,” according to Lance Selfa, the origin of racism began with the growth of slavery. The latter was initially used for profit means only, free from racist ideas, as it was a cheaper alternative for labor; however, it eventually became an ethical and racial issue. Mass media, that once was a vehicle to spread culture and competent journalism, began to be used to reinforce racist stereotypes and black subordination in relation to white people. New black characters began to rise, inside and outside of the screen, portrayed in degrading roles linked with their dark skin color. For the most part, this negative association has remained unchanged through the years, if not inside films and books, inside the public’s subconscious.

Everyday we see many images in the media and they suggest what we should be like. While the media says how we should act or look, these suggestions invade people’s thoughts. The images the media portrays make it hard to break out of socially constructed stereotypes in our lives. The media reflects dominate and social values of people’s lives. The media also portrays gender by creating stereotypes and gender roles showing how men, women, and transgenders are seen as deviant. In the media, men are portrayed to be “masculine” while females are shown to be “feminine”. Transgenders are viewed in many negative ways and they are stereotyped. Gender stereotypes are expressed more in mass media because it reaches large audiences. The media can influence people to think that what they see is reality. Most of the time the media shows men to be more dominant than woman. This is a way the media influences people to be someone they aren’t.

Throughout the years the use of technology has increased, and expanded. Mass media plays a vital role in society. Mass media can be defined as any means of communication, to an extremely large group of people. Technological advancements have been extremely beneficial for prior generations, the generation we now live in, and will be for the future generations to come. Such as, providing news for the world to hear, entertainment, and much more. Some examples of media would be television, films, newspapers, and the Internet. Unfortunately along with benefits, there are disadvantages concerning gender discrimination, and sexism. Such as, women feelings forced and obligated to stay at home with their children instead of working, and the representation of beauty involving both men and women. Examples of how the media can accomplish this would be through the use of advertisements, movies, magazines, and the radio. The media has an enormous effect on people within society today.

Back in the 1800’s, when calculating the population, African Americans were counted as 3/5 of a person (Antonia, p2). One would think that in the past two hundred years people’s beliefs would have changed a little bit, but the general white public are stuck into believing the common stereotypes commonly portrayed in movies. In films and television shows blacks are almost always portrayed as murderers, robbers, rapists, pretty much anything negative, like American History X, for example. Two black men are shown breaking into a white man’s car. People see this, and in turn believe that all black men will try and steal their car; as stupid as it may seem, it is true, and as a result, film

Looks don’t matter, beauty is only skin-deep, you’re beautiful just the way you are. How many times have we heard this, yet we live in a society that appears to contradict this very idea. If looks don’t matter then why do women and girls live in a society where their bodies define who they are? If looks don 't matter then why is airbrushing used by the media to hide any flaws a person has? What exactly is causing this, why do we feel like we are just not beautiful the way we are? Its the media. It’s because the media promotes a certain body image as being beautiful, and it’s a far cry from the average woman’s size 12. The media may be great for entertainment but it also has the power to destroy a woman 's confidence and self-esteem. Young women are bombarded with this unrealistic standard everyday and everywhere. It gives them a goal that is impossible to reach and the effects are devastating. What is even worse is that society has become so accepting of the idea that size 2 is what defines beauty and perfection. And that needs to change.

“The media 's the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that 's power. Because they control the minds of the [people]” (Malcolm X). The message of this Malcolm X quote is that society can control the mind of the individual. This is true. For many years, society has influenced everyone worldwide both negatively and positively. That is because society has the ability to control the individual’s decisions. They can control the individual in making their decisions that could affect people’s lives worldwide; it also has the ability to control their decisions that could affect the individual’s life. You might be thinking “But why should we care about this topic? This doesn’t seem really important to us” well it’s important because we all can relate to this as everyone has been influenced by society at least once in their lifetime. Just ask yourself this. Have you ever simulated a role model that you had by just copying the actions that they do just because you wanted to be just like them? Have you picked up habits from society that is around you like family or peers that has affected you in your life? Have you ever maybe tried something you found from your family members or from the Internet to get your personal needs? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are involved in this conversation. But there’s a problem. There’s an argument going on about this topic. The controversy of this topic

When I was younger, I always saw the difference between how my family lived and how other people lived. These same people were always on T.V and were always my role models growing up. As a child, I never took into consideration how the same colored cast in television shows played a role in the lives of others. Growing up, I began to hear stories about discrimination and “white privilege” across the advancing platforms that kids and teens have grown accustomed to, but paid little mind. “I doubt it involves me so why listen”. Little did I know, this topic would circulate and grow into what we now know as the Ferguson riots, police racism and so on and so on. How do my childhood experiences with television connect to the news today?

I often wonder about our humanity given the current state of affairs in our nation and abroad. America has been a powerful and abundant nation through a lifetime of wars and financial crisis but today is a different time for many of us. What is the media producer’s role in our very own implosion? What is our, the “media user” role in it?

The media industry is the state of our actuality. Society expects for the news to keep them informed on what is going on around the world. There are several different kinds of media; there is the newspaper, radio, and television. Each category has its own different stage that has modeled the media to be as influential as it is in society today. Along with all other forms of media, newspapering has played a huge role in the way society view the media industry. Through time many changes have occurred, are occurring, and will continue to develop in the future. The media have an immense impact on society.

Growing up, children are predisposed to TV shows and literature that tend to shape/place ideas in their mind as to how relationships form and what a relationship consists of. The famous saying goes that opposites attract and it is never more prominent than in the media of today 's society. It is evident in various comic books, animes, cartoons, and well-known books acknowledged by people of different ages. Opposite attraction is shown in the media as a very natural and constant occurrence while this tends to get overexpressed it still holds some truth in everyday relationships.

When a person thinks of the word “criminal” they will probably say it is a corrupt, unintelligent individual that has committed a horrible crime. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the word “criminal” is defined as “any person involved in illegal activity”. They are often portrayed in novels and movies as horrible and sometimes even inhumane creatures, but being labeled as a criminal could mean the individual has done a crime that was ethically wrong also. Once a person is labeled as a criminal they often face an onslaught of unfair and sometimes unjust prejudice. In addition to being looked down upon, people tend to disregard the accused’s moral stature and their personal dignity. Long ago people thought criminals were awful beings, but today people have less of a harsh definition of criminals. In some ways people today idolize the way criminals act and what they do. The media portrays criminals to be a certain way and that allows society to somehow admire criminals more.

Films from the 1930’s to the 1960 have typically showed blacks in stereotypical ways. A good example would be the movie Hearts of Dixie (1929), starring Stepin Fetchit. Fetchit was a black actor who played various usually demeaning roles throughout his career. Although he was an amazing actor, all of the films that he stared in made African-Americans look lazy, foolish, and uneducated: it is dehumanizing. These roles were commonly given to African-American actors during the time. In today’s era the Stepin Fetchit figure is seen within the roles that African-American men play now. For example, in the movie Nothing to Lose, Martin Lawrence plays the stereotypical sidekick that acts in a foolish, idle way, just like Fetichit. In the 1980’s a new era came along which featured Blaxploitation (the exploitation of black people, especially with regard to stereotyped roles in movies.) films targeted towards blacks to fight oppression. These movies helped the Civil Rights Movement and they broke down stereotypes (Portrayal of Minorities in the Film, Media, and Entertainment Industries).

Media is a major contributor of how social groups are perceived in today’s society. Mediais around us every day almost all day, and it constantly sends messages about the world’s environment. There are many indicators shown pertaining to how media really affects society. One of the most prominent explanations of those questions is the way media influences stereotypes. There has been previous research linking media sources and biased attitudes. This research paper explores articles supporting media as an influence of stereotypes. The perceptions of society are influenced by media. The media influences perception in many different aspects of life. Stereotypes act as cognitive schemas, used to help us process and organize information about the social world. They help us to separate and group others as we strive to make predictions and interpretations about others. One of the most common cognitive processes associated with stereotyping is social categorization. Social categorization is the tendency to classify people into groups. Other sources of stereotypes are in-group/out-group categorization, which place individuals in categories based upon who may be similar to us, versus who is not. Negative stereotypes can lead to prejudice and discrimination, which demonstrates the unjust attitude, or unjustified negative behaviors toward members of other social groups. The generalizations can be negative, positive, or neutral. Stereotypes influence the way we perceive others and also

Mammies to nannies, bucks to thugs and deadbeats, servants to crooks in positions of power: this is the evolution of Black images in the media. Although in more recent years, it seems that film and television representation has evolved for the better, there are always messages that are not positive being subliminally sent through to the viewing audience. Regarding this, movie and television show characters are not the only representations in the media. In fact, what is possibly the most influential source of media representation is the news. While fictional characters in films may allow the viewer to use discretion, the news is a source that is seen as unaltered

Violence is much more socially acceptable in today’s society than it was hundreds of years ago, which is mostly caused by technological advances. As technology expanded, so did our generation’s tendency for violence. With all the breakthroughs in social interaction using technology, the media has become a large contributor to society. Coinciding with the first amendment to free speech, the media is a very valuable and powerful tool in spreading information when used for important purposes. However, many people abuse this power and sometimes spread the wrong message. Due to the vast amount of people promoting the wrong values, our society suffers the consequences through the immature minds of those who are easily swayed. Therefore, this