Media Essay Plan

The Power of the Media to Influence

1) Introduction: - A description of my investigation of whether media influences audiences from a negative or positive point of view, whether we can blame the media for most of the destruction or should we just blame our self for the mess made in today’s society? 

I will be investigating how much the media influences its audiences - whether negative or positive. In the current media landscape things like make-up, plastic surgery, gun and knife crime, drugs etc, has become the norm, making audiences more and more aware each day. There are a lot of direct effects from watching a certain text, depending on culture, race, gender etc. Depending on the target audience it can create a moral panic. 

I will start by explaining how audiences will blame the media for certain outcomes in certain situations. Audiences always need something to blame when things go wrong in society, and most of them it will resort in the media. This causes two arguments between the audience and the media. “from role-play game Doom's (1993) alleged influence on high-school shootings to emo music's association with teen-suicide packs; from junk food advertisements to online paedophilia - the lists of suspects is considerable”  (Dan Laughey - Media Studies Theories and Approaches) (A, I&V, MP)

2) Moral Panics – Why is it caused?

According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972) and credited with coining the term, a moral panic occurs when "a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests.”

The media create a moral panic so the audience become scared, this causes the topic to be popular with that culture/society, which means the institutions will become popular = more money. Most of the surgery is to with older generations. With all the semi naked women/men in magazines older generations can feel insecure about themselves, meaning they might think plastic surgery is their last option. This can cause a moral panic as their insecurity makes the rates of plastic surgery rise. This makes it look like the norm and an everyday situation.

Crime rates have a definite moral panic; things like theft and mugging have become the norm and are not really expressed on the news as much. Things like knife crime and gang violence, has rocketed in the last couple of days, creating a moral panic and the media making it seem that its going to happen to everyone if they don’t do much about it.  (I&V, A)

My text: Knife Crime by MediaboxOnline- they describe some of the things in why it’s becoming and increase and why we should be worried. Amienata Sillah says “Is it because somebody was watching you? Or Maybe a stranger walked through your ends?” these are some of the questions on why people use knife crime. By these excuses this is why its becoming a moral panic because simply looking at someone can cause a little problem, and end up seriously hurt. 

3) Feminism

The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf Reviewed by Laura Bryannan – “We are bombarded today with images of the "perfect" woman. She is usually a gorgeous blonde, although sultry brunettes, redheads and exotic women of colour are also shown. She is tall and willowy, weighing at least 20% less than what her height requires. She rarely looks older than 25, has no visible flaws on her skin, and her hair and clothes are always immaculate. One perfect woman looks pretty much like the next; she is essentially not human, interchangeable and disposable. In fact, quite often she is presented in bits and pieces like a mannequin- -a torso, some legs, a shapely fanny--completing the assembly- line metaphor.” – Women are usually determined like this. Men wrongly see women as objects because of media and also because of commercials about make up. Plastic surgery is seen to make someone look better, if adverts of make up, are meant to show people that make up is what you need to look beautiful. 

A Feminist Perspective on crime. – “Women and Crime When a woman is seen to be physically, sexually or psychologically dominant, even violently aggressive, she tends to be treated as unusual, a freak of female nature or as mentioned previously, 'mad'. Many women appear to be encouraged to fear men and to circumscribe their public behaviour.” Women are not meant to do criminal things, they are seen as not as bright. If a man was to do a crime and a women, women would not be seen as a threat, they would always pick the men. Is this a good or bad thing?

4) Stereotypes

Most people are stereotyped from what is shown on TV. E.G – Teenagers are stereotyped to be lazy, angry, temperamental etc.

Media make a stereotype based on certain group of individuals; this means all people of that group/society/environment will be stereotyped. The media can influence us in certain ways which we as the audience need to decide whether it’s true or not. As the audience we have the right to make up our mind, but do we really? Or do we just accept what were given? (M)

In Canada on the news a teenagers explains “An important issue is how adults treat me just because I'm a teenager. Sure there are bad ones out there but I'm not one of them. It doesn't just hurt but it's disrespectful when security figures follow me around like I'm some kind of loser or criminal”

"We don’t need Afghan-style burquas to disappear as women. We disappear in reverse—by revamping and revealing our bodies to meet externally imposed visions of female beauty. - Robin Gerber, author and motivational speaker. This explains the 

Beauty and Body Image in the Media. Women need to realise that beauty is only skin deep, just because you flaunt your body and your stick thin doesn’t mean that’s how everyone likes you. This gives girls a stereotype of that’s how they need to be instead of being themselves. 

5) Media Influences

There are big issues and debates arguing for and against this. One side of the argument would be that media influences younger generations and that is the reason on why there is a rise in things such as crime. This is just one excuse of bad behaviour, most audiences cant except that they might be in the wrong so blaming things on the media is the easiest way to accept. For example if a mum was to buy a game rated 18 for her 15 year old sons, and he was to copy something out of the film. The mother would blame the institution for giving her son those messages, when it was really her fault. (I)

6) Does the media influence?

The media in essence does influence the media, for example a person can listen to music and their mood can change depending on the song. This is only a little influence but still influence. In my text about Jamie Bulger, one of the excuses for his behaviour was because of watching Childs play, because of the similar injuries in the film. This was one excuse for the bad behaviour, but no proper answer for why it was done. He is not stereotyped and he has now become a moral panic. Plastic surgery is influencing a lot of young adults as the media mostly shows the positive outcome giving false pretentions to younger viewers. For example Nip/Tuck shows the perfect lifestyle to the audience (money, sex, girls etc). This gives us a false lifestyle of what we actually get when having plastic surgery. We don’t see the outcome or what’s happening after. One argument is that “Since the media are more or less omnipresent in all of our lives, this means we are all influenced to some extent by what we view, listen to, browse, play and read. This direct-effects approach requires a stimulus and a response- an external stimulus exerts itself on an object an causes an internal response, like fire on wood or a tap on the kneecap.” (M, N) Beauty and the beast the ugly face of prejudice GREAT example

“In 1956, researchers took to the laboratory to compare the behaviour of 24 children watching TV. Half watched a violent episode of the cartoon Woody Woodpecker, and the other 12 watched the non-violent cartoon The Little Red Hen. During play afterwards, the researchers observed that the children who watched the violent cartoon were much more likely to hit other children and break toys.”

7) Or does it not?

Others may argue that media doesn’t influence, its mealy the audiences fault for what they have done. Everything has a reason and blaming something buy yourself is not the answer. Media is one thing we connect with everyday one way or another, so it’s easy to make that the excuse. Texts have ratings for a reason; you’re too young to watch/play it. Media says that if parents were mark enough, children wouldn’t be influenced. If children where that aware before they start playing games and watching TV they would understand more. For example you teach your children not to talk to strangers, then you can teach your children not to get influenced. “Parents play a critical role in determining what does, or doesn’t, influence their teens. The wise parent teaches his teen to be discerning about media choices.” (I&V, M)

8) Do we choose to or is it a reflex?

Most people argue that what we do is reflex to what we watch and others will say our up bringing/societies/beliefs etc. are what causes us to do things. Past memories can cause distress and cause things to happen your body cant control. Reflex’s are made by someone doing something and you reacting to it as quickly as possible. Jamie Bulger’s case, John Venebles was accused of watching a film before killing his victim as Bulger’s Injuries than the film. So is this how we all react to media? Do we copy things or just accept. (L, R)