Sex in the Media - Media-Centered Perspective

Corporate Control

One thing that we discussed in class that has really changed the way I consume media is the topic of corporate control. The same eight(ish) companies own just about everything we hear, see, and read, whether on the radio, television, newspapers, or on the Internet. We've discussed this topic in some of my telecommunications classes as well, and to be completely honest it disheartens me a bit. The passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 gave these corporations the power to monopolize the media. The mad dash for control left the media in an oligopoly with only a handful of companies owning the outlets. What we as the general public is the select hegemonic viewpoints being blasted at us from all around. Creativity is replaced with capitalism. Programs aren't put on air based on what their ideals are, rather programs are put on because they will make money. No one cares about anything unless they can suck a profit out of it.
It saddens me that as a whole we're okay with this. When i bring up media ownership around my family or some of my peers I'm left with blank stares. Whether they aren't understanding the severity of what I'm saying, they don't understand, of if they just don't care, I'm not quite sure.
The fact that my scriptwriting and my creative writing professors are trying to train me to write what is popular and what is successful rather than just working on teaching me how to create sickens me as well. People talk about how they hate government control so much, but the media has become it's own government, and the only way to be a part of it's dictatorship is to buy yourself in.

Raising the Youth: T.V.'s New Power

People that complain about sex and violence in the media piss me off. Just saying.
We all know that the media is filled with debauchery, drugs, and disorder. So don't let the television raise your fucking kids. As a parent you have every right to control what television your child consumes. For crying out loud, every television set bigger than 13 inches that has come out since January of 2000 has been installed with a v-chip. The v-chip is a device that gives parents the power to choose what programs they find acceptable for their children. Most satellite and cable boxes come with the same features. If you care so much about what your children are being exposed to then quit bitching and do something about it. BLOCK IT. It is not the media's responsibility to raise the nation's children, plain and true. While I understand that it is hard to escape the media and it's messages, it is the parent's responsibility to put a good head on their children's shoulders. Would you rather your children's morals be instilled by you or the box that vomits up what corporations want you to hear in your living room? I hope that people can become conscious consumers and can pass that mindset on to their children. Again we all know what deviance lurks on television, and we know we don’t have to watch it. We need to be able to take certain things with a grain of salt and understand that they are entertainment in it’s simplest form. So watch your Jersey Shore, but don't live your life by the messages of that and other similar programs.

Being Gay in the Media

Ellen Degeneres was one of the of the first people that I remember seeing as a child and that taught me that being gay was normal. She pushed coming out into the media spotlight. With her coming out on such a broad array of media types (print and television in many forms), it was something the country was forced to talk about, if only for the months around the event. The way she presented her and the GLBT's ideologies didn't flat out try to revolt against the hegemonic heterosexual mainstream. Rather she just explained that she and the many other gays and lesbians have such a hard time living their life a lie. She explained that they shouldn't have to live that way, and be trapped because of their minority status. She gave the country an insight into how coming out can effect the life of the individual and the lives of those around him or her. She promoted understanding and acceptance in a way that was easy for Americans to accept.
Ellen led the way for other homosexuals and homosexual characters in the media. Will and Grace, which premiered in the years following the media event, exploded into popularity. Of the four main characters, two were homosexual men. This was one of the first times that homosexual men were shown as successful, normal people. For the most part the show shown a positive light on homosexuality, but at some points the characters sexual orientation was just a big joke. The show again was a step in the right direction for the media and the mainstream.
Since these media events we can see more and more homosexuality in the media, not just acting either. We see more and more homosexual producers, writers, directors, etc in Hollywood as time goes on, which is great. People should not be held back or oppressed for something as trivial as their sexual orientation.

You Have 0 Friends

The television show South Park capture the nations obsession with facebook perfectly. I would post a link to the episode, but sadly it was taken off the comedy central website and I couldn't find another link. Anyways, as a country we seem to be wholeheartedly obsessed with facebook and other social networking sites, i.e. twitter, myspace. I can only think of one of my friends that does not have a facebook. Personally i will admit to being sucked in. I check my facebook most mornings, and most times I get on the internet. I do not however do anything besides socialize, find bands, and play tetris. No, I do not want to water your crops, join your mafia/werewolf/vampire/whatever army.
I'm not trying to make the point that social networking sites are bad, because they aren't. Social networking sites are great at doing just that, social networking. However, when people sit at their computers for hours on end rather than actually socializing in real life is where the problem occurs. When people become more concerned with the number of friends they have on their page rather than the amount of friends they've seen in a day, they have developed a problem. It is not facebook's fault that these people are doing this either. The more tie we spend on these sites the more money we're pumping into the corporations. It's perfectly fine to use your facebook to keep in contact with people, it's silly to say otherwise, but spending an enormous amount of time on these sites is not a very good use of your time.

Military in the Media.

The amount of coverage the military gets in the media is quite disturbing. Turning 18 meant I had to sign up for the "selective service." This is essentially signing up for the draft, in case it were to ever be reinstated. Before that recruiters were barking at my heels to look into "military careers." One of the most popular activities among my high school peers was playing video games. Many of these video games were in fact war themed games, set in historical and present day battle situations. "America's Army" is a game created by the government to recreate soldier training and combat situations. They were tapping into a teen driven market. As we grew older their almost omniscient presence was seen everywhere and continues today. Every day on t.v., and even in the movie theaters, commercials for the armed services play all day. The news is flooded with images, maps, videos, graphs, and recreations of the conflict in the middle east. The war and being a part of the armed services tends to always be presented positive as well. Even if we have feelings against the war, we are almost trained to say, "I oppose the war, but I support the troops," as someone pointed out in class. Also stated in class, we are being turned into virtual citizen-soldiers. They are trying to train us before they actually have us signed up to serve. I personally feel that the military does not really need such a large advertising budget. We all know what the armed services are, if we want to be a part of that then we will. We do not need to be overwhelmed with rhetorical arguments telling us what to do with our lives.

Military in the Media

The amount of coverage the military gets in the media is quite disturbing. Turning 18 meant I had to sign up for the "selective service." This is essentially signing up for the draft, in case it were to ever be reinstated. Before that recruiters were barking at my heels to look into "military careers." One of the most popular activities among my high school peers was playing video games. Many of these video games were in fact war themed games, set in historical and present day battle situations. "America's Army" is a game created by the government to recreate soldier training and combat situations. They were tapping into a teen driven market. As we grew older their almost omniscient presence was seen everywhere and continues today. Every day on t.v., and even in the movie theaters, commercials for the armed services play all day. The news is flooded with images, maps, videos, graphs, and recreations of the conflict in the middle east. The war and being a part of the armed services tends to always be presented positive as well. Even if we have feelings against the war, we are almost trained to say, "I oppose the war, but I support the troops," as someone pointed out in class. Also stated in class, we are being turned into virtual citizen-soldiers. They are trying to train us before they actually have us signed up to serve. I personally feel that the military does not really need such a large advertising budget. We all know what the armed services are, if we want to be a part of that then we will. We do not need to be overwhelmed with rhetorical arguments telling us what to do with our lives.