Contemporary Media Analysis

1. What does the media say about the world we live in?

I didn't want to give a  legit example,
because i'll be analyzing such things later
 on in this post. So, here is a short gif
of how the media expresses stereo-
types based on race. *tsk tsk* oh media. 

In order to understand more about the world we live in, it's important to understand what the world used to be before our generation. We need to look back on years and years of social issues, wars, and cultural changes in order to understand the main concept: that media has/ will ultimately influence a society but can never truly define society. In other words, these ideas created by the media (by the very audience who comes to accept it) is what our society sees as the status quo; nevertheless, not everyone accepts the status-quo. 
To relate this statement back to the question: we happen to live in a very complicated world that is divided on almost every issue. If we target the United States it can be said that society in the US is made of people who:

1. love exposing women to the bare minimum.
2. have this strong idea of being independent.
3. enjoy eating everything on the go.
4. believe that conflicts can be resolved with violence and explosions.
5. love to extrapolate juicy, and rather trivial, gossip by harassing and stalking celebrities.  

If you're shocked to hear all this, what more someone in another country viewing the media's portrayal of North America. If so, what of us basing others on what the media deems as their national image.

2. Do you notice any one trend that keeps resurfacing through multiple media forms?

I felt that during the presentations on media, I saw a common theme throughout some of the examples. I found it relevant to my own life as I've seen this paradigm affect many of my friends and belittle those who don't fit the ideal image. Yes my good friends, I am referring to the ever popular trend of: 

MASCULINITY. 

     The media's portrayal of masculinity stretches far back, to the fairy tale stories that we grew up hearing as a kid and to the movies that our parents watched. Masculinity in America has always been expressed in such a strong and gusto way since we live in a society that adorns macho men and ridicules anything that cannot come to par. One of my favorite films of all time is Spielberg's famous  Indiana Jones series. This entire collection of movies not only embody the hero that American audiences look up to, but it also creates this static concept of what a man should be. I'll break the media's perception of masculinity into 3 categories:
ALL MANLY MEN MUST BE AGGRESSIVE: 

    A typical stereotype drawn on by media is the idea that men are agressive creatures. This can be taken literally and in terms of psychologically. Let's first look at the literal meaning, where men embody violence and action. In the movies, we often see Ford fighting villains or being caught in perilous situations. Not shown in the clip, but there's the scene where Indiana shoots a soldier after the soldier deliberately taunts him with a sword. As comedic as the scene was, it really showed men are susceptible to going through with violence than calm and collected reasoning. The media enhances the stereotype of men being prone to acting violent, and in a rather positive way so that everyone cheers and applauds someone who is capable of defending themselves and others. However, it can also be viewed in the sense that men are very driven and will stop at nothing (as seen in the clip). Indiana obviously sees the dangers, and gets stuck in the maze of traps; yet, manages to escape with his life. The idea of a strong-able man is one that sticks close to American audiences, and obviously other nations as well. 

ALL MANLY MEN ARE INTELLIGENT AND INDEPENDENT: 

I will point out the obvious facts, because I'm pretty sure we've heard this notion of masculinity already. Men are independent individuals, like the lone wolf hunting in the dark of the night. I'll explore this poster demonstrating media's understanding of being independent. The poster has a little caption to the left, "If adventure has a name.... it must be Indiana Jones". Amazing log line, obviously accentuating the fact that ONLY Indiana Jones can be compared to the thrills and shrills of adventure. The imagery in the poster also has Indiana standing alone in an old ruin. He exhumes power and strength, since he has no entourage and is only equipped with weapons. The media portrays the idea that being a man means one can take care of his/her problems on their own.

"There is no room for weak individuals in a man's world."


ALL MANLY MEN HAVE A PHYSICAL SEX APPEAL: 

     In the one Harrison Ford's first Indiana Jones films, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, Ford takes on the role of the handsome teacher. As you can see in the clip all the girls are caught fawning over the character, as if he was the only man in the universe. In this case it's obvious that the college students aren't after his intelligent notes on Biology, but rather his good looks. Now the real question is: why does this look good? The media understands that in order for men to be liked, they must be desired or attractive to the opposite sex. In this case, it could be his fancy clothes, his height, his complexion, his glasses, his hair, and other qualities that make Ford a desirable character. In the media today, we also see it in commercials and music videos with ridiculously muscular men barely clothed. We certainly live in a time period where sexual appeal is just as important (and if not more) than character and the media will continue to exploit this "visual eye candy" until the end of time.

3. What do you see as the best and worst of what media portrays?

Not all media coverage is good, and certainly not all of it is bad. Personally, I'm really influenced by the movies and shows I see on tv. As a child, I always watched cartoons and this love for animation has developed into a deep appreciate of animated films and Japanese anime. In case you haven't realized that I enjoy animated films, which would be pretty sad considering how many times I've brought up Totoro. :( Nevermind that, I'd like to give some examples of personal attacks expressed through animated films)
Media should always relay society's best interests, but what we see is media's grasp on adolescents and how it distorts their perception of reality. 
Let's look at the Disney film Cinderella. I am in no way saying that Cinderella was a bad film, definitely not my intention. Instead it mirrors the society at the time, and how young girls riddled at the thought of being swept by a dashing prince. However Cinderella did a great job in providing kids with a positive perspective on life. The film exemplified how a person's struggles are worth it in the end, and that everyone should aim for their happily ever after.

When it comes to animated films, you can't really judge a film based on the animation/moral values. When I think of media in a bad light, I tend to think of the old Looney Toons shorts during WWII. It demonstrated America's deep hatred for the Japanese by using American-perceived stereotypes against them. The media can/will always portray an ugly and ignorant side of society.

4. Where do you see yourself contributing to the conversation?

      At the end of the day media will always be an important part of society. It surround us, engulfs us, and creates this idea of what we should strive or avoid being. I find myself agreeing with the use of media as a sort of document of the time period. Our society preaches tolerance and acceptance, meanwhile another society may preach being respectful and silence. The media should show us different ways of coming to understand one another, but it should never solely define us. The media is useful for breaking boundaries and exploring issues that we'd normally go on ignoring. This is the truth, so let's not have media define us... instead it should be used to educate us in finding ways of self-improvement.