StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Media Sphere in America - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Media Sphere in America" highlights that America needs more media attention to real issues and actors who express the day-to-day issues that are attending society, rather than escapist toys that are based on unreal or unsustainable identities of self-imagery…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.1% of users find it useful
Media Sphere in America
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Media Sphere in America"

Media as a term refers to the technological means through which human self-expression, communication, and information are exchanged popularly as culture, literature, music, and other forms of art. The importance of mass media in modern culture points to the need to further analyze the way that media communications shape, create, and enable the collective social identity of America both politically and culturally. For example, without the globalized nature of contemporary media communication technology, the world would still be isolated into regionalism with significantly less free exchange of information and values internationally. Correspondingly, it is easy to see the effect of national media groups like newspapers, television programs, and movies in building cultural identity through shared experiences over time in current events and politics. Because the constant repetition of ideas in society can easily lead to the hegemony of values and cultural expression, it is important to be vigilant as to the effect of media in daily life and the way that it shapes concepts of self-identity.

The effect of mass media is found in all modern education systems and entertainment activities for the majority of society. In many instances, such as public opinion polls, marketing, and commercial advertising campaigns, nationalism, and patriotism are used in branding a product for consumption. But more commonly, America knows that when it comes to advertising, sex appeal sells products best. Yet, advertising can also be important in building self-identity patterns that are unrealistic or unhealthy for individuals to relate to personally. For example, women are typically shown in contemporary media representations with an unconventional, ultra-thin body as the ideal body type. Similarly, men are built with broad shoulders, enormous muscles, and zero percent body fat. This creates an expectation in the individual to shape his appearance to be comparable to that of a male or female superhero to gain acceptance. When visualizing this type of sex appeal personally, people often try to be accepted in society by imitating this “ideal image,” even though is first posited by the commercial stereotype.

The “ideal image” leads to the striving for perfection in what is considered physically beautiful in the culture or society at large, but the problem is that this system also simultaneously and implicitly values the ideal above all others.  The advertising in mass media of today exposes American society repeatedly to an ideal body image and creates the idea that the individual must meet these standards. When the ideal is adopted individually, negative outcomes may occur such as eating disorders, depression, obsession, and low self-esteem. Following this paradigm, it is clear that other mental health problems can potentially arise from the internal conflict between media patterns of approved or applauded identity and the Self’s reality and experience. Thus, the media environment to a great degree determines the education and sustenance of an individual mentally and spiritually in today’s world, as well as how a person searches for and establishes their own personal identity or sense of Self.

Complex images of how women and men should grow up to look are introduced at the earliest ages of human development. For example, children at the age of five are often given influences in the form of toy dolls known as the “Barbies” or “G.I. Joe” action figures in America. The Barbie and G.I. Joe dolls are designed based on a body image that is impractical, creating an almost fanatical impression that drives subconsciously the way people believe adults should appear and dress. Barbie’s measurements are nearly physically impossible for most women to achieve physically, but they are learned to be desired.

Yet, this is not easy, as it is part of the nature of entertainment that the self becomes lost in media imagery and identifies with the story. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Media or america Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1408045-media-or-america
(Media or America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1408045-media-or-america.
“Media or America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1408045-media-or-america.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Media Sphere in America

Public and Political Spheres, Media

In this sense, america is able to gain a huge market share in the global economy through cultural export.... The public sphere theory is based on Jurgen Habermas idea on structural transformation of the public sphere.... There public sphere has undergone various transformations as technology advances and economy transforms.... The big question is how the cultural economy has transformed the public sphere.... Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Public sphere The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals gather and discuss freely societal problems thus influencing political action (Hauser, 1998)....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Habermas the Public Sphere

Habermas has given a complete outline of the public sphere in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society.... Habermas the Public sphere Name: Institution: The public sphere is a social area where people get together and discuss problems that affect them in their society.... The views that are given in the public sphere are usually subject to critical reasoning from other participants....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Role Of The Public Sphere

As far as the role of the public sphere in our lives is concerned, the media has projected it as that element of communication which basically operates in the public sphere.... This public sphere or space where mass decisions are made, has come to trigger various changes apart from supporting those transitional factors which have their genesis in globalisation, post modernism, culture and multiculturalism, with deep rooted encouragement from the information age - one which is booming with each passing day. ...
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

The Structural Formation of the Public Sphere

The fact that there still exists an extreme discrepancy between the poor and rich testifies to the reality that there is no genuine participatory democracy in america.... Where is this public sphere to be found in america today?... The fact that there still exist an extreme discrepancy between the poor and rich testifies to the reality that there is no genuine participatory democracy in america.... Modern democracies should definitely have an autonomous public sphere in the area of mass media....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The New Mass Media and the American Public

he reality of the American public life is this civilization's finest expression of the democratic principles that has kept america the great nation that it is.... n america, the mass media is mainly organized.... For the purpose of the discussions pertinent to the proposition this paper attempts to put forth, therefore, discussions following shall be in the public sphere of the American experience.... ass Media and the Public sphere ...
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Talk Shows - Contribution to the Public Sphere

Depending on the time and place, talk shows contribute more or less to the public sphere in terms of audience and citizen participation.... epending on the time and place, talk shows contribute more or less to the public sphere in terms of audience and citizen participation.... alk Shows and Public sphere in Albania ... Therefore, it is important to define talk shows in an attempt to determine their influence on the public sphere in terms of audience and citizen participation....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

The Bourgeois Public Sphere in Addressing the Plight of Female and Minority Groups

From the paper "The Bourgeois Public sphere in Addressing the Plight of Female and Minority Groups" it is clear that for Habermas for a notion to become a reality, certain elements ought to be included for effective democratic participation to come alive.... he Bourgeois Public sphere in Addressing the Plight of Female and Minority Groups ... Rucht (2002), “Four models of the Public sphere in modern democracies”, Theory and Society, 31, 289-324. ...
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Representation of Arabs in American Popular Media

The thesis aims at analyzing the portrayal Muslims and Arabs in the American popular media and to demonstrate the impact of media news on discernment of diverse racial groups especially the portrayal of Muslims and Arabs after the September 11 terror attacks in america.... Nevertheless, the civic sphere in the U.... Hollywood's debasing pictures of Arabs and Muslims have had damaging impacts on the lives of these groups in the america's civic sphere, in regard to the rise of hate crimes and violence....
6 Pages (1500 words) Literature review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us