Miss Representation 2

Again referring back to the documentary Miss Representation, I would like to address another key idea of theirs. They presented that we mistreat females because that is what we have learned from the media. In simplistic terms, they are say that our identity is influenced by the media. Is that true? Quite honestly, yes. I am forced to believe that our identities are not defined by ourselves, as much as we would like to believe, but by the media. The way we are supposed to act, things we are supposed to like, the way we are supposed to behave all comes from the media. Let that sink in, and then continue reading and hear what I have to say.

Someone once asked me an interesting question. "If you are alone in a vacuum do you have an identity?" Now after you have stopped groaning because you remember who said this last semester, answer the question. The answer no. You do not have an identity if you are alone in a vacuum because being in a vacuum there is nothing but you. There is no up or down, left or right, right or wrong, smart or stupid, there is nothing. In order for you to learn, there has to be something there to learn from. You learn through interaction, through classical, operant, and social conditioning. Now if you do not those forms of conditioning from biology, I'll briefly explain. Classical, learning a behavior because of a treat. Operant, it is learning from your actions because of a consequence. Social, learning from previous generations. In order for any of that to happen, what is that one condition that must be met? You cannot be alone. That means you learn and develop an identity when you are with others, when there are things to learn from.

Now that you understand that, let me explain why we can link our identity to the media. Our parents, friends, and people in our lives we say we model our lives after, they get the way they model their lives after another person, and the same for that person, and so down the line. Now you might say, how is that media? It is media because all of those people are basing their lives of a person that is also influenced by the media and is basing their lives off of what they see in the media. In a sense, our lives are just based off of what we see in the media. Then, those of you who want to make the argument that your personality is unique, no it is not. First, let me say that you will fit into one of four personality types. Second, you still base the way you live your life off of something. It is not possible to not base your life on something. The media influences everyone, no matter what they say. This is evident by studies connecting violence in media to violence in kids. This brings me back to what I said before, your identity is not your identity. It is the identity of the media because we are influenced by what is in the media, and that shapes our identity.

An article throwing out similar ideas to mine.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/bfr3/blogs/applied_social_psychology/2011/11/medias-influence-on-social-norms-and-identity-development-of-youth.html

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 30, 2017 at 6:43 AM

    I agree for the most part. There is no true originality in anyone because there's always some sort of influence on them. Something that teaches them how to act in this case it's media. But is it correct to assume that it is only media? Dont get me wrong because I agree that it's a huge factor but you make it seem as though it is the only cause.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Miss Representation 1

In the documentary Miss Representation , they talk about how in the United States women are miss represented and under represented in everything from politics to science fields. It describes how there is a difference between the things men do and the things women do. It brought up a bunch of statistics saying that more than fifty percent of the United States population is female, but then it brought up how in these jobs they are not even close to a majority. For example Congress, only seventeen percent of Congress is female. They then went to say that the root cause of this is the media. The way the media portrays women gives us the idea that this is the way life needs to be. Where females are under represented and forced to do only certain jobs. It also briefly touched on the subject where it also makes men feel that they have to be masculine, and it defines what is and what is not masculine. I agree that women are still at a disadvantage when it comes to men. They are miss represen...
Read more

Materialism and Psychological Problems

A more materialistic culture is to blame as to why there have been an increase in psychological problems in teens since the 1930s. This idea is presented in the article, " Today's Teens More Anxious, Depressed and Paranoid Than Ever." They state that teenagers are experiencing more psychological problems and stress than students in the 1930s and 1940s. They state that the root cause for these issues is that the United States experienced a societal change. Our society became more focused on actual tangible objects. We became a materialistic culture. They say that has also impacted our healthy role models, to the point where we have none. They say that we have no healthy role models for our kids, and as a result our kids have psychological issues and behavioral issues and that will extend to the next generation. It is a vicious cycle. They blame our consumer culture for a our materialistic values which has led to the psychological problems teens face today.  I can underst...
Read more

Verizon's Marketing Strategy

For the past few weeks I have been analyzing Verizon Wireless. I have been analyzing their marketing strategy and their techniques used to convey their message. They are trying to target your average white, working middle class, family of four. They are trying to convey the idea that your family life could be better, and more connected than you already are. They are saying that your family life could be better. They are trying to make you believe that in order for your family life to be good, Verizon needs to be a part of that life. They are trying to make Verizon an essential part of your family life. They are trying to convey this idea by focusing on their unlimited plan. They are trying to convey that they are better by saying that other companies have failed you, and that Verizon will deliver on everything you want. They are trying to make the argument that they are better than everyone else. They however are also making you make the assumption that bigger is better, that being the...
Read more