Saturday, January 12, 2008
Today's Forecast Includes Domestic Violence and Vehicular Manslaughter.
Today's media yells at the public through the ostensible "megaphone," filling our minds with the days unfortunate events. The media is "That Guy" with the megaphone, emphasizing every story that doesn't matter, but just like George Saunders points out-- we, the public, eat it up. Watch any six o'clock news broadcast and you will see how much it thrives on violent events and gory stories. Heartache, turmoil, and sex scandals are a focal point in any story, and this has permeated into movies, where there is never enough blood and affairs. Whether or not you want to be susceptible to this type of entertainment doesn't matter, as blockbusters such as 300's profits reflect. The consumer will watch it anyway. It is pretty much a way of life. 300 even promises, "There will be blood!" amidst a story of sex and war. I have found that I can rarely sit down and watch a movie with my parents and not have an awkward moment, due to the addiction of throwing in sex scenes.
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2 comments:
You are right! and I agree with you. I hate television, I always did. Althoug, "they" want us to see what "they" want, we still have the power of our remote control to switch channel or to turn off the TV. At least in this case, we are free to choose what we want or need.
Yeah, the media is focused on sex and violence, but I don't think it's anything new. As Paul Andrews points out in the Lasica reading for this week, the first newspaper in this country got shut down for reporting a sex scandal. From that, to the whole yellow journalism phenomenon in the 1800’s, the news has always been a bit sensationalist. As annoying as it is, sex and violence just seem to sell newspapers and lure people to the TV.
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