Reaction Paper Amy C. Steinbugler the author of Beyond Loving, examines interracial intimacy in the beginning of the twenty-first century and it has continued to developed new ideologies. Segregation, slavery, court cases, black lives matter and many other historical movements occurred decades ago and people were not allowed to form a relationship outside of their race, because of biracial which was looked upon as wrong. It became a phase of racial denials in which interracial relationships are seen as symbols of racial progress. This book examines the racial dynamics of everyday life of lesbian, gay heterosexual of black and white couples. Overall, this book analyzes cotemporary interracial through “racework”.
Neil Postman and Steve Powers focus only on the television news and the ways it can manipulate the audience. Though “Television News: The Language of Pictures” and “Amusing Ourselves to Depth” both
“Love Vocabulary” In the essay “loves Vocabulary”, Diana Ackerman the author makes connections between her many ideas on love by using figurative language such as saying, “such a small word for immense and powerful idea”, and “can mean almost nothing but, also mean everything”. One connection is the word is such a small for immense and powerful idea. The author Diana explains how the word “love” we can say is so many ways positive or negative. One example is we use it in such a sloppily way.
Society expect to be constantly entertained; they have become so concerned with things such as who the latest star is dating, scandals, or dumb people doing rather idiotic things. Much of society have been consumed in their personal instant gratification and what makes them “happy”. When on an off chance that news does show things that are serious and impactful(not necessarily positive things that is happening in the world) people have become so numb that the best they could do is feel sympathetic and at worst continue on with their day. The other part of the problem is that those behind what is being published and shown on the news media have been absorbed in their avarice nature, whatever allows them to make as much profit they do. “Writing thousands of hours of coverage from what could have been summarized in a couple of minutes every few weeks, a new rhetorical strategy was developed, or-let’s be generous-evolved”(6), Saunders describes the new formula formed by mass news firms that would yield the most profit.
In ‘Now…This,’ chapter 7 of Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman argues that by tis very nature medium of television decontextualizes and devalues the information it conveys thus creating a culture of pure entertainment. In support of his argument he makes the following three points: that television commercials devalue the stories that precede and follow them; that the short length and diluted content of the average news story causes even the most serious news to seem trivial; and that executives in the television news industry have been known to promote showmanship at the cost of journalistic depth. First, Postman argues that television commercials will always defuse the importance of whatever program precedes them. As an example,
Chapter three discusses the prevalent “friends as family” metaphor and questions how widespread its use is among gay men. The chapter jumps right into the two controversial areas of family and sexuality and affirms that friends are like family. Men look at their friends as surrogates, but the type of support has evolved through the change of generations. Research from Lillian Rubin and Karen Lindsey provide a different point perspective by making us consider if the whole “Family as friends “ is just a metaphor or it is something that is literally followed in the gay community because of the rejection by blood kinship. Friends as family is just a metaphor because no matter what is said and done a blood relative continues to be a relative regardless
Postman expressed that the media was strictly being used for entertainment purposes rather than motivating the viewers to create change. He states that people would see bad news as a conversation starter. He states, “But most of our daily news is inert, consisting of information that gives us something to talk about that cannot lead to any meaningful action.” (Postman 68). Although he criticizes this problem, he understands that that’s what Americans had basically been trained to do.
The media shapes government politics by influencing political opinion and can sway uncommitted voters who may be the deciding vote. The media teaches values and life-styles and has the power to inform, educate, persuade, and change behaviors. More elections are being decided by a small percentage of the population consisting of undecided voters. The type of medium used, presentation, and the flow of the message are factors that can impact voters. In the past the media audience read, listened, or viewed political information supplied by politicians via newspapers, radio, television, billboards, and brochures.
The availability of mass media in the United States has grown throughout the last few decades. The media serves the vital function of informing citizens about political issues, yet there are certain media effects, like slant and framing, that can help political elites manipulate people by using mass media as a tool. Despite the dangers of media effects, mass media still does a good job of informing citizens about important political issues such as the Watergate scandal, Abu Ghraib, and the legalization of same-sex marriage. The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency put in place by way of a congressional statue in which gives them the authority to regulate interstate communication.
Angus Campbell once stated, “The advent of television in the late 1940’s gave rise to the belief that a new era was opening in public communication”. 75 years later, it looks like he was spot on. Since the invention of the television in the 1940’s, stations have decided to broadcast presidential debates on live television. The broadcasting of the debates has had some positive effects on presidential elections—such as a deeper connection between the president and the American people and a decrease in political party power—yet overall televised debates have had a negative effect on elections; the elections have turned too superficial and interest in candidates’ opinions on important matters have decreased. Due to televised presidential debates,
Politics and media have always had a complex and varied relationship, we will be looking at how media frames politics in a variety of different ways. The different frames will also be linked to Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death and how entertainment has come to influence the construction of frames within news stories. We will also be linking this to a variety of other sources, primarily Semetko & Valkenburg their contribution to framing. Finally, we will look at the effects of framing news pieces in the way that news agencies currently do and how it affects the viewers.
The invention of the television in 1960 created a new meaning of democracy. It made it so more people had access to political events; however, with this invention came new political strategies based on creating positive images rather than focusing on action plans to make America better. While the invention of the television may seem like it had a positive impact in elections, it was actually detrimental to America’s progress as a country. The most important aspect of the presidential elections is the audience, the entire population. Television makes it so candidates in Washington, D.C. can reach everyone anywhere there is a television.
Sitting in a coffee shop trying to break out an acceptable essay about the effect media has on our lives is ironic considering I have every form of media whirling around me at this very moment. A TV with clips of products and reality tv shows plays endlessly in from of me, along with my computer, phone, talking people, and a book in my hand. All these different forms of media are fighting for my attention and yet most of the time I am unaware of just how much of my life is centered and formed around media. In Postman’s novel, Amusing ourselves to death, Postman examines the aftermath that a shift in communication forms has had on the world we live in. Because of the role media plays in our lives, postman argues that television in particular
I disagree with the schools that would only sell healthy drinks such as milk, water, and fruit juice. First of all, some students might be allergic to milk and some fruit juice. Another reason is any students should be able to bring any type of drink they please because some students might have their own opinion of what they like to drink with their meal at school. Also, I know that students should be more careful what they drink but the students would just go home and consume more sugary drinks when they have a chance . Also, students can still be healthy when they drink unhealthy drinks because they can have one type of sugary drink a day and the rest water or they can exercise after they drink a sugary drink with their meal also, some of the healthy drinks are not really healthy at all.
The wellsprings of the media picked are unmistakable. As Jay Blumler brings up in his book The Use of Mass Communication, where he asserts that studies have demonstrated that crowd satisfactions can be gotten from no less than three particular sources: media content, introduction to the media in essence, and social connection that encapsulates the circumstance of presentation to various media (Blumler 1974). It is clear that groups of viewers invest energy utilizing the media as a part of different ways. Whether they are killing time or utilizing it as a social instrument, every medium is novel in its motivation.
