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More handpicked essays just for you.
How media affects stereotypes
Effect of stereotype on society
How media affects stereotypes
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Have you ever listened to a news story and thought it sounded one-sided? Or have you thought the news didn't seem to report the whole story or the most important aspect of a story? Journalists possess the power to influence a whole group of people with their work. When writers input their opinion, they generate bias. Consecutively, this influences a reader's reaction to a topic.
Katie Couric, a well known American journalist once said, “They like being able to turn on the television day in and day out to see someone that they know and they feel comfortable with and trust hopefully and respect even.” (“Katie Couric Quote”) Essentially, a television journalist welcomes themselves into homes all over the world everyday and it is up to the resident to put their whole trust in them. Telling people the news can be difficult, but it is also an experience that the journalist and the viewers experience together. It is the trust of that journalist that creates viewership and the urges to turn to certain channels when gathering news.
In The Essay “The News” Neil Postman demonstrates the problems with News on TV and the Psychology behind it of why our society continues to watch. Postman displayed many points that becuase television news is must appeal to everyone in a short amount of time; the coverage is often shallow and gives a false impression of the world. Neil Postman describes the time restrictions of (22 mins) because of commercials overtaking the news. This reflects “The News” as we know it to become a big piece of entertainment that has nothing to do with the intellectual information that affects our lives. The lack of in-depth look on News nowadays draws an Appearance vs. Reality that the News isn’t what It should be.
In her TED talk called “The danger of a single story” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, speaks about the negative effects, single stories can have on a certain people. A single story is created when the same discourse is being repeated over an over again in books, TV shows or in the news. The single story creates a stereotypical, one sided perception of a group of people. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells a story about how she, came to believe a single story in her childhood. When she was a child she read many American and English books, about people, with whom she had very little in common.
Whether it’s just trying to get the information out there or trying to prevent these situations, news reporters make society uneasy because of the information they are putting out into the world
The first theory, agenda setting through gatekeeping, is evident in the film. Agenda setting “looks on story selection as a determinant of public perceptions of issue importance” (McCombs, Shaw and Weaver, 7). The term gatekeeping is similarly used to “describe the way the media make decisions about what stories to discard or run and when and how much attention to give a story” (Laidlaw, 41). In the movie, the British media highlighted the death of Princess Diana and how the Royal Family was not showing enough grief. The British media prioritized this story, which can be seen from how the announcement of Princess Diana’s death appeared on numerous media outlets.
We, humans, tend to daily communicate with one another, through the art of storytelling. What we have not yet all come to realize, are the dangers that storytelling can actually cause. Everyone including myself, is guilty of believing and adding on to the weight of the single stories we are told. The same single story that could have the power to break someone 's dignity, is capable of fixing it as well.
The Braindead Megaphone written by George Saunders analyzes the many negative effects that nowaday news media has on society. He begins by illustrating a scene in which a man disrupts a party and drowns out all voices with a megaphone. Now this imagery is a metaphor in which the megaphone represents the news media such as newspaper, television, radio, and of course the internet. As Saunders narration continues the people at the party soon begin to respond to whatever the man with the megaphone says and even starts to mimic things he does and say. In fact it does not matter what he says as long as the megaphone is in his hand.
Every person has the right to be and feel free. They have the right to be independent and live happily. Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences a revelation about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive.
1. Single stories are stereotypes that are based off of one perspective of a group of people. Single stories are built upon each other and define people;however, single stories aren't always true. There is a saying "don't judge a book by its cover". However, people of all generations are very judgmental.
Hour of Freedom “The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. It details a wife named Mrs. Louise Mallard, who struggles with a heart condition. After learning of her husband, Brentley Mallard’s death in a railroad accident, Mrs. Mallard deals with grief in many stages. Chopin incorporates many literary devices throughout “The Story of an Hour,” but imagery is the most evident.
How powerful is a single story? At Ted Global 2009, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, expresses her view of single stories and the ways in which they are used to create stereotypes and divides us as a people. Adichie’s talk, “The Danger of a Single Story”, stimulates careful consideration to what happens when people and situations are reduced to a single narrative. She believes single stories are highly correlated with the power structures of the world and have the ability to strip people of their humanity.
Effects of Single Stories and Post-colonialism The power of a single story is that it can make us believe that the world is as the story tells it, without questioning the authors who are constructing the narrative. According to Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story” speech, That is how to create a single story, show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become, it is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power. Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person.
Imagine having so much pesticides in use that people and animals were actually dying from it. In the 1950’s the overuse of pesticides was a serious problem. Rachel Carson was an activist who was against the use and overuse for these pesticides. She wanted to address this problem to the government and the public and warn about the harmful effects pesticides have on the environment and the people. In “A Fable For Tomorrow”, Rachel Carson utilizes ethos, logos and pathos in order to bring awareness to the overuse of pesticides.
The story of an Hour Critical Analysis through a Psychological Perspective using both Freud and Lacan’s theory approach. In the beginning of the story, the Chopin informs the audience of Mrs. Mallard serious heart condition. Her friends and family were worried how to break the news to her of her husband’s death. After giving it much thought Mrs. Mallard was given the news as gently as possible of her husband’s death.