The Medias Dumber Democracy Essay - 1557 Words

For the average American there is no escape from mass media. It can be found within our news papers, movies, television and internet, which account for most of our news and entertainment source. In Michael Parentis book, Make Believe Media, the Politics of Entertainment, Parenti attests that this mass media clouds our societys perception of reality by propagating prefabricated images that create and validate a superficial ideological world. Unfortunately, people are denied the opportunity to obtain and interpret information, which impacts our society, by media conglomerates that wish to keep their industry profitable and on the rise. Effectively, the American publics information and entertainment sources are controlled by some ten†¦show more content†¦Thus our notion of people, places, public policy, and even the world can be shaped by the ongoing storytelling within our news and entertainment media. Both children and adults are consumed by the storytelling of those few conglomerates that make up the media industry. While much of the American public is aware of the medias influential power over our society, many believe they are immune to these influences and therefore underestimate the actual effects it can have within our lives. Parenti believes media can even influences these immune Americans through the ideal of political entertainment. This ideal embodies a media with subtle hints of various political, cultural and systematic views that are embedded with in a programs or movies characters, contents or plots. While this influence may be indirect, much of it goes undetected by the wary public who claim immunity from such media. Furthermore, Parenti argues that such critiques of influential media by the wary public are biased in themselves, stating that, this editing is itself partly conditioned by the previously internalized images fed to audiences by the same media they are now viewing. Ultimately things ranging from style and social status, to love and relationships and even to our per ception of foreign culture is all influenced by media and its conglomerates. They are the ultimateShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Divided We Now Stand Essay1169 Words   |  5 Pagesmindset? Democracy doesn’t. Thus, our current government hinders in growth and productivity. The government is dysfunctional because its members focus on the like-minded beliefs of their prideful groups instead of being focused on the process of fixing government issues and approving policies. Although tribalism affects government officials it affects American citizens as well. Cass R. Sunstein author of â€Å"How Facebook Makes Us Dumber† uses data from a study that proves that social media users createRead MoreThe Common Core Standards Of The United States1912 Words   |  8 Pagescountry has been meticulously shaped to provide the world with the most knowledgeable and potentially successful citizens possible. From the beginning of adulthood, which is associated with the age of eighteen an d the ability to participate in the democracy our country stands for, young people have difficulty obtaining jobs without a diploma from a university. The standards aim to fulfill the necessary prerequisites of colleges, workforce training programs, and employers (â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions†Read MoreAmerican Popular Culture and Its Impact in a Globalized World8501 Words   |  35 Pagesexplained? Popular cultures influence in the world is different depending on the region. The larger question therefore is whether Americas dominance is due to the intrinsic strength of its culture Ââ€" its sheer flair and energy, its incarnation of democracy itself as marketable entertainment, its forging of a new international language (Rockwell 1994) Ââ€" or is it merely a function of Ameri-can military and economic domination, or capitalism run amok? Certainly, some of Americas success is due to aggressiveRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesInterior Design: Suzanne Duda and Michael Fruhbeis Permissions Project Manager: Shannon Barbe Manager, Cover Visual Research Permissions: Karen Sanatar Manager Central Design: Jayne Conte Cover Art: Getty Images, Inc. Cover Design: Suzanne Duda Lead Media Project Manager: Denise Vaughn Full-Service Project Management: Sharon Anderson/BookMasters, Inc. Composition: Integra Software Services Printer/Binder: Edwards Brothers Cover Printer: Coral Graphics Text Font: 10/12 Weidemann-Book Credits and acknowledgments