The Media: If you could change it, would you?

Hello,

This kind of goes long with the discussion about the axe body spray, but I want to know what the community of M-F thinks about the media as a whole.

I'm talking about song lyrics, commercials, and such containing racism/sexism/illegal activities, and all that.

Since i'm not that old, I don't really know what the media was like 20 years ago, but is the pattern going to continue 20 years from now?

Where do you think the guidelines are, and what do you think the guidelines should be?

I could look through my iTunes library now and find some offensive songs, but does it play a role in the lives of citizens today?

Would you want your child watching the same television shows and listening to the same music as you do?

It just makes me wonder what the world is going to be like in the years to come.
Look at the last 50 years.
Like I said, i'm not that experienced in the age, but it seems like the skirts have gotten shorter, the lyrics have gotten more vulgar, and the statistics have gotten larger.

Do you think it's just part of modernization, or are we taking a turn for the worst?

If you could change anything, what would it be and why?



This could easily be something I see myself wondering the rest of my life.
Maybe I should talk to a career therapist.


Anyway, I want to know what you folks think!

We have these writing prompts in english that are supposed to make you think, well consider this one of them!
I always get the topic and then skip the rest of the prompt and take the "OR: Write about the topic in your own way" option.
Anything is encouraged!


Tanner.

Some of the crap they put on TV today is appalling. I wish they would change that. Otherwise, everything else chcks out okay for me.

Tanner being an oldie gotta tell you there is nothing wrong with media today as such. The broad consensus and independent TV news channels make sure of this.

In 'olden times' as you youngsters would put it, the media was much more controlled by one or two magnates with the opportunity to change governments etc as they saw fit.

Fortunately here in Australia we exported our major problem to you guys!

Skirts have gotten shorter, but they will get longer, and then shorter again and so on. It's part of the fashion cycle. The difference is that 20 years ago you were pretty much guaranteed that every chick wearing a short skirt had underwear on with it, today that is far from true.

As society changes what we accept changes with it. In the 50 a TV show with a black man and a white Woman living together would have been unthinkable, today it's no big deal. In the 70's a TV show about a guy and 2 women living together was scandalous, today it seems silly to even think twice about it. In the 90s a show about a Gay man or gay couple was pushing the envelope, today it's no big deal. 40 years ago, drinking and driving was no big deal, today it is big bad "no-no". 20 years ago, drugs scandalous were ands it's still about the same today. That seems to be the one area where we as a society have not really changed much.

What kills me is that we, as a society, idolize youth and then try to corrupt it as soon as we can so it can be exploited. Look at Brittany Spears, Christina Agulera, Katie Holms and Miley Cyrus as examples. Since we seem to accept it, it will continue until we decide to change it.

How many of you male teens out there have seen questionable pictures of your female classmates (and how many of you female teens out there have take some) that they took themselves and then sent out via PM or e-mail? 20 years ago, that sort of thing was unheard of. Today it's part of the norm for teen society. Until parents catch on and stop allowing their kids to get away with it, it will continue. But when those teens are parents, I bet they will be a lot more aware of the technological capabilities of what their can do and maybe they will pay more attention. Or maybe not. That leads back to my "self absorbed society"comment in the other thread.

I just wish it weren't so biased. Plus I think the whole "making music for the shock value" is getting old fast *cough* ICP*cough*

Thanks harry, we appreciate it!

I personally hate the media, and their ability to fabricate people's thoughts to what they want. People hear it on the news, it must be right. People now days can't think for themselves, which is why the media will be choosing the president. Not the American people themselves. It's not who would be a great president, it's "Bash our opponent as much as possible on the TV more than they bash us. We will be the lesser of two evils." That's my rant on the media and TV. And as for censorship, each country is different. American can't have any sexual scenes in it without parents freaking out, but kids can watch violence and killing with out much worry. Ironic... a thing of love and unity can't be viewed, but death and hatred is fine in more people's minds than the first. If I remember right, England is opposite on this, and as it should be.

However, I'm not saying I like censorship at all in both cases, but it is one of those things that is just better to have than not to have at certain points. there are things on public television that should not be able to be broadcasted. Just because one freak wants to claim rights to being able to watch <insert disturbing act here>, parents shouldn't have to worry about watching their kids 24/7 if they are watching the idiot box.

ogacon said:

Thanks harry, we appreciate it!

I personally hate the media, and their ability to fabricate people's thoughts to what they want. People hear it on the news, it must be right. People now days can't think for themselves, which is why the media will be choosing the president. Not the American people themselves. It's not who would be a great president, it's "Bash our opponent as much as possible on the TV more than they bash us. We will be the lesser of two evils." That's my rant on the media and TV. And as for censorship, each country is different. American can't have any sexual scenes in it without parents freaking out, but kids can watch violence and killing with out much worry. Ironic... a thing of love and unity can't be viewed, but death and hatred is fine in more people's minds than the first. If I remember right, England is opposite on this, and as it should be.

However, I'm not saying I like censorship at all in both cases, but it is one of those things that is just better to have than not to have at certain points. there are things on public television that should not be able to be broadcasted. Just because one freak wants to claim rights to being able to watch <insert disturbing act here>, parents shouldn't have to worry about watching their kids 24/7 if they are watching the idiot box.

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Yea I totally agree with you about how the media manipulates/fabricates peoples thoughts.

Waterpolo820 said:

Yea I totally agree with you about how the media manipulates/fabricates peoples thoughts.

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See, I don't view it that way. People allow themselves to be manipulated because they are lazy. It's easier for someone to think about the important things for you so that you can get back to MySpace/Facebook and your iPod.

I wish advertising done where they just are trying to be random would just quit it. Save for some Starburst and the Feast campaign for Snickers, the rest suck. And it may just be the agency (the one doing Skittles is also doing a few others of the same kind). It's an insult to us creative advertisers.

But first and foremost, I want to get rid of how news are done. Too much instilling needless fear to people, making them reach a decision before they even think about any individual situation. Get rid of FOX, change CNN a bit, that whole thing.

Music? I could care less. I know what I like and don't like, and I don't like what they play so I don't listen to it.

baggss said:

See, I don't view it that way. People allow themselves to be manipulated because they are lazy. It's easier for someone to think about the important things for you so that you can get back to MySpace/Facebook and your iPod.

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Exactly.

Now as for the media electing presidents, I don't feel up to educating the confused on the election process, so I digress. sigh....

And as for changing how the news is done - first let me back up by saying Fox and CNN aren't gong anywhere anytime soon, so change the channel if you have issues with those media outlets - and for the record, Fox, CNN nor any other news outlet told you to use duct tape to seal your home in case of a biological threat.

So now we come full circle.

EGGO said:

But first and foremost, I want to get rid of how news are done. Too much instilling needless fear to people, making them reach a decision before they even think about any individual situation. Get rid of FOX, change CNN a bit, that whole thing.

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I feel the same only I would keep FOX and get rid of CNN.;D

I would put a disclaimer at the begining of every show to say what the real effects are if you watch the program on TV. Like how the the M15, Moderate violence one we have now does. I'll give a few examples to try and show what I mean.

Big Brother - Decreases intelligence at an exponential rate while viewing anything and everything people can do.

The news: Informative but so very boring. May need to cry self to sleep afterwards.

MTV: Where wannabe rock gods strut their stuff. Viewers may experience migraines from the loud music.

The Ashes (5 x 5 day cricket games for those who don't know): The longest possible way ever invented to see who gets to keep cricket stump ashes for another year. Viewers will rarely get to see the final ball cause as the boredom will often drift them off to sleep.

In the United States, we tend to put responsibility on the individual. The government is not here to protect us from ourselves or from 'harmful' media (which is subjective anyway). This is one of the fundamental differences between the US and other countries, particularly in Western Europe. Personally, I would not trade this responsibility for anything.

'Bad' media will always be around. As baggss said, different generations have different ideas of what is right and wrong. It is simply part of our ever flowing society.

Ogacon, considering how young you are, I would suggest seriously examining your generation. Though it has its flaws, it has so many redeeming qualities. You should celebrate these instead of dwelling on the negative.

cheesybanana said:

In the United States, we tend to put responsibility on the individual. The government is not here to protect us from ourselves or from 'harmful' media (which is subjective anyway). This is one of the fundamental differences between the US and other countries, particularly in Western Europe. Personally, I would not trade this responsibility for anything.

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You do realize you're speaking more as a Democrat than a Republican here? That's not entirely true. We may put more responsibility on the individual compared to to a lot of other countries (not all of them) but we don't "tend" to. Just read the news and what laws are trying to be passed.

I'm sure cheesy meant historically we tend to focus more on the individual. It's unfortunate that post WWII the trend has shifted toward larger and more intrusive government.

EGGO, he's speaking as a libertarian, not as a Democrat. Democrats are all for big government, so his statements are more in line with traditional Republicans than anything even remotely similar to what Democrats believe.

As for the media question. I watch what I want, when I want. I download the TV shows I'm interested in, and I get my news from various sources online on both sides of the political spectrum. I don't watch the idiot box as the commercials are annoying and network/cable news outlets are outright retarded. As for music, again, I listen to what I want. If I find something to be too offensive, I don't listen to it.

It's all about personal responsibility. Take charge of your life. If you find certain shows to be too violent, then don't watch them. If you find certain types of music to be too vulgar, then don't listen to it.

the8thark said:

I would put a disclaimer at the begining of every show to say what the real effects are if you watch the program on TV.

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You forgot, JERRY SPRINGER: Proof that there are too many trailer parks in America.