Most people believe that we imitate what we see, especially when it comes to violence shown in the media. George Gerbner--a WWII veteran, professor of communication, and the founder of cultivation theory--spent 4 decades trying to understand media and violence. What he discovered was completely opposite of what we all thought. In the video, Mean World Syndrome, 3 main issues associated with media and violence were discussed. 1) fear and insecurity 2) "happy violence" and 3) one-sided representation in the news.
When it comes to fear and insecurity, the violence we see makes us frightened by the world we live in. Ultimately, it's not the quantity of violence that influences this uneasiness, it's the quality and how the violence was done in a way that executes some sort of story that has meaning... a story that can possibly occur again but to us personally. Although we see a lot of gruesome, gory acts of violence in movies and TV shows, we see "happy violence" the most. This is humorous and entertaining violence that normally leads to a happy ending. This makes us believe that violence is okay because in the end everything will be fine. I believe this is what parents of young children are most worried about--their child thinking violence is perfectly okay and that it'll benefit their success in the world. And lastly, the one-sided representation of violence in the news. 2/3 of Americans watch the news and 63% of news stories are specifically about crimes. In the news, they show the most terrifying stories of felony--they make us believe that violent crimes are much worse than they really are. Crime rates are even dropping! But people think they're rising with the amount of violence they show. The news should display positive showings of good events to balance the bad.
First, I love the way your blog is set up and the way you present the main topic in the bold letters that are in different color. I'm new to the whole blog experience, and that really intreged me. Second, I feel like you take very effecient notes in class with all the statistic you had to back your statements. I 100% agree that the news needs to involve much more of the good that is around us and happening more frequently than the bad things they always shoot. This is why I do not watch the news, it's too depressing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Victoria, I that it was very clever how you showed to us the three main topics. You had good statistics from the video, which only helped prove you argument more. I too agree that it is crazy how the crime rate has dropped yet people think they are a bigger deal than they actually are. I also found it hard to believe that 63% of news stories are about crime! It's no wonder why we get so freaked out all the time, the place we rely on for the latest news is filling our minds up with these violent acts. Overall, good blog post!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the "quality" aspect of the violence that we see. It's the story of these violence's that draw people to be fearful. I like the statistics that you shared and I 100% agree with you that the news should be filled with positive stories instead of leading off with all crime and negative things in the world. The news should be celebrating the constant decrease in crime rate, not making us fear life.
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