The Media We Want, or We Think We Want?

When it comes to the media we get, we don't necessarily get what we want, but because of the consistency with what we actually get we want what we get because it is we are used to.  In short, we typically don't get the media we really want.  

What this all comes down to is the fact that the media is controlled and manipulated by government and other manipulative companies for the sake of advertising various products.  This is supported by the following quote by Robert Fink; "advertising is emphatic and repetitively insistent, it promotes regression and irrationality," (Fink, Getting Ready: The Media and Media Studies Pg. 18).  This describes essentially how the media feeds us commercial garbage that essentially tells us what we want.  These commercials range from products to advertisements for shows and movies.  These commercials essentially tell us that we want these things.  

Another point that Fink made was how we essentially feel like we lack something if we don't fulfill the wants instilled.  In his words "it idealizes 'the good life', it creates perpetual dissatisfaction and feelings of lack." (Fink, Getting Ready: The Media and Media Studies Pg. 19).  This line actually brought to mind a line from Tyler Durden in "Fight Club".  "We work jobs we hate, to buy shit we don't need, to impress people we don't like."  This basically speaks to how the media makes us want things that we may not necessarily need.  Media like this is definitely the sort that we do not want, but because of the way it operates according to Fink, it instills in us the "want", the desire for more.  

In conclusion, because it is all we get and due to its persuasive methods we think we want what we get when in reality, what we should want is media that doesn't try to impose its opinions on us and tell us how to think.  

Media Impacts Response

Looking back on my to what I said previously, and comparing it to what my fellow classmates had to say, I can honestly say that media has definitely not had an impact upon me at all when compared to them.  They all admit to have had varying amounts of impact from the media for them, whereas for myself, not so much.  

One major media output that comes up again and again in the other blogs is the news stations on tv, radio and newspapers.  There was one comment that hit home for me in Cassie's blog about how media often confuses more than informs; "Media can cause much confusion on people as the news reports are not checked over to see if the information is a fact or if it is nearly a made up story."  She does go on to explain how the cons of the media are outweighed by the pros, and I agree with her that people should definitely be informed, but my preference is to just avoid it when convenient.  It's very frustrating to hear about some terrible things that go on in the world and then discover how much you want to just change it, make it better, but you can't because for all your anger, you can do nothing.  I personally hate that feeling, which is why I try to avoid it all.  

Another blog that stood out was Adelina's blog.  She spoke a fair bit about her experiences with fleeing Kosovo to Canada in 1999 to escape the war between Kosovo and Serbia, and how she was treated by her peers after the events of 9/11.  "I was raised and am a Muslim and after the 9/11 attack, students that knew I was a Muslim were afraid to talk to me and even criticised me.  It’s not fair that the media can target a certain group of people just to keep their rates up. "  It's injustices like these that really frustrate me.  While the media doesn't do this as much as it used to, this kind of racism is the worst.  That somebody would have the gall to single out an entire group just because a couple of cracked eggs couldn't keep from being scrambled is just wrong, and it makes sense that it would have had a huge impact on Adelina.  This is yet another reason I avoid the mainstream media like the news.  I realize that by avoiding all media because of a couple of horrible people is essentially doing the same thing, but  I at least do not impose this choice of mine upon anyone else.  Also as said before, I hate feeling angry at something without being able to do anything about it.  

The last point I made somewhat coincides with Brandon Kennedy's views he talked about in his blog, and how he surrounds himself in pro-social media to better his views on the world.  "I would like to say that as a child, for the most part, I used the television I watched to better my worldviews and give me a positive outlook on life. "  I can honestly say that this makes total sense to me, and I would certainly have done the same, if I wasn't so vulnerable to that funny trait found in many humans that just subconsciously loves being miserable.  

In conclusion, I reccommend don't watch stuff that makes you angry.  Watch the news if you want to know what's going on in the world or be a hermit like me.  Just be wary of those odd ones out that mislead and point fingers at large groups of people.  If you're like me and can't stand pure positivity and need to hear about or see terrible people do terrible things, I suggest some good fiction to vent it all out. 

Links:

Cassie: http://adelina23.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/1f25-post-1-media-impact/

Adelina: http://cassiemajor.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/1f25-post-1-media-impact/#comments

Brandon: http://bkennedy94.blogspot.ca/2013/09/how-signicant-do-i-think-impact-of-mass.html