Fear Culture Research Paper

626 Words2 Pages

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear”. Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger if we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from genuine threats. But often we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and consequently hang back for no good reason. Traumas or bad experiences can trigger a fear response within us that is hard to suppress. This is why it can be such an incredibly important tool for others to wield especially politicians. Often they are able to manipulate the general population and push upon us their agenda due to it. “Fear is a mind killer” an evolutionary trait with a purpose, an emotion for survival and in recent studies an inhibitor of knowledge. The media also plays a vital part …show more content…

”The fear of the unknown “ plays a major role in politics and is a key reason as to why we are so easily manipulated. The fear culture that is so prevalent in America has been adopted by Australia and its effects are detrimental to our Australia’s psyche. If we are to progress not just as a country, but as a species, we must learn that “The survival of our democracies depends not on our capacity to hit back at the terrorists, but on our capacity to think for ourselves” and not allow the media or politicians think for us.
“If It Bleeds, It Leads” Fear is undeniably present in traditional media, heightening-anxiety and depression in its viewers. They employ a variety of practices to ensure that fear is always fresh in our minds. Often, these practices present misleading information and promote anxiety in the viewer. The first notable case of persuasive practise they utilise is the “teaser”. In order to grab the viewers’ attention, news casters persuade the viewer through divulging the so-called solutions for reducing the identified fear, for example if I were to ask you/state in an ad something like this” "What's in your cosmetics that YOU need to know about? Watch 8 news at 6 to find

Open Document