Analysis of Michael Medved's America versus Hollywood
*No Works Cited
Film critic, Michael Medved is aware that by publishing his book, "Hollywood verses America," he will not only enrage mostly everyone in the show business industry, but he will also loose some of his friends because of what he wrote. His strongly opinionated critique of popular culture examines the recent shift in the content of today's television, films, music and art. He has gathered statistics and opinions as well as shared personal experiences, all to illustrate one major point; popular culture has taken a turn for the worst.
Medved proves he's not the only one who is not pleased with what's happening in today's media. Figures prove that the American public is showing dissatisfaction with television, film and music. Major television networks' ratings have decreased, movie theater ticket sales are down and so are the sales of tapes and CDs. The recent loss of audience is blamed on the abandonment of traditional values by the media. Medved consistently receives letters from moviegoers expressing their frustration with the industry for this reason. Hollywood no longer portrays what most American families believe in, but instead it promotes foul language, sex and violence. Not only does it promote these vulgar behaviors but also it insults traditional values such as patriotism and religion and labels their supporters as conservatives and fanatics.
In partial agreement of Medved’s claims, I too see that the overall quality of American films is continuously dropping. I have seen many recent films in which the only element that could possibly keep the viewer interested are the constant actions of violence. One particular film that falls into this category is the 1999 release, The Matrix. This science fiction/action film is about a group of technologically advanced pioneers who venture into a parallel world to stop an unnamed enemy from doing some unnamed bad thing. The film was a series of chasing and fighting scenes in which they just kept coming up with new ways for the good guys to escape or shoot the enemy and new ways for the enemies to die. The climax of the story was at the end when the main good guy, Neo, had one last fight with the main bad guy. The fight ends when Neo is finally killed but then he is suddenly resurrected and he kills the bad guy; the world is safe again. The plot was nothing more than the overdone myth of "good verses evil," in which after a long struggle, good wins.
Today, American film is among the most internationally supported commodities. Financially, its contributions are enormous: the industry is responsible for the circulation of billions of dollars each year. Since its explosion into the new media markets during the mid-twentieth century, film has produced consistently growing numbers of viewers and critics alike. Sparking debate over the nature of its viewing, film is now being questioned in social, political, and moral arenas for its potential impact on an audience. Critics claim that watching films is a passive activity in which the viewer becomes subconsciously absorbed, and creates a reliance or "addiction" to the medium, and thus can be influenced by any perpetual concepts or images. Advocates, however, argue that viewing such programs is an active process in which audience members are able to choose to what they are exposed, and interpret messages based on their individual needs and background. Perhaps both views are too extreme. Film from the 1950s to present, as will be explored in this essay, is an extremely useful medium, often underestimated within the label of "entertainment"; unfortunately, it may be partially responsible for current socio-cultural problems, too. The critical question, then, is whether film has fostered the progress of a more open-minded America, or rather hindered its development through the perpetuation of antiquated concepts of stereotypes, densensitized violence and breeding of normalcy.
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
The United States is the biggest economical power in the world today, and consequently has also the strongest and largest media industry. Therefore, it is essential to take a look at the crucial relationship between the media and the popular culture within the social context of the United States for a better understanding of the issue. For a simpler analysis of the subject we shall divide the media industry into three main branches: Entertainment, News and Commercials (which is the essential device for the survival of the industry, and shall be considered in integration with Entertainment). Researches have shown that the most popular reason behind TV viewing is relaxation and emptying the mind.
That attitude Americans used to embrace was one that promoted strong morals. Racy material was a rarity, but more importantly an attitude of acceptance of this material was even more scarce. Comedians on television did not rely on obscene language and movies did not rely on graphic sexual content for an audience. The media has...
... ed (BFI, 1990) we read … “contrary to all trendy journalism about the ‘New Hollywood’ and the imagined rise of artistic freedom in American films, the ‘New Hollywood’ remains as crass and commercial as the old…”
Maasik, Sonia, and J. Fisher Solomon. "The Offensive Movie Cliche That Won't die." Signs of life in the U.S.A.: readings on popular culture for writers. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1994. 407-411. Print.
Popular culture is the artistic and creative expression in entertainment and style that appeals to society as whole. It includes music, film, sports, painting, sculpture, and even photography. It can be diffused in many ways, but one of the most powerful and effective ways to address society is through film and television. Broadcasting, radio and television are the primary means by which information and entertainment are delivered to the public in virtually every nation around the world, and they have become a crucial instrument of modern social and political organization. Most of today’s television programming genres are derived from earlier media such as stage, cinema and radio. In the area of comedy, sitcoms have proven the most durable and popular of American broadcasting genres. The sitcom’s success depends on the audience’s familiarity with the habitual characters and the situations
A new edition to the course lineup, this week's film classic, Sunset Boulevard. This film will focus on the culture and environment of the Hollywood studio system that produces the kind of motion pictures that the whole world recognizes as "Hollywood movies." There have been many movies from the silent era to the present that either glamorize or vilify the culture of Hollywood, typically focusing on the celebrities (both in front of and behind the camera) who populate the "dream factories" of Hollywood. But we cannot completely understand the culture of Hollywood unless we recognize that motion pictures are big business as well as entertainment, and that Hollywood necessarily includes both creative and commercial
One of the greatest exports of American culture is American media. American media is one of the most widely distributed and consumed cultural forms from the United States. This means that not only do Americans consume large quantities of their own media, but many other countries in the world consume American media, too. People in other countries will not interpret or understand the media in precisely the same ways that Americans will and do, nonetheless, many aspects of American culture and American reality are communicated to numerous viewers as part of the content in the media. The media is an important tool in the discussion of race, class, and gender in America. It takes a savvy viewer to discriminate between and understand what media accurately represents reality, what media does not, or which aspects of experience are fictionalized, and which elements ...
Postman has valid points when he claims that television and media are destroying the American society. Postman is right to assume that television is manipulating the way Americans think. However, television can provide Americans with both right and wrong morals. Since this book was written in 1985, Postman could not have predicted the influence technology has on the current American population. The theory he applies to television is similar to the theory he probably would have used on modern day media. The dependency we have on media reiterates Postman’s thesis that Americans are losing critical thinking skills and basic human values.
The media, including television programming, cartoons, film, the news, as well as literature and magazines, is a very powerful and pervasive medium for expression. It can reach a large number of people and convey ideas, cultural norms, stereotypic roles, power relationships, ethics, and values. Through these messages, the mass media may have a strong influence on individual behavior, views, and values, as well as in shaping national character and culture. Although there is a great potential for the media to have a positive and affirming effect on the public and society at large, there may be important negative consequences when the messages conveyed are harmful, destructive, or violent.
There was a continued discussion of the public vs. masses. Following propaganda research, this debate looked at the tension between communism and capitalism and broadened the discussion from politics and the economy to include education and socialization, among others. At this point, researchers viewed mass media as having a more nuanced role as a tool. There was more of a focus on how people and society influence and use the media, as opposed to the other way around. In Riesman, Denny & Glaser (1950), the researchers traced the changes in storytelling and asked “how should society function?” How should society behave and what does social control mean? For Macdonald (1957), the new mass culture was significantly different from high culture and folk culture (pg. 344), as it had a homogenizing and trivializing effect. In Powerdermaker (1950), the researcher employs the qualitative nature of critical theory in discussing how Hollywood’s body of ideas influence their process and product. This ethnography study discussed the dangers of commodification and just how ingrained it is. In Meyerson and Katz (1957), the “fad” is argued as a power tool, with the ability to facilitate social change. Not only does the piece offer insight into this behavior, it also provides a prototype for change via the fad. These examples explored resonance of the Frankfurt School that eventually
Schiach, M. “TV: Technology and Cultural Decline”, Discourse on Popular Culture, Polity Press, 4 pages.
Pop culture is a reflection of social change, not a cause of social change” (John Podhoretz). It encompasses the advertisements we see on T.V, the clothes we wear, the music we listen too, and it’s the reason Leonardo DiCaprio has not won an Oscar yet. It defines and dictates the desires and fears of the mainstream members of society; and it is so ingrained into our lives that it has become as natural as breathing. Moreover, adults never even bat an eyelash at all the pop culture and advertising that surrounds them since it has become just another part of everyday life. Pop culture is still somewhat seen as entertainment enjoyed by the lower class members of society; but pop culture standards change over time. A notable example of this is the sixteenth century author, William Shakespeare, since his works were considered pop culture, entertainment that could be enjoyed by everyone, but now they are considered literary classics. While pop culture encompasses most aspects of our lives, its influence is most obvious through each generations reaction to media,
Media technologies are becoming an important aspect of today’s society. Each and every day, people interact with media of many different forms. Media is commonly defined as being a channel of communication. Radio, newspapers, and television are all examples of media. It is impossible to assume that media is made up of completely unbiased information and that the media companies do not impose their own control upon the information being supplied to media users. Since many people use media very frequently, it is obvious to assume that it has affects on people. According to the text book Media Now, "media effects are changes in knowledge, attitude, or behavior that result from exposure to the mass media," (386). This leaves us with many unanswered questions about media and its influences. This paper will look at how the effects of media are determined and explore the main affects on today’s society - violence, prejudice, and sexual behavior.