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Influences of media in life
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Effects of Television on Our Society
INTRODUCTION
Plato once, prophetically, posed a question that hints at the very core of this project. In philosophizing on the issue of entertainment and its various, sometimes questionable, sources he asked his fellow citizens to consider the following
“Shall we just carelessly allow our children to hear casual tales which may be devised by casual persons, and to receive into their minds ideas for the most part the very opposite of those which we should wish them to have when they are grown up?”
Shall we indeed? It is an ongoing debate. Plato obviously recognized the power stories have to shape who and what we are, and although some may be reluctant to admit to how much influence TV has on their character and behaviors, the evidence is difficult to refute.
First we must all acknowledge that what we, as members of a society, choose to watch on TV affects us, as we are not simply passive receivers of the messages we encounter on our TV screens; television viewing is not simply a spectator sport. We may feel like mindless drones as we sink ever deeper into our couches and let ourselves be entertained by sitcoms, but when we finally pull ourselves up and off the couch, we do not simply leave the images and messages behind. They are now a part of us; all that we have seen and heard becomes a part of our memories and shapes our perceptions of reality, to what extent is arguable. We are constantly interpreting what we see and hear, even subconsciously, and the sitcoms that have steadily infiltrated our daily lives contribute to a shared version of reality. A culture is based upon these shared meanings, and provides us with a lens for understanding the world we live in.
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17.The Cosby Show (2002) The Cosby Show Changes the Way Blacks are Viewed. September 2002. Available Online: http://www.engl.virginia.edu/~enwr1016/public_html/amc2d/cosby.html
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18.The Globe and Mail (2001). The Sad, Cruel World of The Simpsons.
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Strictly entertainment in its finest sense, Plato would be appalled to find the number of ‘reality’ TV shows that draw millions of viewers and experience almost cult-like followings. Watching a show that depicts a glamorous lifestyle with little or no regard for rules is identical to those prisoners who were chained to observe the shadows upon the wall believing them to be real. Even the name, ‘reality’ television, is indistinguishable from the shadows viewed by the cave dwellers. “Then in every way such prisoners would deem reality to be nothing else than the shadows of the artificial objects.” (paragraph 13)
Younger generations and the more vulnerable in society can be influenced in avoiding peer pressure, but for the individuals filled with wisdom, the shows can reflect based on American modern society. Everybody Loves Raymond and Full House are great shows who faces similar life obstacles a typical person living in the US has today. As a result, most modern family comedy sit-coms are reflecting our society’s generations and the more vulnerable. Based on the success of early family sit coms, American’s adapted to a fast pace lifestyle with the help of modern
With nearly global use of the television; it has become a preferred method with which to influence and regulate people’s thinking, creating an unreal and idealistic, hypothetical reality which people strive to emulate. This is accomplished through shows and movies; the majority of which emphasize a perfect world, entirely free of corruption and poverty; where everyone is physically attractive, emotionally stable, and economically wealthy; a distorted reflection of our own world. This leads real people to attempt to create this imaginary world, only to fail; thus generating in themselves a sense of unworthiness, which in turn prompts them to try harder, to stop being individuals and become uniform.
In America, violence has always been an integral part of national culture. Crime and bloodshed are glorified both on and off screen. The more disturbing the act of violence, the more enthralled the public seems. The most prolific of crimes, those committed by infamous serial killers, inspire the most attention. As said by Jeff Lindsay, creator of the book series that inspired the wildly-popular television program, Dexter, “We’re sickened and disgusted, but we need to know. And the more we know about the scene, the more we really are horrified” (“Sympathy for the Devils”). Violence, especially committed by this special class of felons, is enthralling. News reports play a role in this strange attraction, as it is through the news that people even have knowledge of such killers, but the evolution in the “serial killer genre” (Lindsay, “Sympathy for the Devils”) of film and television helps to desensitize people to the gruesome murders that are committed. This begs the question of whether this disturbing trend should be stopped, lest the American “culture of violence” (this has a source) continues to grow stronger. Through news reports, film, and television, criminals are constantly romanticized through use of sympathetic characterization and gratuitous depictions of their crimes, which lends to peoples’ increasingly positive attitudes toward violence and, in turn, feeds the growing culture of violence in America.
Television has long been a part of American culture. From its conception until today there have been people who believe that television is a waste of time and energy and there have been those in the opposite camp who believe that television should be a part of every American life. There is also a middle ground of people who watch television to keep informed on what’s happening in the world as well as entertained by the latest sitcom, or more popularly today, reality show.
There are very few countries currently participating in whaling. The countries that are still involved in large scale whaling are Iceland, Norway, and Japan; however, Iceland and Japan claim that their whaling is specifically for research purposes. There is a low level of official international participation, but most of the whaling that is taking place is illegal. Even though whaling appears to be a relatively long lasting tradition, commercial whaling has only been a major industry since the 1800’s. Because this is a comparatively recent market, it should not be very hard to steer people away from it and towards a more profitable area.
On the cultural challenge for universal human rights, some claims historical root of human rights in Europe and America, where there are several declarations of rights and revolutions to claim a tradition of struggling for the right. Hence, the fulfill of universal human rights in other areas may come up with a significant challenge. (Kühnhardt 1991) Universal human rights also are seen as a newly formed capitalism and would intervene state sovereignty.1 Another middle approach is to search a reconciliation through cross-cultural or intercultural dialog and recognition of plurality. (Etzioni 2010; Yu 2005; An-Naim 1995), an even universality of human rights should be reached by cultural dialog.(Donnelly 1984) Back to the construction of United Nations and the tuning point of drafting the UDHR, it is a deep reflection to inhuman atrocities and moves forward to considering how to intervene states overpower to violate human rights. However, while debating human rights within cultural diversity, the issue of human wrongs disappeared.(Chen 2010) Either jumping into a linear historical prospect or
From the beginnings with the Cyprus Cylinder to the establishment of the formal International Bill of Rights, the concept (and acceptance) of human rights have come a long way. In the long and varied history of the process, it has not only been ‘Western’ individuals that have advocated for a formal adoption of human rights. Gandhi, a young lawyer from India argued for and insisted upon the validation of rights for all human beings. Even so, criticisms surrounding the Bill of Rights have centred around the idea that human rights are a western concept, and one that has been imposed upon other nations. Summed up neatly, ‘a group of nations is seeking to redefine the content of the term human rights against the will of the Western states…this group sees the current definition as part of the ideological patrimony of Western civilization and argue that the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration reflect Western values and not their own.’ (Cerna 1994:740) To critically analyze this idea effectively, it is important to step back and determine the true intentions and the realities of the process used in creating the Bill of Rights.
However, John Humphrey, a Canadian professor of law and the UN Secretariat’s Human Rights Director, authored its first draft . Also instrumental in the drafting of the UDHR were Eleanor Roosevelt; Chang Peng-chun, a Chinese playwright, philosopher, and diplomat; and Charles Habib Malik, a Lebanese philosopher and diplomat. (Andreopoulos, 2006) When drafting the declaration there were a series of debates on a range of issues, including the meaning of human dignity, the importance of contextual factors in the determination of the content and range of rights, the relationship of the individual to the state and to society, the potential challenges to the sovereign prerogatives of member states, the connection between rights and responsibilities, and the role of spiritual values in individual and societal
Salehi Esfahani, Hadi, and Parastoo Shajari. "Gender, Education, Family Structure, and the Allocation of Labor in Iran." : 2-9. Web. 1 Jan. 2014.
Whaling in Japan and Norway initially stemmed from whales being a natural food resource. “From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s whale meat was the single biggest source of meat in Japan.” (Wingfield-Hayes,
On December 10th in 1948, the general assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration, although not legally binding, created “a common standard of achievement of all people and all nations…to promote respect for those rights and freedoms” (Goodhart, 379). However, many cultures assert that the human rights policies outlined in the declaration undermine cultural beliefs and practices. This assertion makes the search for universal human rights very difficult to achieve. I would like to focus on articles 3, 14 and 25 to address how these articles could be modified to incorporate cultural differences, without completely undermining the search for human rights practices.
... human rights within their own jurisdictions in one shape or another, the claim for a universal consensus on human rights is still a challenge and will continue to be. Those who try to impose their view on human rights on other societies fail to realize how diverse the world today is and how much culture and tradition have an impact on a country/states society and view. Cultural arrogance is not a means to developing an understanding between states. The challenge is to work towards the indigenization of human rights and the assertion within each country's traditions and history. Standards being internationally can only become reality when applied by countries within their own legal systems. Working unitedly in making decisions on the basis of what is best instead of following a single doctrine can encourage compromise to a worldwide mutual agreement of human rights.
Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the discourse of international human rights and its importance has increasingly become indoctrinated in the international community. In the context of political and economic development, there have been debates on how and which rights should be ordered and protected throughout different cultures and communities. Though there is a general acceptance of international human rights around the globe, there is an approach that divides them into civil and political rights and social and economic rights, which puts emphasis where it need not be.
The role that globalization plays in spreading and promoting human rights and democracy is a subject that is capable spurring great debate. Human rights are to be seen as the standards that gives any human walking the earth regardless of any differences equal privileges. The United Nations goes a step further and defines human rights as,