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Negative effect of entertainment on society
The negative effects of entertainment in our society
The negative effects of entertainment in our society
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Reading and writing. Painting and drawing. Dancing and singing. Just a few of the many forms of entertainment that shape American culture. Many people seek various outlets in their leisure time, both active and passive; and whether it be sports, TV, music, etc. most can agree that entertainment is a fundamental aspect of today’s society. Although its influence is undeniable, some people (like those that Neal Gabler writes about in his book Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality) may argue that this is bad for our society, only leading to corruption. While history can support Gabler’s idea that entertainment has the potential to negatively affect our morals and social order, it has also been beneficial to our society and can be used in constructive ways. Whether entertainment is good or bad is dependent on the person and how they chose to utilize what is around them.
When people think of entertainment, media influence often comes to mind. Reality TV stars and celebrities alike have been placed in limelight acting as role models to not only the youth, but society as a whole. This is an example of the negative influences that entertainment can have as it leads people to hold unrealistic standards and expectations for themselves and others. Some may feel that the entertainment industry makes glamourizes immoral behaviors, making them look fun and harmless. The focus on fitting in and on appearance in the entertainment business have heavily impacted the way our society is today, by promoting the need to be a certain way, both in physical physique and behavior. In fact, people who are considered more attractive, or that fit the molds commonly shown to us, have an easier time obtaining jobs and have access to a broader s...
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...nize that entertainment in a fundamental part of American culture that allows for the diversity that makes our society unique and functional. If we were to rid the world of these influences, who is to say that that would have a positive effect or be any better for our country than what we are exposed to now?
One must realize that entertainment has been around since the dawn of man. Whether it be gladiators fighting in arenas that drew large crowds, or sitting in front of TV like commonly done now, it is a large part of our society. To disregard any benefits it can have would be a waste of potential to expand and be open to other ideas. If there was no demand for the influences portrayed to us, they would not exist. What keeps the entertainment business going is its success, for society sees it as not just a form of inevitable ruin, but a form of impending growth.
Valkenburg, P.M. and S.C. Janssen. “What do Children Value in Entertainment Programs?: A Cross Cultural Investigation.” Journal of Communication 49:2 (Spr 1999), 4-25.
In Barbara Ehrenreich’s “The Worst Years of Our Lives,” Ehrenreich denounces the American population’s obsession with television and the resulting decline of activity in the 1950s. Although Ehrenreich is correct that the popularity of television causes the American public to spend more hours in front of the television, what she fails to mention is that television goes beyond cheesy sitcoms and spicy dramas, and serves a greater purpose in society by educating the public and exposing them to new experiences. Television does not turn the American public into “couch potatoes” or “root vegetables,” but rather educates and inspires the public.
Many of the technological advancements in entertainment helped people live a much happier and exciting life. The television was wanted by almost every average American family in this decade and overwhelmed millions of baby-boomer children who’s relationship with TV has influenced the United States’ culture and politics. Television
The media has been a part of the daily life of the American people for the longest time, because of this fact, the media influences the decisions and views of how people should live. One big part of the media that tends to start to develop a sense of how the day-to-day American should live is Disney. Since kids are the main source of Disney’s billion dollar industry children have become an important dimension of the social theory (Giroux 1999: 65). “Within this context, television emerges as a consumer-oriented medium that reflects advertisers’ desire to reach a young, upscale, and primarily White audience” (Goodale1999; Henderson and Baldasty 2003: 100). As a result other races and ethnic groups other than white Americans are often put aside when it comes to the social media view of how Americans should live.
Reality based television has a broad landscape ranging from competitive game-like shows to programs following the daily lives of a group of people. Every major network now has some form of reality programming because the genre’s shows are high in viewership and require low costs for production. The genre is appealing to viewers because it provides them with a first-hand look into the lives of everyday people, which allows them to observe social behavior that helps them determine what is appropriate or not (Tyree, 2011, p. 397). Since the majority of modern reality stars start out as unknowns, frequent viewers of reality programming believed that fame is obtainable if they appear on a popular show (Mendible, 2004). According to Mendible’s evaluation of the genre in the article Humiliation, Subjectivity, and Reality TV, people enjoy reality programs beca...
...on and bring pleasure in the form of entertainment. Even though television, a technology that produce moving picture and current events affected the lives of America from 1930s to 1960s. They found a way to recuperate by minimizing the use of television and maximizing the use of the outside world.
The media and how it affects our society has changed tremendously over the past few decades. Our population of children who spend a lot of time in front of the television or on social media continues to increase, creating a superficial view of themselves and who they should be. This superficial outlook has been created by the media because it preaches to our society that looks matter. Not only are there millions of advertisements saying to lose weight and buy certain products to be beautiful, but there has been a specific standard of beauty set for models and actresses to obtain. These standards include big eyes, volumino...
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.
While there is a very sound argument regarding whether or not entertainment had the capacity to ruin society. One must consider that entertainment can be interpreted differently by each individual. Entertainment, in general, can be either beneficial or detrimental to society which varies on the use of all the outlets of entertainment. Although there are negatives that are created from entertainment there are positive factors which arise from music, video games, and television.
I conducted this survey with my parents, my brother, two family friends, and figured out which questions pertain to the powers of television. Questions one, five, nine, and fourteen all pertain to entertainment. Questions eleven, twelve, and thirteen are used to socialize and educate. The questions that refer to information are questions three, six, and ten. For community and consensus, questions two, four, seven, and eight apply to this power of television. My parents results correlated to one another because they both strongly agreed on questions one, five, eleven, and fourteen. They strongly disagreed on questions two, three, five, nine, twelve, and thirteen. My brother agreed on questions two, nine, ten, and fourteen, while he strongly disagreed on questions one, three, four, six, seven, twelve, and thirteen. The two family friends I surveyed agreed strongly to questions one through five as well as question fourteen. They were indifferent or disagreeable when it came to the remainder of the questions. To conclude, a vast majority of the people I surveyed firmly agreed on the questions relating to the power of entertainment.
Our entertainment has changed because of the media. Nowadays, tabloid magazines and gossip websites are among the top forms of entertainment. People love to read the next new article about their favorite celebrity or their favorite celebrity meltdown to watch. Before all the gossip, a lot of people actually read the newspaper to read about important things going on in our society. Now, a lot of the news is just information about celebrities instead of important information such as politics. For example, right now it would not be uncommon for the front page headline to be about Miley Cyrus’s newest antic instead of the crucial government shutdown. We are slowly losing our old ways of sincere and important information.
What does it say about us when we spend more removing tattoos than getting them? And when we wait on line at the fast food restaurant we convince ourselves “I deserve it” as we grab those large fries and a burger. As Americans we feel we have a right to the things that make us who we are, even as those ideas change. We are entitled to have what we want and as much of it as we please and dream of more. Pop culture is the most unique defining part of American Identity because it is the only element that consistently changes and develops with Americans through things like the idea of money, entertainment, and beauty.
Our time is dominated by graphic entertainments such as television, video games, the internet, and more. Many people today are disgusted by today’s popular culture and generally have a negative attitude about it. People today believe it is making us much dumber. They discredit it for what it is actually does according to Steven Johnson in his book Everything Bad Is Good For You. He proposes a total opposite point of view and that we underrate modern pictoric entertainment and media. The main premise of the book Everything Bad Is Good For You is that today’s pop culture is actually making us smarter and has grown more complex and intellectually challenging over the past few years. Steve Johnson proves this argument by discussing how video games aren’t as bad as they seem, television is much more complex than you think and making us smarter, and he tells how the internet helps us interpret our current world and that these three sources of media are increasing our average IQ.
How can people live up to the American hype? White teeth, hot sex, perfect chiseled bodies, money, power, superpowers, even true love. Do other cultures feel the same pressure to assimilate to be these idealized characters and visions? People everywhere regardless of upbringing being bombarded with the same redundant ideas. It has to be infiltrating the mind set, and changing their cultures. American ideas of success, of flawless images shoved down everyones throat to make more money for Hollywood, over saturation of these same ideas, endlessly wearing on the people. Consumerism, glamorized, and pre-packaged for the masses. Movie after movie filled with meaningless glorified violence. American film
Entertainment for Social utility: Entertainment is important as it brings people together and is a good way for the entire family to bond. This is where people use media to strengthen contact with family, friends and other members of the society. It takes various forms: