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Effect of media and films on society
Effect of media and films on society
Effect of media and films on society
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Heroification and Its Damaging Effects
In the Disney movie Life-Size, actress Tyra Banks plays the role of Eve, a Barbie-like doll, who is "perfect in every way," come to life. Later in the movie, the once-very popular Eve doll's sales decrease dramatically, and the company stops the production of the Eve doll not realizing what they are doing wrong. Distressed, Banks, the "life-size" Eve doll, turns to her owner Casey and learns two valuable lessons—that perfection is boring and unrealistic, and it is okay to make mistakes. Casey tells the life-size Eve that the Eve doll is too "goody-goody" to be real, and girls need more realistic role models—heroes—with personality, inner struggles, and mistakes. Almost everyone likes heroes from Spiderman to firefighters to Dad who inspire the young and keep them motivated; however when the heroes' lives and beliefs are fabricated to fit a stereotype, these humans regress into nothing more than a boring ideal. Heroification with cognitive dissonance blind students to the reality of this world and limit their ability to view controversies objectively.
Heroification is the process where details—both important and trivial—are left out or changed to fit the archetypical mold of the flawless, inhuman "heroes." This "degenerative process" makes "flesh-and-blood individuals into pious, perfect creatures without conflicts, pain, credibility, or human interest (Loewen 19)." For example, many people know of Helen Keller only as the blind, deaf girl who despite her handicaps learned to read, write, and to speak, but this is only the first twenty years of her life. Whatever happened to Keller for the next sixty-four years of her life? Keller was, in fact, a radical socialist in Massachusetts starting in the early 1900s, and was one of the most passionate and famous woman during that time rallying for the new communist nation. Keller's love for socialism did not stem from a vacuum but was rooted deep within her experiences as a disabled person, and she sympathized with other handicaps and learned that social class controls not only people's opportunity but also their disabilities. But during the heroification process, the schools and the mass media omitted Keller's lifelong goal and passion to bring about radical social change because we would rather teach our young to "remain uncontroversial and one-dimensional" than to have a room full of leftists (Loewen 35).
Helen Keller, against all odds, became a mouthpiece for many causes in the early to mid-twentieth century. She advocated for causes such as building institutions for the blind, schools for the deaf, women’s suffrage and pacifism. When America was in the most desperate of times, her voice stood out. Helen Keller spoke at Carnegie Hall in New York raising her voice in protest of America’s decision to join the World War. The purpose of this paper will analyze the devices and methods Keller used in her speech to create a good ethos, pathos, and logos.
On June, 17th 1775 began a fight between the British and the Americans, it took place on Breed’s HIll. In Charlestown Peninsula, North side of Boston Harbor, this battle was the bloodest of the Revoltionary in America. The British Commander, Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, Major General William Howe. There were about 2,400 troops being lead by Major general Howe.
The word "hero" is so often used to describe people who overcome great difficulties and rise to the challenge that is set before them without even considering the overwhelming odds they are up against. In our culture, heroes are glorified in literature and in the media in various shapes and forms. However, I believe that many of the greatest heroes in our society never receive the credit that they deserve, much less fame or publicity. I believe that a hero is simply someone who stands up for what he/she believes in. A person does not have to rush into a burning building and save someone's life to be a hero. Someone who is a true friend can be a hero. A hero is someone who makes a difference in the lives of others simply by his/her presence. In Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried, the true heroes stand out in my mind as those who were true friends and fought for what they believed in. These men and women faced the atrocities of war on a daily basis, as explained by critic David R. Jarraway's essay, "'Excremental Assault' in Tim O'Brien: Trauma and Recovery in Vietnam War Literature" and by Vietnam Veteran Jim Carter. Yet these characters became heroes not by going to drastic measures to do something that would draw attention to themselves, but by being true to their own beliefs and by making a difference to the people around them.
George Orwell once offered this definition of heroism: ordinary people doing whatever they can to change social systems that do not respect human decency, even with the knowledge that they can’t possibly succeed.
Are heroes important? This is the question that Scott LaBarge, a philosophy professor at Santa Clara University, tackles in his article “Heroism: Why Heroes are Important.” He encourages teachers, parents, and students to realize that heroes are tremendously significant in society by using references to factual and historical details, personal association, and various examples of different types of heroes. LaBarge effectively uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, and kairos to convince his audience that heroes are important.
The north in contrast has suffered from lack of leadership and military success, but the Battle of Gettysburg would be the turning point and would end with southern forces being forced to retreat. The book is first broken into four days, June 29, 1863, just before the battle began; July 1, 1863, the day of the initial Confederate attack; July 2, 1863, the first full day of battle; and July 3, 1863, the final day of battle. Each of these four sections are broken down into chapters with each chapter written by a different viewpoint of key leaders, in this review I will focus on General Robert E. Lee of the confederate army and Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain of the union
News correspondent Pauline Frederick once commented When a man gets up to speak people listen then look. When a woman gets up people look; then if they like what they see they listen" (Women's Wit and Wisdom 10). Ironically, the harsh reality of this statement is given life by the ongoing controversy of America's most recognizable and sometimes notorious toy. Barbie. Barbie has become this nation's most beleaguered soldier of idolatry who has been to the front lines and back more times than the average "JOE." (Varney 161). This doll, a piece of plastic, a toy incurs both critique and praise spanning all ends of the ideological spectrum. Barbie's curveaous and basically unrealistic body piques the ire of both liberals and conservatives, each contending that Barbie stands for the distinct view of the other. One hundred and eighty degrees south, others praise Barbie's (curves and all) ability to unlock youthful imagination and potential. M. G. Lord explains Barbie best: To study Barbie, one sometimes has to hold seemingly contradictory ideas in one's head at the same time . . . The doll functions like a Rorschach test: people project wildly dissimilar and often opposing meanings on it. . And her meaning, like her face has not been static over time" (10). In spite of the extreme polarity, a sole unconscious consensus manifests itself about Barbie. Barbie is 'the icon" of womanhood and the twentieth century (Ducille 50). She is the American dream (Varney 161). Barbie is us" (Lord 17). The question is always the same: What message does Barbie send? Barbie is a toy. She is the image of what we see.
In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect.
To the world today, a hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, or strength; but really, anyone can be a hero. A hero can vary from someone as well-known as George Washington to someone as unheard of as anyone’s very own mother. Someone who has done a good deed for someone else is hero. The biggest heroes are the ones in well-known books and plays, such as Odysseus from The Odyssey, or have made a huge difference in the history of this world, like Mahatma Gandhi. Siddhartha Gautama is a hero, but not in the same way Odysseus or Gandhi are. Although these three influential people went through different journeys in order to accomplish different things, they are all heroes in their own way and have been through the same cycle of the road of trials and crisis/salvation.
There is another type of hero that almost no one is aware of. In the poorest areas of the country, live mostly minorities and other ethic background. All their lives they’ve been expected to work harder and expected not succeed in life. Some individuals living in poverty with a determination to succeed work hard all of their lives to become what everybody doubted they could. Escaping the crime, drugs, and prostitution is enough to escape hell, even if they don’t go to college. Despite of their financial problems, drug and crime surroundings, or difficulties in the language skills, their desire to triumph fuels their persistence. Those who make it to success are the few living examples of the purest form of hero anyone can be. They are not only their own heroes but also the heroes of the poor children who dream of becoming like them someday.
Kofi Annan once said, “Arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity”. Globalization is an inevitable phenomenon in human history that brings about greater interconnectivity and integration of people worldwide. Over the past few decades, the pace of global integration has accelerated quickly and dramatically due to unprecedented advancements in technology, communications, science, transport and industry (The World Bank, 2013). Globalization affects economical, cultural, technological, political and social aspects of a country. In this essay, we’ll be talking about cultural globalization and its effects solely. Cultural globalization is the rapid movement of ideas, attitudes, values across national borders and the “the emergence of a specific set of values and beliefs that are largely shared around the planet” (Castells, 2009, p. 117). Circulation of ideas has allowed people to partake in extended social relations that cross national and regional borders, leading to the diffusion of cultures. Due to increasing interconnectedness, there is formation of shared norms and knowledge in which people associate their individual and collective cultural identities with. Cultural globalization is a double-edged sword with both benefits and disadvantages to society. However, its threats to national traditions outweigh the progress it contributes to society.
Since 1959, Barbie’s lifestyle has served as a template of how young girls should live the remainder of their life. Certainly, Barbie is just a plastic doll, but she stands a plastic queen. Consequently, Young girls obliviously see her as an idol, and every doll that was made after Barbie is a carbon copy of her. Being that Barbie’s image remains impossible to acquire, some mothers do not allow their children to play with her; they do not want their “baby girls” thinking they are not good enough. Barbie has influenced young girls into thinking that the only way to be perfect is to grow up striving to be just like the blonde hair, blue eyed white woman with the perfect body figure.
In today’s society, girls and boys are constantly being shown different messages about the ways that they should look and act. One example of these messages, which I feel is most important to look at and understand, is Barbie and the impact that has been made on our society since this doll was developed many years ago. Since Barbie’s creation, there has been controversy over the whether or not this doll impacts women’s body image. Some will argue that Barbie is just a doll and that she does not have a negative influence on the way females view their bodies. Others will argue this topic and say that Barbie plays a huge role for the negative views that females have about their body image.
Abraham Lincoln once aforesaid, “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” When people do good, it is not just for their selfish needs, it is to assist others. Heroes are not people who do good once, Heroes do good deeds on a daily basis. Heroism is doing good deeds for others, not for your own selfish means.
The paradoxical dichotomy of globalization and cultural diversity are, on one hand, globalization provides third world cultures, and nations in conflict, the potential to become empowered through interaction with stronger, more stable cultures. One the other hand, it can also lead to the disempowerment of people in weaker nations by stronger nations with negative influences and motives of colonization that will deprive the native cultures of their identity. There are positive and negative aspects of globalization, however, it is the driving force for innovation, cultural interaction and the prospect of building stronger cultural