Module 4 Reflections

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Module 4 has made me focus on values and how values are represented and co-constructed throughout society.  Module 4’s readings and videos have helped facilitate more awareness of values placed on me and society and how my own beliefs either contradict or coincide with societal values.  Sternheimer (2013), argues that while media and pop-culture values tend to promote violence and teen promiscuity, that those values do not accurately depict trends in violence or sexuality in teens. We often take media representation as fact and choose not to look deeper and to me, it makes a lot of sense. Media create mediated realities, as learned in Module 3, so therefore, the realities we interact with everyday in the form of TV, news, movies, and online media are depicting a world that people are taking at face value. Furthermore, those with low media literacy skills are co-constructing their realities based off what media is portraying. These ideas are a bases of learning for me in this module and will connect to culture, values, and health while relating to media and pop culture.

While popular culture and media may be portraying teens and young adults as being more sexual as ever, the statistics for underage pregnancy’s and STD’s just do not match that fear (Sternheimer, 2013). However, I argue that there is still a cause for concern. Tomi-Ann Roberts (2011), proves that idealized femininity and sexualization standards are being passed on to younger and younger girls. With clothing lines target at young children that match what some 20 year olds are wearing it is easy to see how these values are being placed on children as young as age three. The cause for concern here is, how is this impacting the mental and physical health of the youth in America? In my student facilitated media critique I presented the class with ads targeting women that reveal values society has placed on femininity.  Since culture is a combination of learned behaviors, values, beliefs, norms, and lifestyles created and maintained through shared experiences (Dugan, 2010), what do our beauty standards and expectations of women say about how society values women? To be a valued member of society must women look, act, and be a certain way? What happens to the women who chose to go against the grain and not live up to those standards? How does media depict those women? I believe that these questions, if thought about when experiencing media, can help facilitate media education and literacy.

Much like the changing perceptions of beauty over decades, ideas of premarital sex has also changed. It is not that teen sex never occurred before, it was kept secret and hushed, now media and society talks about it more freely and has more access to information and birth-control (Sternheimer, 2013). Much like the topic of media influenced violence, media influenced sex is not as powerful as people think it is. Teenagers have not gotten more sexually active however, something that has changed is our acknowledgements and media coverage of premarital sexual behavior (Sternheimer, 2013).

When talking about standards, and thinking about those questions, it is obvious how culture effects our answers. Culture has the power to liberate and limit us, divide, define, and unite us (Dugan, 2010), and I argue that with stronger media literacy skills one can cross divides easier and more effectivly. What I mean by that is I believe that media education has the power to break down barriers that not only culture puts up but that media and society has created.  Watching the video series “The Story of Stuff”, by Anne Leonard, reminded me that with education and awareness, reform can take place.  I’d like my classmates to respond by telling me how much more they have thought about the products that they used daily, be it cosmetics or electronics, since watching those videos.  This video helps teach media education by taking down the limits and divides put up by media. Media literacy is a tool that can be learned and used to create healthier environments and lifestyles. Christina’s lecture opened my eyes to how societal values effect my own physical and mental health. It is an important topic because it can allow for healthier decision making and less unnecessary consumption. Anne Leonard talked about the life cycle of products and the consumption economy that has been created to control consumptive patterns. This connects largely with what Christina spoke about when explaining the need to create balance. Products are cheap and easy to buy and create a short-term instant balance and therefore keep us in a never ending loop of extremes and consumption.

Media has a huge influence on culture and life-styles in America, and I believe that cannot be denied. However, it cannot be blamed for every bad instance such as violence and teen promiscuity. The attributes it does have negative impacts on though, is personal health. While we can finally blame media for something the focus is still in the wrong area. Researchers and studies tend to focus on how much time children spend watching TV or participating in leisurely activities and not on actual nutrition (Sternheimer, 2013). To me this should be a no-brainer. Media and advertisers constantly market low-nutrient foods packed with sugar and artificial ingredients that contribute to weight gain (Sternheimer, 2013).  Once again the focus is shifted from the tangible causes for problems in society. Instead of shaming the makers of terrible food, parents and care givers get guilted by poorly done studies that attribute poor health to home life activities and not the makers of bad food.  I could not help but to connect these media issues to Christina’s lecture on health and balance. There are so many forces in the world pushing and pulling us to consume as much as possible. This is why I argue that media literacy is so important. Power must be taken back from media on an individual level to lead healthier more fulfilling lives.

Module 4 Reflection

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Culture is the learned behavior by individuals of a group or groups (Dugan, 2010).  While contemplating what culture in America is like, I had a hard time finding five defining beliefs, values, or practices that all Americans share. America is a melting pot, and culture here is customized by the individual based on their personal experiences. It did not come as a surprise to me that when I google searched “culture in America” that some of the top results included corporations and reality TV stars. Is American culture really defined by  fast food and celebrities?

Before the development of mass communication, culture was localized. People relied on their community for information and guidance, and had very little exposure to any alternatives. Values and traditions were more easily passed down from generation to generation without any outside interference. This phenomena is referred to as “storytelling” (Dugan, 2010).

The introduction of movies and radio prompted the spread of culture through mass communication. It was not uncommon for people to listen to the same radio station, or see the same movies (Dugan, 2010). My grandmother, who experienced her childhood in the 1930’s, went to the movies every weekend with her family. Despite how poor everyone in her hometown was at the time, the movie theater was always full. Going to the theater on Friday had become as traditional as going to church on Sunday. For the first time, people were able to share a common culture with people from another town miles away. This prompted a shift in storytelling. Now the responsibility was being shared by community leaders, parents, and mass media (Dugan, 2010).

As the media began to grow, it became more diverse. Mass communication began to break down as people were offered choices on which TV program to watch, or which movie they would like to see. The same thing has happened with culture; now people are free to customize their culture according to their own beliefs and values. While some, myself included, admire the diversity of culture in America, others from a more traditional background are repulsed. When the new generation begins adjusting their culture in a way that does not reflect the values, beliefs and traditions of the older generation, the blame is placed on the media (Dugan, 2010).

For an example, many parents complain that the media is encouraging sexuality in children at a younger age (Sternheimer, 2013). It is hard to argue that sex is not a popular theme in the media, but the media is not a reflection of society. I remember when Jersey Shore, a “reality” show about partying and casual sex, was all anyone could talk about. I was only 18 at the time, and I watched every single episode. It was blatantly obvious, even at 18, that shows like this were not a reflection of reality by any means, but I enjoyed the drama and the ridiculousness. I did know a couple of girls at the time who watched Jersey Shore and partied every night, but that was who they were before the show, and I knew that they were an exception, not a reflection, of teenagers in my hometown. While stories of teens with crazy sex scandals are rampant throughout the media, that does not mean that all teenagers are sexually active. It just so happens that stories of teenagers sharing sex videos of themselves attracts more people than stories about teens who watch cat videos (Sternheimer, 2013).

When children live out the antithesis of their parent’s morals, values, and beliefs, they tend to blame the media, and complain that the media has replaced them as the storyteller (Dugan, 2010). I have a hard time fully supporting this notion because it absolves parents and/or guardians of any responsibility in raising their children. While it may seem easy and convenient to blame the media, especially when the media proudly displays sexually explicit content, or portrays images of photo-shopped women who are unnaturally thin, there could be many other factors in the family that are more hidden from sight. For instance, parents fail to consider the role of abuse in their teens’ behavior.  When parents are critical, their children are more likely to develop eating disorders. Also, children who are sexually abused are more likely to engage in risky, sexual behaviors as teens (Sternheimer, 2013).

People who are true to themselves will not be easily changed by what they see in the media. However, certain elements in the media that people connect with may encourage them to explore and embrace a part of them that other influences may not have. For instance, I had crushes on both boys and girls before I knew that there was a word for it. I had already kissed a girl before I first learned about bisexuality thanks to an episode of Law and Order (that sounds horrible, I know, but it gets better). The media was not responsible for my sexuality, or the choices I made as a result of my sexuality, but the media provided a sense of normalcy about a part of me that I was not going to get from anywhere else at the time. Therefore, it is up to the individual to create their own culture based on what works best for them.

Module 4

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When watching the Terry Dugan videos, I actually learned some new things and there were things that I remember learning in previous classes. This past Spring semester in my Organizational Communication class, we actually went over the 8 elements of the communication process.  One thing that I am glad that was covered in these videos was the question of what is culture. I always thought that culture is what we were brought up in and passed through generations, so that was interesting to learn.  There were a couple of questions that he asked within his videos: Is common culture now based on advertising? Are we still learning from mass media?

Now, I can probably write an essay answering those questions. But to answer those questions in short; yes, I believe that common culture is now based on advertising and no, we are not still learning from mass media. An example that he used for this is in the 20th century, immigrants went to silent movies to learn how Americans acted so they can fit in. I don’t think that we are relying on media that way much anymore. Regarding to common culture and the ads. If we weren’t relying on ads or constantly looking at ads, would it be that necessary to learn how to deconstruct an ad? I do want to say that ads compromise a lot of our pop culture. What I liked from these videos is that he went over the different types of cultures: local, dominant, personal or bounded, and then subcultures. I never realized that we personally have so many different kinds of culture.

Now, lets get to the books. Can I just say that this is by far the most interesting textbook that I have ever read. Both chapter 6 and 8 really shocked me. All the numbers and information that was provided, I was like “woah”. What I liked about chapter six was how in the second paragraph it says “…today’s entire generation of kids is sexually active before high school” (Sternheimer, 2013, p. 139). No offense to those people, but that is kind of sad and kind of scares me since I have a little sister who just finished middle school (I feel like I act like her mother sometimes). But going into the next page, it talks about how its really not as bad as it seems. It is assumed that the media plays a role in early sexual activity, which is why Will Hays in 1934 created “the Code.” This censored media in strict ways, no sexual stuff or interracial relationships because it was deemed un-American. This lasted until 1966. On page 154 there is a sentence saying “our tendency to underestimate social structure and overstate the power of popular culture.” I agree with this completely. Yeah, there is a lot of sexual stuff on TV but according to Freud and Benjamin Spock, “sexual curiosity was natural.” Plus like a lot of things, we do things because of the environment we are surrounded in.

Chapter 8 got really personal to me, I have had many issues with my own body where it has lead to starving myself and eating very little.  What I liked about this chapter is that it didn’t really focus on the obesity aspect because we all know that. It focused on the possible role of media and eating disorders. According to Sternheimer, she mentioned that there were studies that show media does not cause eating disorders and there is a very little link, focus on the environment the person is in. On page 209, there is a sentence that hit me. It says that if you have parents who are very into  their diet and exercise, their child will get praised for having a thin appearance. Throughout high school, my dad told me that I was fat at least once a week and then there was my mom saying I was too skinny. I think you know where that story goes. But it comes down to the environment that you are in, I will admit that media has played a role for me as well, but mostly environment. One thing in this chapter that really shocked me was how “online communities of people with anorexia and bulimia sometimes encourage and support each other in their quest to get even thinner” (Sternheimer, 2013, p198). Even though there may only be a small link with media and eating disorders, I think we need to overcome that “you need to be skinny” standard as set by society.

Module 4 Refelctions

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“It is important that we find out how young people interpret sexual images in advertising, music, and television in their context, and in their own words. If we are so concerned about teen sexuality, we need to talk with them, not just about them, to learn more” (Sternheimer, 2013, p.153). This is a very powerful phrase in which I agree on. However the problem I believe that causes this conversation to not be initiated is cultural backgrounds. Like Dugan stated, “Culture is a learned behavior by a given group” (2010). If your childhood was surrounded with Catholicism, and Hispanic parents who never received education on sex how are they suppose to educate their own children? My mother never talked to me about what the menstrual cycle was and what to expect. I learned this through school, and when the day came I was not prepared. I waited for my mom to come home from work and she just handed me a box of feminine hygiene. If some parents can’t even handle the conversation of a menstrual cycle how are they suppose to spark conversation of how we as teenagers interpret sexual images, music, movies and advertisements? I believe for some cases for these questions and this learning to occur we need to advocate the importance of parent to child sex talk. If parents see the importance and influence it has on the child these questions will then come easier. “In the third paragraph of the 2001 KFF report, the authors note almost as an aside that many teens feel they do not get enough information about sex from parents or teachers. Rather than focusing on this point, they continue to study the media issue” (Sternheimer, 2013, p.152). Why they continue to study the media issue is beyond me. This is frustrating; I believe they just don’t want to show how they as adults have a lot to blame when it comes to teen sex.

“Yet much of our research on sex continues to focus on popular culture, ignoring the complex roles politics, race, and poverty play in the teen-sex equation” (Sternheimer, 2013, p.150). Just like last weeks conversation about violence and how media is to blame for such violent occurrences, they are blaming media to be the result of teen sex. Again not taking into consideration major factors that Sterheimer points out. In my example of myself being first generation Hispanic woman, my parents never educated me about sex, thankfully I found my ways of educating myself and I am not a mother; probably what was expected of me given the circumstances I was in. I am proud to say that I will build on different cultures for my children, where openness, and no religion brainwashing exist. I am not saying I will decline family values because like Dugan stated, “When family values are declined, media has replaced story telling instead of family, and when media is the story teller bad actions go unpunished” (2010).

“TV Helped Create the Child Obesity Problem, a Washington Post headline asserts. Stories like these make it seem as though television is a major cause of child obesity” (Sternheimer, 2013, p.193). I find it ridiculous to blame kids obesity on media. First of all kids are not old enough to by that happy meal with the new cool toy that is being advertised. The parents are to blame for their child’s obesity (unless it has to do with a deeper health issue). They don’t know by consuming such fatty foods that it is causing health issues but parents do. The amount of television and snacking the child consumes is entirely in the hands of the parents. However this issue becomes a little more complicated when we account for poor families. “For one, children in low-income urban areas often have few safe places to play outdoors. Parents’ work schedules often require these kids to have many hours with little supervision, and while watching television or playing video games inside may not be good for their waistlines, they keep them safe from potential harm on dangerous city streets” (Sternheimer, 2013, p.194). Yes the importance is child safety, however setting schedules of how much television they can watch, how much time they should spend doing homework, reading, and helping out with chores can also help in child safety from the streets while providing better health.

Not only is obesity being blamed on media but anorexia/bulimia also. A great question was presented by Sternheimer, “How can watching images of mostly underweight people on television make viewers want to eat both more and less at the same time? (2013, p.196). I strongly believe that anorexia/bulimia is to blame on media but not obesity. After learning during this course how media represents beauty by using engineering techniques on photos, famous people, and constantly stating the perfect image as being skinny leads media illiterates to believe this is what beauty should look like. Although my stance for medias influence is as I have just stated, after reading further into the chapter I have begun to realize that the issues of obesity, anorexia/bulimia are multifaceted. I believe that one could argue for and against medias influence on health. Arguments made by sociologist Becky Wangsgaard Thompson, Penelope A. McLorg and Diane E. Taub provided further insight into other factors that should be considered on health issues such as sexual, physical abuse, and parents who might have focused on dieting and exercising. “To understand the social factors that influence body dissatisfaction, we have to go beyond just looking at images in popular culture” (2013, p.201).

Module 4

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n the serious of videos watched by Dugan, what I thought was worth remembering was in general at the very beginning was about culture. As a sociology student, culture is something that we covered in every class in one way or another; culture is a huge aspect of sociology. I thought it was interesting how he stated that culture is not something we are born with, and it is true because I never really thought about it in that sense at all. I actually thought about it in the opposite way, thought culture was something we are born with and get from our parents, and then we just learn it across our lifetime. We make it unique because of the many different cultures that there is, we all have something to show, something to experience and allow others to experience our culture as well as they allow us to understand their cultures.

Another interesting point that he made that relates to our class and what we have been learning about is, when he mentioned, “men and women learned how to act from films, radio, and mass media advertisements.” This is very interesting and relatable because today we look at media to see what the right way is to act, what is in and what is out, so that we can fit in and in a way not looked down on because we aren’t following what may be in today.

Also with the process of the message, a lot of the things that we were doing in the class was looking at ads and finding the connotations and denotations, which is basically the same as the message and the process of encoding that he describes, complex communications can have many messages, and simple messages have one message. We all see articles different depending what we see, we can identify different messages or one simple message, a way of communication.

In chapter six, Sternheimer mentions that, “Societal shifts spurred by economic changes have altered American life, which has made it more difficult to monitor teens, popular culture did not create these changes…” (166). And in chapter eight in regards to beauty image, obesity, and eating disorders, he asked “Can popular culture make people both obese and anorexic? This seems like a contradiction…” (197). These were interesting, very interesting points to me because, a lot of the things that happen such as obesity, anorexia, teen pregnancy’s, is due to pop culture and what the media is displaying. When media is throwing all these things at us, we want it, we want to be living in what is in, what is interesting to us, and therefor, we eat the latest foods because we saw it on a commercial and it looked too delicious to resist, we want to be skinny because we want to look like all these famous peoples, and sex is everywhere, so how do we keep it away from children and teens, we can’t keep them locked in a room without living just to prevent them from all this.

Module 4 Reflection

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I first watched all the Dugan videos and learned a lot of information; maybe a little too much at one time. I felt bombarded with information and felt as if i couldn’t retain it. In the first video, I learned that we learned our culture and that we were not born with it. I found that interesting because I’ve never really thought about how or why I do certain things. For instance, before leaving my grandmas house I know to wait for my grandma to hover over me and sign the cross. I realized that i learned to wait by seeing my aunts or cousins doing it when i was younger. Its like a habit for me to wait. Another cultural habit that I learned was the whole cheek to cheek kiss. Our family always greets that way so when it come to meeting knew people I tend to kiss them cheek to cheek and they act weird because it might not be in there culture.

In the third video, it explained that culture shapes the way we think, feel, and act. Mass media helped create this type of culture. our ideas of right and wrong are from and shaped by our own culture. While watching, I understood that there are four types of cultures that are personal, family, and bounded. Personal culture is who we are when we are being ourselves. Family culture is who we are when we are with our immediate family. Bounded culture is who we are with our friends and dominant culture is who we are in public. It was said that ‘conflict between culture and setting can cause social tension’. (Dugan 2010-2011). I feel as if my personal, family and bounded culture are all the same. I tend to do everything the same and act the same whether I’m by myself, with my friend, or with my family. When it comes to dominant culture, I tend to be more reserved and less out going. I keep to myself or keep to those I’m with. Many people argue that we can’t act exactly the same in each culture and that there is something different about you in each even if it’s something little.

Growing up, I was never taught anything about sex from my parents; I learned things from church. My upbringing was a one way street and there was a no questioned asked policy. This is what they said and no one can question it and if you did that meant you ” questioned God”. Mass media definitely played a role in my life to bring up questions regarding sex or sexual content questions. I never felt comfortable talking to my arents about it because they never talked to me about sex so I’d have to ask my aunts. In chapter 6, it states that sex has become a “no big deal’ scenario and that makes adults afraid as if their child is growing up too fast. Sex is all over pop culture and kids, like me, get their advice or make questions from pop culture. I believe this happens because children are afraid to ask their parents questions. They are afraid of what might their parents say or even do. Children tend to tense up even more when the topic the want to bring up isn’t a topic that the family has brought up before. I also learned that in the past, premarital sex and teen pregnancies were unspoken of. If a teen pregnancy were to happen, it was either kept a secret, aborted, or given up for an immediate adoption. Now, we tend to acknowledge it and work with it rather than be appalled by it. Im not quite sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Reading this chapter, it did surprise me learning that adult men are responsible six out of ten births to girls eighteen and younger and that in some states the age of consent is sixteen years old! In South Carolina, the consent for girls is fourteen years old and the consent age for boys is sixteen years old. I wonder how this can be when they can still be considered children. Children can’t make big decisions that is why they have parents to make it for them. Parents are suppose to protect their children and how will they if the law is set in stone?

Down below is an article of the consents laws for South Carolina. Please read it. It is quite interesting.

https://www.stsm.org/south-carolina-laws-regarding-sexual-assault-and-consent

  1. Dugan, Terry. “Impact of Media on Culture- What Is Culture,Part 1.”YouTube. YouTube, 04 Aug. 2010. Web. 20 June 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYu5azRNUck&feature=youtu.be>.
  2. Dugan, Terry. “Module 2 Part 3-The Functions and Effects of Culture.”YouTube. YouTube, 31 July 2011. Web. 20 June 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9bQiRMQUaE>.
  3. Sternheimer, K. (2013).Pop Culture Promiscuity. In Connecting social problems and popular culture: Why media is not the answer (2nd ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press (139-167).

Module 4 Readings & Videos

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Rather than read various articles for this week’s module, we were given a video series/lecture by Terry Dugan regarding the Impact of Media of Culture (2010-2011).  Dugan introduced culture as a learned behavior that is acquired by the individuals that surround us.  Each of us has a unique culture and, more often, many cultures that make up who we are.  Culture, as Dugan continues to describe, is a combination of shared experiences that make up our lives and, therefore, who we are.

I was very intrigued by the depth Dugan’s research had reached involving exactly what ideas or concepts create our culture.  As explained earlier, Dugan described how several cultures make up who we are; and the two main types of culture exposure that make up who we become are, as Dugan explains, personal culture and common culture.  Personal culture beings early within our lives as we are exposed to the lifestyles and traditions of those closely around us.  From the way we celebrate holidays to the foods we eat, I feel that our personal culture can go as far back as in the womb and the types of foods or conversations our mothers associated us with while we awaited our birthdays!  Common culture is the second main culture we obtain and it also involves shared experiences.  However mass communication and, therefore, the media has a larger impact on these experiences rather than traditions and lifestyles that create our personal cultures.  Some examples that many people argue involving common culture are the ideas that parents worry their children will receive as a result of viewing popular images within the media.

I, too, had the same worry like many parents about what the “common culture” is doing to the children within our society; but as I read our class text by Karen Sternheimer which involves Connecting Social Problems and Popular Culture (2013),  I quickly learned that my fears and quick blame towards the media was actually incorrect.  I have always assumed that the lack of clothing on today’s young girls as well as young men’s fascination with sex was a direct result of today’s popular culture, but as Sternheimer points out, “typically, television viewing declines in adolescence, and adults tend to watch more television than young people do” (p. 141).  This point really made me take a step back to think simply because Sternheimer is correct: teenagers typically want to do out and do more exciting things than watch TV all day; us adults, on the other hand, are the ones who come home at the end of a long day and cannot wait to sit down and watch our favorite show with our favorite beverage until it’s time to go to bed for the next day.  Since “we live in a time when virtually nothing is off-limits in pop culture”, it is no wonder why adults fear what their children and youth are being exposed to (Sternheimer, 139).  Issues such as sex and eating disorders are flooding the tabloids as celebrities’ private lives are constantly being exposed, and parents have every right to feel concerned.  But do these images throughout popular culture actually create health hazards amongst our youth?

Recent studies have actually shown that, as with violence, there has been a decline in teen sexual activity in recent years.  If anything, our culture, not our media, uses sex as the dividing line between childhood and adulthood.  As Sternheimer continued to point out, “We define sex as a ticket to adulthood, so we should not be surprised when teens do, too” (p. 166).  As “protectionist” as my views used to be, I cannot help but agree with Sternheimer in that it is not the media that is creating the problem; it is the idea of adulthood that every teen wants so hard to achieve and reach.  Growing up, all I wanted to do was to become and adult so I could become independant on my own and away from my family; and now that I look back, I cannot help but think how the only things that my generation considered to be “adult-like” was drinking, drugs, and sex.  It wasn’t the media that gave us this impression, it was our parents who constantly told us how we cannot do “this” or “that” because we “aren’t old enough”.  What happened as a result?  We tried to drink, we tried drugs, and we tried hooking up from time to time.  My parents always told me how I was not even aloud to think about boys until I was at least sixteen; so what did I do as soon as I was sixteen?  Do a lot more than just think about boys… oops!  But don’t blame the television, blame the idea of adulthood and freedom I was trying to achieve!

Even the concept of eating disorders was argued in that the media is not at fault and should not be at fault when it comes to children’s over- or under-weight issues.  Poverty and the lack of access to quality health care should be the focus of our attention, however they seem so much “less important when the more exciting explanations of television, advertising, video games, and fashion command our attention and interest” (Sternheimer, 198).  It is the lack of quality health care that causes families to think that sitting in front of a TV or computer all day is OK.  It has also been noted by Sternheimer that lower-income children, often children of minorities, are more likely to attend schools without playgrounds or physical education courses (p. 214).  The way I see it now, television and other media companies are not about to remind their viewers of all the more beneficial and wonderful things they could be doing with their time because that puts their jobs at risk.  To connect this to Dugan’s video series, he comments on the fact that media is sometimes the storyteller of a culture.  This causes bad actions to go unpunished since the media rarely shows the consequences of bad behaviors or choices… and these “storytellers” are not about to remind us of the many options and possibilities that reside away from the screen!

Dugan agrees that mass media helps in creating our culture(s), whether it is for the better or worse of our communities.  Culture, as Dugan explains, can limit and liberate a community; it can define, divide or unite depending on how we allow it to shape the ways in which we think, feel and act.  I was happy to have Sternheimer conclude Chapter 8 in her constructivist way, stating how, “the 2006 Children’s Defense Fund report recommends a community-based approach to dealing with obesity, recognizing the need to address infrastructural issues like transportation and group programs rather than individual-based suggestions like just turning off the television set” (p. 214).  I agree with Sternheimer in that we, as a community, need to help one-another in finding the resources we need to live the happiest and healthiest lives we can.  The fact that we rely on our mass media which is filled with celebrity gossip is now becoming hilarious to me, and I understand the importance of media literacy in people of all ages now!

Module 4 Readings!

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This week’s video lectures and readings were once again so interesting! It seems like as you go through each of the goals the readings and videos that are assigned in each one all begin to connect as they continue. This week there was some solidification of skills previously learned, while I was also introduced to other new concepts.

The lecture series by Terry Dugan was really interesting; I liked the fact that we had not one, but two guest lectures this week. It gives me the opportunity to draw from different people and hear their different perspectives. The lecture series by Terry Dugan was really interesting; I liked the fact that we had not one, but two guest lectures this week. It gives me the opportunity to draw from different people and hear their different perspectives. The videos were used as a way to introduce media and its influence on culture. Dugan starts of by defining culture, he says that culture is set of a learned behaviors. Culture is anything from traditions, the lifestyle one lives, or shared experiences between people. The developed culture is then passed down in forms of stories. Storytellers pass down the traditions and behaviors that they learned. Then someone will go and do the same thing time after time. This is when media comes into play, Dugan talks about how media has become the new storyteller, and instead of people passing down their culture media is reaching more people and passing down addition services. The way that media can impact culture is they use the ability for media to connect large groups of people, think about it. Many different forms of media can be used and the reach of media is on a scale of thousands, maybe even more. The fear is that media is becoming the storyteller and “bad things” are going to happen. This is because of the fact that although the media is seen as a source of violence and promiscuous behavior, they often don’t show consequences, this then encourages others to do “bad things.” He shows this change by showing the example of older TV shows that we valued, and the TV shows that we see today. He showed the example of Father Knows Best, a show that is said to represent the good values in our society. Compared to shows like The Simpsons, which is a show that is shown to be vulgar and promote negative behaviors. Because media is being used as the “new storytellers” parents are seeing children as rejecting their culture, they then need someone to blame for this. The easiest target for the blame is the media. This really connects to the Sternheimer because it is addressing the issue of the fact that our society is quick to blame media while ignoring the underlying issues. Also, similar to the text Dugan talks about the fact that the issues of blaming the media dates back to Socrates. This just goes to show that the issues don’t really change; it’s the same issue different time.

I really thought it was interesting that Dugan talked about the tension that is created in our society. He talks about how when people are confronted with a new culture they are often caught off guard, and don’t know their role. That statement right there, “their role.” When someone doesn’t know their role it brings up a feeling of being uncomfortable. Our culture, our learned behavior tells us how we are supposed to act, and because it is a different culture we are being presented with, we then don’t know how to act. I just thought that this was an interesting way to look at cultural tension and what one of the causes.

The videos were really just a good way to introduce culture and media at the same time. He went into a good amount of detail describing culture, what it is, how it is passed down. And the role, both old and new, that the media is playing in regards to culture. The media is helping to create a lot of common experiences linking many different culture groups together (as you can have more than one culture group i.e. family, friends, work, etc.). Given that media is reaching such a wide range of different people it is helping spread culture and experience faster than ever before. The videos showed how and why this happens.

Side note: Did anyone find it interesting when Dugan mentioned the fact that many foreign communities limit the amount of imports from the U.S. as they are looking to preserve their unique culture. I thought this was interesting because this is a prime example of how a culture can reject another “dominate culture.” It also shows just how impactful imports, be it American shows, Ads, or products can truly be on another culture.

The class text was also interesting this week. Chapter 6 talks about promiscuity and the influence that popular culture plays. I am like a lot of other people in this world, I look around and I’m in shock with how outrageously some young people are dressing, shirts that cover nothing more than what a bra would. So I see that yes, fashion choice have changed, but just because someone is scantily clad, does that mean that they are then more promiscuous? No, of course not, but it seems as though people often relate the two. Similar to other news stories, the issues of “more promiscuous teens” have recently been blasted all over many major news outlets. This seems like a reoccurring issue, where the news is playing on the fears of a lot of parents. They are making kids out to be out of control, and one thing parents don’t want, is to lose control of their kids.

The basis behind the “issue” we are facing is the idea that children copy what they see on TV, movies, etc. Unfortunately, the studies that are being done don’t have a very solid basis. I noticed a lot that individuals use the media as kind of scapegoat, especially in criminal cases. The text discusses a case where a teen recorded him having sex with someone and then circulated the video. His defense attorney was quick to blame the media, siting studies showing the wide range of sexual content that children and teens are exposed to. However, the study that was being referred to had a very broad definition of “sexual” siting that flirting, hand holding, and kissing was sexual. I think it is important to note that sexuality and sexual content in the media is nothing new and has been going on since the first motion picture was shot! (Sternheimer, 2013). The thing that has changed would be our thoughts about this sexual behavior and content. I don’t think that much has changed with our culture in regards to the “sexiness” of it all. For as long back as I can remember the idea of “sex sells” has been everywhere. They use sex to sell burgers, TVs, heck I’m sure they would use it to sell anything. I think similar to a lot of other issues; the problem dies out just to be refueled again when someone decides. I think that often times the media makes a mountain out of molehill and will portray that teens and children are out of control sexually, as if everyone is sexting and being promiscuous, when in reality it is a small percent of children and teens that are actually behaving this way. A Pew Internet and American Life study from 2011 states, “only 2 percent of twelve to seventeen year olds had ever sent a nude…by contrast more than double the percentage of people their parents’ age admitted they had” (Sternheimer, 2013, p. 149). This is just another example of how really the behavior of adults is being impacted much more strongly, but we are still continuing to focus on children. I think this is really because people are more likely to be struck by fear about the children, because they represent innocence. Just like so many of the issues today I agree with Sternheimer, if we are so concerned with the “drastic” change of promiscuity in our youth today, maybe we should consider the factors that are being  constantly ignored.

Chapter 8 of the class text introduces us to health in our society, and not only what health crisis that we are currently facing, but also the impact that the media has on influencing the people’s behavior in regards to health. The chapter starts off by recognizing the fact that media can be blamed for two issues that we are currently facing as a nation today, obesity and anorexia. When I first read this I was a bit confused, how can something be the source of two extremes this way? The easiest way that I could comprehend this was to divide the two topics.

So how does media relate to obesity in our world today? There is a clear weight gain trend in children and adolescences over the past several years, and the trend is said to be a direct result of sitting and watching TV.  Sternheimer explains that many studies have been linked to television watching and obesity. The studies suggest that those children (because we rarely focus on the behavior of adults), that watch more TV are more likely to be obese. Professor Steven Gortmaker, of Harvard School of Public Health writes, “Our children are spending more time that ever in front of the television…kids are being taught  to lead unhealthy lives from a very young age”  (Gortmaker, p. 199). Statements like this too many people, including myself, make sense. Those who sit in front of the TV for long periods of time are being inactive; therefore they would probably be gaining weight compared to a child that is outside. So, with this logic, just turning off the TV would take down obesity, right? Unfortunately, like many other issues we are facing the connection between the two isn’t that simple. This is another example of how many people are quick to point the figure at media as the root of all evil. If ads were really promoting unhealthy habits like many studies suggest the rate of obesity would match the amount of ads out there. However Sternheimer writes, “A Federal Trade Commission study from 2005 found that kids see fewer ads today than they did in the 1970s, when children weighed considerably less” (Sternheimer, 2013, p. 199). So why are people blaming the media and the influence of ads to purchase unhealthy food, and support unhealthy habits, when in reality they are seeing less ads than before? It feels almost as though people who aren’t fond of media are sharing half-truths. The text also goes onto address the fact that most of the studies that have been performed came up with mixed results. Much of the research that is out there about media and obesity is presented as cold hard facts, and that there is a direct cause-and-effect relationship, when at best the mixed results from the studies show a correlation, or association between the two. I think that much of the research and stories associated with obesity and media influence plays on the fear of a lot of the parents out there, and casts the media as the villain, yet again.

Now that we discussed the issue of obesity, how can media impact the public in the opposite way? How is it that the media is to blame for the unhealthy weight loss in our society? For one, I completely acknowledge that many fashion, news and various other outlets plaster unrealistic expectations of beauty all over the place. From billboards to magazines there are thin, white females surrounding young girl’s every day. They see these models as ideas of beauty and strive to look like that, when in fact the images have been severely altered. I didn’t really understand how we could justify the fact that the media can impact people in various ways, until I thought (DUH!) media impacts people in different ways. Similar to the obesity studies, many have linked the constant portrayal of thin models to the unfortunate epidemic of losing weight extremely, to the point of anorexia and bulimia. However, just as in the obesity studies a lot of this information are being presented as fact, when it is really weakly based. There have been additional studies in regards to outside influence (outside the media) and the studies have found that peer influence strongly impact people, and although media may play a role, the influence isn’t as strong as that of their peers (Sternheimer, 2013). I thought it was interesting that eating disorders were also linked to abuse. There was a statement that really resonated with me, and that was, “Eating problems are often not really about looks at all” (Sternheimer, 2013, p. 209). This is an important message to remember; because we are so busy blaming media we are failing to look deeper into the issues that people are facing. As someone who has struggled with eating disorders throughout my life, I know that I wasn’t really looking to better my appearance, rather I was looking to feel in control in a time in my life where I felt very out of control.

Sternheimer took these two chapters and really broke down a lot of issues that we are facing today, in a way to not blame media. She acknowledges the role that media does play in influencing the public, but she also is aware that there are so many other structural issues that are at play. Introducing the fact that many low-income neighborhoods are filled with fast food drive through and other junk food, but rarely do they have a store with fresh produce, showing the connection between lower income individuals and obesity? We are failing as a society to see our shortcomings. It is important to spread this media education and the analytical skills we are learning to help the public address, not only what is happening in the media, but the underlying issues that we are facing as well.

 

Also, I know we are supposed to be focusing on the class text and videos, but I also wanted to draw attention to the articles and videos that we read this module. First of all the guest lecture by Christina was very interesting. She did such an amazing job of introducing yin and yang in a way that I had never thought about. I also really liked the articles and videos on beauty and beauty standards of our society. The two that really stuck out to me the most were the short videos that were discussing male beauty standards in our society, I personally enjoyed this one because it shows the pressures that males are under, and I feel that we often ignore the internal struggles of boys and men and focus more on the pressures of women, in regards to appearance. I also really enjoyed the article Being Dishonest about Ugliness, written by Julia Baird. This article really appealed to me because it spoke so frankly, I think we often sugar coat a lot of social issues that we are facing, especially when it comes to trying to explain said issues to children. This article talks about the fact that we shouldn’t continue to tell children how looks don’t matter, and things along those lines. Instead we should discuss how looks matter, however they are not the only thing that matters. This article was just a fresh perspective that I hadn’t experienced before.

Module 4 Dugan & Sternheimer

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This week only just begun and it already feels like it’s about to end! Starting on Wednesday definitely threw me off my game this week but thankfully there isn’t as much material to cover.

After reading the Sternheimer text this week, I feel different.  Chapter 6 concentrated on sexualized images and reality.   One of the opening paragraphs mentioned how the world was shocked and appalled when Miley Cyrus went from being innocent Hannah Montana to being a shaved-head girl hanging from a ‘wrecking ball’.  I’m about the same age as her so it didn’t effect me the same way it probably effected kids younger than me.  For me, it was a big change but I was also going through a change from child to almost-adult.  Sternheimer talked a great deal about promiscuity and how we see kids as being promiscuous and more sexually active than ever before in recent history.  However, it is said that kids today are LESS sexually active than in the past, and certainly less sexually active than adults!  In fact, it is mentioned several times that adults are more likely to engage in risky sexual activity such as not using a condom or contracting an STD.  At the same time, reading that African American males are so much more likely to have sex before the age of 13 and are also more likely to carry and contract STD’s, I can’t help but feel like we need to focus on them more.

The biggest question I have after reading this chapter is why do we feel the need to concentrate all our efforts on protecting and shielding our teenagers when they are not the age group with the most issues.  Instead, shouldn’t we focus on telling adults to be more careful when meeting people and engaging in sexual activity?  Shouldn’t adults be the ones we talk to about STD’s?  Schools 30 years ago weren’t talking in depth about STD’s so aren’t those the people in need of the education?  I think, based on my own experience and the reading, that we focus on teens so they don’t end up like the adults today.  We are hoping to change what they grow up in to but I think the only way we can affect who they become is by being better examples.  Kids watch what we do and if we conduct ourselves appropriately then so will they.

Professor Dugan talks about culture and how it defines, divides, and unites us.  Culture is learned behavior and shared experiences that make up our lives.  Now having said that, it can be assumed that promiscuity is a part of our culture.  It can be seen that over time, the shows on television have changed and so has society.  Is there a relationship?  Is TV the one changing us or are we making TV change?  I would argue that our culture is asking for the type of shows on television.  We may not realize it isn’t healthy for us or maybe we just don’t care.  After all, binge watching Netflix is commonly referred to as a guilty pleasure and the word ‘binge’ itself has a negative connotation.  The first video on culture talks about storytellers.  Storytelling is how we learned about history and culture in the past.  Today, the storyteller is commonly the television.  Therefore, we are relying on mass media to tell us how to act and live our lives.  Does anyone else see a problem with this?

Chapter 8 of the Sternheimer text focused on image, obesity and eating disorders.  I learned that the fashion industry is being cracked down on for using models with eating disorders.  I think that makes sense because the kids (and adults) viewing these ads want to be as pretty as the model in the ad.  Unfortunately, it isn’t being taught (by schools or by parents) that those ads have been photo shopped to the max and the girl in the photo by that time doesn’t even exist.  I took issue with the idea that television causes obesity.  I believe the message should instead be something along the lines of “if you don’t get outside or get your body moving and you’re eating all that crappy junk food, you’re going to gain weight”.  I think rather than blaming television exclusively, we need to focus on alternatives.  How about, “Johnny if you want to watch your TV show then you need to go outside and play for a few hours first”.  It’s a sad reality when kids have to be told to go play in the fresh air but I think it’s what we need to do.

I also take particular issue that we don’t hear more about adult obesity.  The ones that get the attention for being obese are extremely overweight whereas I do not.  I am not in great shape and I need to work on my weight but because my body fits in a normal sized seat, people don’t generally worry about my health.  I wish commercials and ads focused more on my generation.  As a mom, I spend a lot of time worrying about my daughter’s lunches and making sure she eats her meat and carbs because she is currently under weight.  However, I don’t give myself the same attention because the media doesn’t focus on me.  I believe that if a parents eating habits are healthy then the child’s will be too.

Overall, this goes back to culture and what we are teaching people to do.  I don’t think that the media is responsible for our bad behavior but I do think they have the ability to help educate so if we can get better and more accurate information in the media, the future might look brighter.  This can also relate to symbiosis and Professor Dugan’s video because as he says, one company owns many media outlets which means that conglomerates don’t need to employ as many people or write as many stories because they can use the same story in many different formats, decreasing the amount of work necessary to produce content.  If the media were controlled by many different companies, we may end up with different or thought-provoking information every so often.

I think I learned a lot this week so far.  I was happy to learn that kids are waiting longer to have sex and when they do have sex, there are less resulting unplanned pregnancies.

Thank you!

 

Jessica Zarate Blog 3 Takeaways

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Currently, one major issue my children and I are faced with in our home is technology usage. It is not necessarily the exposure to technology but more how they choose to use technology. Often more times than not my children are attracted to violent, games, movie and other forms of media. As a parent, altogether avoiding “violent popular culture” is incredibly difficult. Not only are 7,9, and 11 year old exposed to violent content on television, theaters, as well as especially video games. It is very hard to eliminate exposure to violence when it is all around us. the According to Sternheimer (2013), “Because Americans spend so much time, energy, and money focusing on violent popular culture, ironically we fail to understand violence itself. If violence is really the issue of importance here, we should start by studying violence” (p. 103). In chapter five, Sternheimer goes on to discuss how crime and violence has gone down in the last two decades, as media begins to expand within the United States. She also makes a valid point in stating “It is important to consider the context of violence in media to understand how people of all ages make sense of violence in media, their communities, our nation, and the world” (104). In my opinion, this quote in simpler terms means for individuals to consider the source. Something my father whom is 61 years old and grew up in a different era might perceive something as more violent than I would. When studying the video games my children play and are exposed to, I am shocked to see the graphic content in those games. On game for example is “Grand Theft Auto”. To my son, the violence, cussing, and crude content is not shocking at all to him; whereas, my father and I myself are appalled and shocked so see images that that in a video games. One of the terms used in the text is “emotionally immune” and I would say this term applies to my children and other young children who are constantly being exposed to these types of games and shows. I would also agree with the text where Sternheimer (2013) states, “Of course, witnessing violence in person has a different meaning that mediated violence. Ironically, critics of media violence seem to have problems distinguishing between in-person violence and media violence” (125). (That game was given away to an adult friend by the way) As a parent, with all of the gadgets today, I have to be 100% on top of my children in what they are looking at online and with the games they are playing. I have been naive in the past, and they have pulled the wool over me in more than one instance. For these reasons, I am looking at things from a protectionist’s standpoint. It is my job to limit their exposure to media and content I find inappropriate for their age whether they like it or not. The chapter then goes on to state that people seem to think that child violence is on the rise when “the reality is that adults commit most crime, but a much smaller percentage of these stories make the news” (107). I would agree that the media focuses on stories that will gain attention and sell more newspapers and magazines. Which story would you as the audience be more interested in reading, “14 year Old Boy Murders His Siblings”, or “Man of Los Angeles Burglarizes and Murders”. I believe that the first headline would automatically draw more attention and therefore gain the popularity in the media. Sternheimer (2013) also goes on to state, “Violence may be an act committed by an individual, but violence is also a sociological, not just an individual phenomenon, one that is related to patterns of persistently high unemployment, limited educational opportunities, and geographic isolation from more stable communities” (108). Chapter five has plenty of great statistical information but overall in my opinion, children in the classroom as well as at home do not possess the skills at younger ages to be trusted whole heartily with technology.
According to the NCCP, “Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and employment, race/ethnicity, and other factors are associated with children experiencing economic insecurity” (Jones, Ekono, & Skinner 2015). Their research supports the idea that the amount of children living in low income families is on the rise and has jumped from 39% to 44% from 2007 to 2013. The great thing about media, is the capability to shine light on major issues such as these. Child poverty is a huge deal. There is no reason why children in America should go to bed hungry. ty. The media can be put to good use and shine light on major issues such as these. Websites such as these can show statistics to educate Americans and facilitate change in society. People can create website and use their media knowledge for good use, but listing local resources and organizations people can turn to for support and assistance. YouTube is also a great source for bringing attention to real life issues. For example, in an additional resource retrieved from YouTube 60 Minutes visited homeless families and interviewed the parents and the children. They asked a group of children what it feels like to go to bed hungry. The children were very honest in describing their hunger pains and feelings. One quote from the video that stood out to me was (20011) “Homeless kids tiptoe in the world of insecurity, hoping to be invisible” (9:45). A person might see this video and find ways in their own capacity to make a difference in their community. This is a great example of how media can be used for the positive.