Media and Politics

I believe that media organizations are beginning to get back to their purpose of challenging the claims that our political leaders make. More and more lately, I've seen examples of news segments "calling out" our politicians (in particular, our incompetent new president).

The below news clip points out how Trump chastised former President Obama for taking vacation days, while he spends so much of his time at his "Winter White House." It also discusses the social security costs for our current president, and why they are much higher than they should be. Pointing out this sort of hypocrisy and misuse of power is very important. One man on the segment, however, argues that this is "fake news" simply because he disagrees, and the news caster tells him off, saying: "do you actually know what the definition of fake news is?" and proceeding to explain to him what fake news actually is. "fake news" he explains, is putting out an incorrect story meant to intentionally deceive someone. Heated, he adds "please stop it with this stupid talking point... don't call them fake because you don't agree with it." When the man continues to call the story fake news, he cuts him off and says "goodnight."

I liked that he took a stand and decided to educate the man speaking, as well as the American public as to what fake news actually is.

http://latest.com/2017/02/watch-don-lemon-abruptly-walks-off-his-own-show-over-trumpkins-fake-news-bs/

Guns and Video Games

I do believe that shootings are sometimes encouraged (although not caused) by video games. I don't think that someone who was not inclined to kill could become murderous after playing hours of video games, but I do think that someone who already had violent tendencies could play video games and think of such an unspeakable act as more... speakable. When killing is normalized and discussed casually, the results can be dangerous.

There was an example of a young man names Chris Harper-Mercer, who killed 10 people (including himself) and injured 7 more. He was obsessed with playing violent video games, and had open conversations online with other gamers who supported his plan to shoot up a school. He told some anonymous supporters on 4Chan what he was going to do the night before he did it, and was met with encouraging comments, with language similar to language that might be used to discuss a video game. After he did it, people on the same conversation talked about what happened in terms of a "score," suggesting that they thought of the real world in vide game terms.

http://www.charismanews.com/culture/52651-14-mass-murders-linked-to-violent-video-games 

Happy Violence

"Happy Violence" is when violence is normalized in the media, by appearing to be funny or glamorous. 

One example of "happy violence" that I've seen is Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" music video. She, along with a group of models and pretty actresses dance around in sexy outfits, pretending to beat up bad guys and blow things up. They kick, punch, fall out of buildings, box, use swords, knives and weapons, and set things on fire, all with no real consequences. They are a very glamorous group, and the scenes depicted are far from frightening. The video is clearly meant to be unrealistic and glamourous. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcIy9NiNbmo

Who Owns the Media?

I was shocked to find out how few media conglomerations control so many of the channels and shows that are currently on television. Disney, for example, owns Disney Chanel, Lifetime, and ABC - to name only a few. With this in mind, I thought back to one of my favorite shows growing up: Boy Meets World. Boy Meets World played on both Disney Channel and ABC family, and I remember hearing in an interview once that there were certain episodes that Disney Chanel would not play, due to more adult content. ABC Family, on the other hand, had no problem playing these episodes. I did a little research and found out that what I remembered was true - there were at least 3 episodes that Disney Chanel deemed too mature to show, yet ABC family aired each one.

This is interesting to me, because Disney owns both Disney Chanel and ABC Family, so why would they feel some themes were fit for one channel and not another? It seems that Disney wants to put forth a squeaky clean image, free of any topics related to sex, drugs, or alcohol. But for ABC Family, (which, as the name suggests, is still very family friendly) the corporation is a little more lenient. 

Plato: The Allegory of the Cave

Prompt: How might the "Allegory" help us understand media and media influence?

In Plato's The Allegory of the Cave, those who live in the cave represent us, as a society, and the shadows represent the distorted perception of reality fed to us by the media and those in power. Like the cave dwellers we, too, are "compelled to hold [our] heads unmoved through life", as we must accept the norms and beliefs of the society we are born into. Just as the prisoners in the cave know nothing else, we also know no other life than the one we have always lead, and do not recognize what we do not know.

When one prisoner escapes, he has a difficult time adjusting to the light of the outside world. It is a painful process, and at first he refuses to believe that the real world is real. In time, however, he realizes that what he originally believed to be reality was, in fact, false. This outside world is the pure and undistorted reality.

We experience something similar to this when we choose to leave our metaphorical "cave" and seek our own truth and meaning. Just like the escaped cave dweller, we can choose to "see the light" and not merely accept whatever distortion of reality the media is choosing to convey. We don't have to believe the media's interpretation -- we can create our own interpretation of events. By thinking differently, we can free ourselves from the media's skewed influence, and the darkness that we live in. We can learn so much more about life and the world if we look beyond the information that is readily available to us and begin to think more abstractly.

At first, our minds may have to adjust, just like the cave dweller's eyes did. Discerning reality is a difficult, and often uncomfortable process. It is much easier to simply listen to whatever you're told, and blindly believe those in power. But once you've found the truth by viewing information from all angles, you won't be able to go back to that life, and that metaphorical dark cave.

When the escapee ventured back to the cave to share his truth with the other prisoners, they ridiculed him. They did not want to listen, and did not want to question everything they knew to be true. They could not imagine a life outside the cave, for it was all they had ever known. Similarly, when we try to persuade others that news and media that they put so much stock in is propaganda or simply inaccurate, they often respond with anger. This anger is based on fear (as anger often is) for people are frightened by the unknown.

It is important that we remain aware, and question what we are told and shown. It takes courage to divert from he norm and speak truth, but it is the only way to free ourselves from that shackles that are ignorance.

In today's society, we can apply Plato's lessons to how we listen to our current president, and news outlets that support his lies. We must not take what he says at face value. We must realize that simply because a person has authority, does not in any way make them correct or deserving of our respect. Over the next four years, we will be told many "alternative facts" and it is our job to do our own research and attempt to share the truth with those who may not want to listen, even if it causes them to feel hatred or fear towards us or the truth.