Media Influence on the American Perception of Reality

In America, the media and advertising are some of the biggest influences on an individual's method of viewing and interpreting the world around them. The influential power of the media is reaching controversial levels and very few aspects of life in America remain outside the pressure of these outlets. Violent programs, biased twenty-four hour news networks, and impossible social standards promoted by advertising are some of the negative byproducts of modern media. Nonetheless, television, radio, print ads, and other forms of media all remain crucial to the dissemination of knowledge and ideals which continue to inform people's views about the world.

For many years, there has been debate surrounding the issue of widespread violence in today's media. Critics of graphic violence believe that it can lead to desensitization, especially in children, where people view violent acts in a more relaxed light. Violence becomes so common that not only are people less adherent to strict moral standards, they accept violence as an inevitable part of life. Mass media has aestheticized violence. This process has set new social standards, and continues to influence the overall opinion regarding the nature of the world for many people. Instead of seeing humans as inherently good, the saturation of violence in the media implies that human nature is more closely aligned with death, destruction, and chaos.

This type of influence on the basic interpretation of reality is the most extreme form of pressure that the media can achieve. This means that the "evil" portion of good vs. evil is constantly stressed by the occurrence of violence in the media. In effect, the media consistently delivers us its own philosophy: humans are mostly evil; a view which is celebrated by the media while good aspects of the world are largely ignored.

A large part of the aestheticization of violence comes from mass media news outlets such as cable television and newspaper. These outlets consistently sensationalize any and all reports of warfare, destruction, and worldly chaos they can uncover. In fact, good news is usually not news at all to the people controlling mass media. For them, violence is what appeals to the majority of their readers, and so they flood the mediums with as many reports as they can muster. The top national headlines at the time of this essay (December 1, 2006) are: Hundreds Mourn NYPD Shooting Victim, Power Could Be Out Days After Storm, Corruption Hits Cities in L.A.'s Shadows, Woman Arrested in Boy's Dragging Death, Remains Found In 1996 Boston Gang Murder, etc.

This is evident of a selection process used by popular media outlets which first and foremost demands articles that discuss any type of negative behaviors or possibilities. These headlines are presented to us day after day, week after week, for our entire lives. This constant stream of negativity is bound to have an impact on your overall attitude and demeanor. Highlights of these negative events, pounded into our minds day after day, must inevitably shape and influence the way we believe the world really is. If the media shifted their focus to positive events rather than negative ones, I believe that this would cause a widespread change in American society.

A new age philosophy called The Law of Attraction claims that a certain mental disposition will attract equivalent external circumstances. If our mental dispositions are aligned with all of the evil and negative events in the world, we only fuel the cycle and create more of the same. If we can shift our perspective and focus on the positive, we may be able to attract peaceful and beneficial circumstances into the world.

Mass media, aside from sensationalizing violence, also contributes its influential power to the lives of every American by outlining the political scene in a (usually) biased fashion. The fact that these outlets engage in "spinning" of their news, in which they attach some type of biased influence, is proof of the fact that news is no longer about objective fact-reporting. Instead, those who own the media are the ones who own us. First, they decide which topics are important and worthy of discussion. Next, they use their influence to make or break the reputation of any politician they wish. Every aspect of the political world is influenced or pressured by the media in some way. The best politicians are the ones who know how to use the media to their advantage.

No longer is the goal to represent the citizens, now its more about manipulation, campaign money, and maintaining power. Theodor Adorno, a famous German philosopher, claimed that technology becomes a mechanism of domination in advanced societies such as our own. Those who own the technology can control which information and ideals are disseminated to the masses. By watching television, news media outlets are manufacturing our consent and shaping our lives. We listen to their reports, which we believe to be objective, and then assimilate the information into our lives and make decisions based on it. The reality of the situation is that almost all news outlets have a hidden agenda, and are nothing more than vessels for propaganda disguised as accurate information.

If someone received all of their daily news from Fox News, which is considered by most people to be a conservative source, they might view President Bush's administration as successful, causing them to vote for him in the 2004 election. This decision would lead directly to the war in Iraq, which has likely generated an entire new generation of terrorists that had not existed previous to Bush's re-election. These terrorists can potentially have profound impacts on not only our country, but the future of the world. In modern times, the entire political process begins with the power of the media.

Advertising is a specific part of the media with equally influential capabilities. Advertising has the ability to tell us what we need, what we should have, what we should desire, how we should dress, what we should listen to - basically every part of the individual self that we change in order to be "unique" is just a choice from a range presented to us through advertising. Modern advertising is problematic in that it promotes unattainable cultural ideals. People are forced to worship impossible standards of beauty that are embodied by a rare minority. The fact that these ideals are impossible to reach drives a wedge between a person's ideal life and their actual reality. Instead of being appreciative, people become covetous, unfulfilled, and take many things for granted.

All that matters is that they achieve the superior standards that have been constructed by some million dollar ad campaign. Unattainable ideals also lead to lower self-esteem and self-image. Because people can do little to achieve these standards, they view themselves as somehow inferior or more prone to failure. Young boys and girls alike seek to aspire to unrealistic levels of beauty or success that are celebrated by our commercial culture. People become enslaved to their own materialistic possessions and dedicate their lives to becoming better consumers. Fight Club is a film which tackles this problematic lifestyle, and Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) explains its negative consequences well:

"I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."

Instead of people focusing on the things that matter to them, the meaning of their lives are dictated to them by advertising and commercial culture. They are told that they must posses a certain product, and then work all of their lives doing something they are usually not passionate about in order to obtain the money needed to meet social standards that were created by someone who never cared about them in the first place. Advertising continuously shapes the way we perceive the world by setting the standards in almost every arena. When you have a national culture such as the one that exists in America, a mechanism is required to propagate conformity and national identity. Advertising is precisely such a tool.

The negative impacts of mass media seem to outweigh the short list of beneficial ones. People need to stop relying on the media as a source of entertainment and news due to the long list of potential side effects associated with long-term exposure. The meaning in your life should be taken from your personal experiences, never dictated to you from an external authority. Society as a whole must begin to question authority, especially the politicians that are representing them, and find a better way to learn about the events occurring in the world in which they live. In a capitalist society, profit motivates all endeavors. This must constantly be taken into account when dealing with the media, and one must always be aware of the fact that biases, hidden agendas, and money always play a part in the things they view, see, hear, or read.