In today’s society, the media puts too much pressure on everyone, and especially women. For example, women in magazines, posters, and commercials are always thin and pretty. This puts so much pressure on women because they think they have to look and act exactly like them. In reality, no one looks like that. Women in magazine, posters, and commercials are just models. You really don’t see those kinds of women in society. They all are off in their mansions away from regular society and nowhere to be seen. Even though the pressure is so exhausting and frustrating for women to become like models, people really bring it towards themselves. No one is going to want to see a acne written chubby girl on a huge billboard or in a magazine article. People want to see these gorgeous women with a perfect bottle body half naked. People “want” that, and the media “gets” it for them. So the phrase "you get what you want; you want what you get" is a 100% accurate motto for the media industry.
Gender roles are another pressure that the media put on people. Men and women are always portrayed in a very stereotypical form. Where the man is strong and aggressive, and the woman is sensitive and passive. Is this even who we are? Are we forever going to be crafted in the image of the media? Sadly enough we will be. The media projects on to society and society determines how a person is going to be. People are crafted and influenced by their parents, school, friends, work, and society in general. Why must we put all these expectations amongst ourselves? In spite on how the media have crafted people’s lives for decades, I honestly believe that the power media has, it deteriorating. The movie, "Sexual Stereotypes in Media: Superman and the Bride," was most likely made in the 1970’s and that is the time where the media’s power was at its highest. Now people are becoming more open to different types of people and their customs.
One example one how society has become more open is on the topic of homosexuality. Back in the days, homosexuality was seen as an abomination and a taboo subject. There is still people who don’t agree with it, but back then, the majority of the population wasn’t. Now I see many girls who have a sassy gay best friend. I think it is a wonderful thing that society is beginning to be more open. Not only in society, but the media is starting to pick up on it too. In television and movies, we are starting to see many different types of characters with different personalities and different life styles. Where as back in the days, television and movies had very common characters“1) The movie, "Sexual Stereotypes in Media: Superman and the Bride," suggests that the images we see in , and families were all the same. A typical family on television and movies would be a Caucasian family with two or three children, a house mom, and a working dad living in the suburbs. Now we see many varieties of characters and families in television and movies. I believe this happened because people started to get bored of the same-old-same-old stuff. So obviously we wanted something else, and we got what we wanted. So whatever the media sees that we want, the media is going to give it to us.
I like your use of the word the media industry because it is in fact an industry that is there to mass produce a product. They are producing products that influence our everyday lives; a parallel would be cigarettes, they have such a massive production rate and are still not something that is doing a great good for humans in general. I do like your arguement but I am not sure I agree with it because I think the power of the media is actually increasing instead of deteriorating. Especially things like the internet and how we have access to it even in any remote part of the world. This has the power to affect not only the people around the media specifically but even those who are not around it. News about something can reach you within a few seconds after it has happened and I believe that right now is when the media has its highest influence. Images can be portrayed not only through visual billboards, newspapers, or magazines but through our computers, phones, and television at alarmingly high rates. The world has become more open about topics that if they were up to others would have never seen the light of day but we can attribute that to the power of media and our consumption of it. We certainly do get what we want.
ReplyDeleteSociety today does put too much pressure on both genders specifically woman. Woman are treated In a depraved manner as far as they are told that if they wanted to make it in the industry then have to be sexy. In other words, they have to sell sex. Take Victorian Secret for example. They are told to parade around in underwear, bras, and lingerie for men to leer at them and for woman to fell completely non sexy because they know that they cannot possibly meet the expectations that come with wearing that product.
ReplyDeleteThe way that media and society in itself pressures the two genders to act and except their roles as men and woman is delusive. Also, the way that media portrays woman as not as good as men nor as intelligent. Woman will do exactly the same job as a man, perhaps even better than a man does and yet she receives less pay. People should be treated equally. It should not matter what gender you are, how beautiful or not beautiful you are or what or what race you are. Anyway you look at it, the media has to change there out look and point of view.