The Influence Of The Entertainment Industry Essay Example

entertainment (Robison et al 2009).  When televisions were invented years back, it gave people the ability to connect with the stories in a visual manner. This has formed the basis of many studies on the issue of entertainment media. While critics condemn the influence modern forms of entertainment media have had on the American culture and values, others are applauding the impact and the transformation it has had on the lives of many Americans. The purpose of my paper is to look at how entertainment media has shaped the values and the culture of the Americans, and whether these influences are negative or positive.

Because of its huge potential to influence people, community and society, television is used by people with very negative and divisive motives to manipulate people. Since time immemorial television has always been used as a platform to advance propaganda. People with very extreme ideologies might use television as a platform to advance their agenda. Example of such groups is the terrorists. In most cases, terrorist use television to preach religious hate which pits Muslims against the Christians. They stage publicity stunts on television to gain followers and sympathizers. This has created religious hate among different religions. The number of terrorist attacks has been on the rise with many innocent Americans losing their lives (Jenkins, 2004).

Script writers may take advantage of the viewers’ naivety to advance their personal and selfish agendas. This might have an influence on viewer’s perception of life. People spend hours and days watching television unaware of the danger it poses to their health. It has been scientifically proven that excessive watching of television affects the development of the brain

as people might spend a lot of their time watching films and television leaving very little time for social interactions (Jenkins, 2004).

The main radio stations in America are owned by big corporations whose main priority is make money and remain relevant in a very competitive market. Because they make profits and money by attracting very big audiences, radio owners may opt to air issues that are popular and have a potential of attracting very large audiences. That is why issues of sex and violence are common topics of discussion on national radio stations. The nation is at a point where values are traded for cash. When the human brain is exposed to such topics for so long, it loses the ability to reason and reflect (Jenkins, 2004).

Showing of violent scene on televisions and movies creates a society which is over aggressive. Use of force and violence in movies has a negative influence on society. Movie stars are people guys admire and look up to for inspiration, when the stars exhibit negative characteristics like use of violence to advance their cause or abuse of drugs and alcohol, naïve viewers may take this as society’s approval of such behaviors. As a result it leads a society which is violent and aggressive, people might also chose to behave in certain way to mimic their favorite actor. When children are consistently exposed to violent clips it changes their views on live, having very serious ramifications on the society. (Robison et al 2009).

Many Americans nowadays and most importantly children are able to access sex clips and pornographic materials at a click of a button. The American pornographic industry is the

leading in world however; some of the people who consume its products are the underage school going children. Internet porn addiction is not just a fiction story but a reality Americans must face. It has changed people’s perception of sex ruining lives and dreams of many (Kellner, 2003).

Amidst the above negative influences, the American entertainment media has had a few positive impacts on the society. It has created awareness and information on issues of human rights and justice. Some programs aired or films shown are actually very educative. Documentaries on nature and wildlife has boosted the efforts of conservationists and spurred the government to spent money towards the course. The entertainment industry also turns in a lot of money in terms of taxes for the government generating revenue (Jenkins, 2004).
Parents have a real challenge at their hands in this era of digital media, with few government regulations restricting content, the parents have to take the initiative to restrain their kids from watching and getting exposed to harmful content.

References

1. Jenkins, H. (2004). The cultural logic of media convergence. International journal of cultural studies, 7(1), 33-43.
2. Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., Clinton, K., & Robison, A. J. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Mit Press.
3. Kellner, D. (2003). Media culture: Cultural studies, identity and politics between the modern and the post- modern. Routledge.