Gender, Culture and the Media Essay Example for Free

Gender, Culture and the Media Essay Media, in the context required, is a term used to define an interactive transmission that is visualized and then especially designed to reach a large audience, for e. g. a whole nation. These audiences, however, are very different from one another, depending on their culture and gender identities. The variance in culture and sexual identities, have an obvious impact on media which is why there is a dire need for exploring the relationship between the two. The most important tool in exploring and understanding the relationship between media and culture is communication. This is because communication plays a very effective role in the manner through which interaction is carried out with the masses (Gaunlett, 2002). For this purpose, extreme emphasis is given to the cultural differences that may occur. Such is the case of international campaigns or chains of restaurants; whenever they want to promote any product, they have to consider the differences, and keeping these differences in mind, they alter their product accordingly for e. g. , McDonalds in India, do not usually serve their people beef burgers as cow is sacred to them. Likewise, Indian people can relate more to it than others who are just viewing this product on an Indian channel. On this note, I would like to add that it is also a TV channel’s responsibility to be aware of the ethics with regard to culture. Although, media is known to show us situation and relationships from other people’s point-of-view, the impact is originated from a certain culture or social class, for that matter. However, it has been changing from time to time with the global development. So, we can say that the relationship between media and gender today, is different from how it was years ago. The reason is because people’s thought have changed in the passing years, the role models have changed and the attitudes of people have changed, which without doubt influences media. It is for these contemporary audiences that the media has to alter whatever it promotes, in the manner that is much acceptable to them. The rest is mere perception on the audience’s part. Talking about the perception of various people and how they interact with things like talk shows, MTV, the Internet, soap operas, television sitcoms, dramatic series etc. , it is very likely to notice that the people interact with the media on the basis of their culture and gender identities (Dines, 2008). An example is that of Lorillard’s Newport cigarettes, introduced in 1957, which after its struggle period in the early stages of introduction, became very popular with the African American crowd. Another comment on the same example is that Newport cigarettes contain menthol, which is supposed to be associated with women mostly. Relating this with media, the advertisements for this brand also focused on African American people in the beginning, as they had identified them as their target market. With the change in society and changing views of people, Newport gained its market recognition and broadened their target market and today it owns a most coveted place in the tobacco industry. In the society that we live in today, people dedicate a lot of time to television, magazines, surfing the net, and other publications. As a result, it is very inevitable to say that they come across culture and advertising almost everyday. Among these people, a large segment belongs to the younger generation, who are particularly sensitive and relatively effected much easily by the same. Childhood culture is an inter-textual universe which connects TV programs to movies, videogames, toys, T-shirts, shoes, games, crayons, coloring books, bed linens and towels, pencil cases, lunch boxes etc. This is where the impact part comes into play, which media has on children and that which the children have on the media (Geertz, 1977). One of the greatest impacts of the above stated example on media is that when a television program (for kids) is produced, a lot of things have to be taken into consideration. Not too much violence, abusive language or false imagery should be used. As far as sexual identity is concerned, men and women have different views, likes and dislikes, regarding different things. Women are more likely to read magazines like Gourmet, Culinary Trends, Bon Appetite, Food and Wine etc. Lately, men have also developed a similar trend in reading magazines but there choices are those like Extreme Sports, Chicago Sports, and Sports Illustration etc. Another aspect is that of men leading the global scene. When it comes to voiceovers, men dominate, regardless of the product. Men continue to work in their late ages on screen whereas women tend to disappear in their late thirties. Facial lines and grey hair are considered to be signs of maturity in males, while the same would pronounce females ‘old’ and not fit for TV (Buikema, 2009). On the other hand, it is also reported to have said that with the developing sense of equality with regard to sexes, the Times magazine cover wondered if feminism was dead in June 1998. To sum up, the media shows us situations and relationships from other people’s point-of-view and we begin to think that we can now see ‘how the world works’, in lives other than our own. Soap-operas showing how neighbors, friends and lovers interact with each other are not behaviors that the media has created by itself. It is the likes of people that have affected media to follow the same. That too, varies from culture to culture. Some counties believe in open cultures while others observe closed culture where too much intimacy and involvement is not look upon as appropriate. People claim that the reference points for them are film and TV but actually it’s the way round- people, their cultures and genders influence upon the way they interact with the media. References: Buikema, R. , Tuin I. , (2008), â€Å"Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture†. Routledge Dines G. , McMahon J. , (2008), â€Å"Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-reader†. Sage Publications Gauntlett D. , (2002), â€Å"Media, Gender, and Identity: An Introduction†. Routledge Geertz, C. (1977). The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books

Aliens Built the Pyramids Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aliens built the Egyptian pyramids. Recent research supports the theory that the Pyramids were built long before humans inhabited the area now known as Egypt. It is also nearly impossible for the Egyptians to have lifted and moved the limestone brick used to build these massive structures. Only a more advanced form of life could have constructed such an enormous undertaking, while using advanced mathematics and geography that were not yet known to ancient peoples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Archeologists suggest that the large stones used in building the pyramids were transported by rolling them over logs or a wet, slippery, clay surface. These methods may have been effective in moving the blocks close to the building site, but do not explain how the massive bricks, weighing as much as a Ford F250 truck, were lifted on top of each other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the Great Pyramids at Giza were built, the Egyptians had not invented the wheel yet, but the limestone blocks that they grudgingly transported, in an effort to build pyramids, weighed about 2 tons each. If all of the stone from the pyramids was cut into one foot, square blocks, it would extend two thirds of the way around the earth. No human life forms could have possibly erected these structures using that much limestone, because they did not have the technology to work in such scale. Only aliens, with more advanced mechanical and mental abilities, could have designed and ...

Truman Show Essay

Peter Weirs 1998 film The Truman Show is a metaphor for modern society, it focuses on the way the media manipulates reality. We are complicit in that manipulation and also victims of it. The film challenges us to critique the media and extricate ourselves from the â€Å"reality† it surrounds us with. The Truman Show tells us about life and reality, it portrays from what is real and what is a fantasy. Truman’s world is somewhat like our own world because of the way things are perceived and approached. Everyone expects and wants a true reality and build things around a world that we all seem to want and truly believe in.This is a similar case to what Christof seemingly tried to create, however it was more forced and mannered compared to what the worlds view and society’s form of a world would be like. We all expect things to be perfect; however nothing can be too perfect. There has always got to be imperfections or something going wrong. In a way we are set up, nat urally you’re always going to want something, but when you see something better you want that instead; it’s the same with wanting things that you can never get. The concept is the same.It’s that lust of just wanting to be accepted into the world accordingly to what society approves of, just that feeling of wanting to be accepted into the world. In Truman’s case, everything was controlled. From staging to lighting, friendships, and relationships and just how absolutely everything was set out. It was a manifested stage; the perfect little world where everything was always right. In our world, reality; we try and make it the same, however things don’t go our way all the time which causes the little caresses in time and change, completely flipping a scenario around therefore causing things to go unexpected.Not as planned and not as we have hoped. We are controlled by forces that we cannot handle such as the push and gravitational pull. The earthâ€℠¢s atmosphere and weather, our love and emotions. Little things like this that has such a big impact into the world; our world and our reality. The media plays a big role in both our world and Truman’s world. We are impacted by it every day and most don’t seem to notice. We rely on it a lot and we all seem to revolve around the media always wondering and dependent so we know what to expect next.The media plays an important role in The Truman Show because it is a set up world. The way that Christof has made it to be, to advertise to the viewers watching his show. Almost every way that it is staged out, there is a product being sold or just the way that they talk to each other is fake, you can tell that it’s been scripted and Truman is really only oblivious to this because he chose to believe that this is his real world and this is what it is made out to be until he has suspicions into what is really occurring.In our world, the media somewhat plays a similar part. We rely on it to get our information. It can be used for good and bad. There really is not telling in what to expect next coming from the media as they are so unexpected and mysterious. As it is, we are a lot like the viewers of the Truman show because we support the media industry. We are keeping the industry going by encouraging it and egging it to go on. The media is our form of entertainment and it’s almost our crucial bit of daily medicine, like we must take some in each day in order to survive and go on.We rely on the media as much as it relies on us to keep it running. In modern society we accept whatever goes on and most of the time approve and agree of whatever the media is saying, posting or filming; either broadcasting online or offline. It has become so relevant in our world and especially to this generation. We are like the viewers of the Truman Show because whatever the media plays, and we watch it is just another form of entertainment for us and the peopleâ₠¬â„¢s lives that they intrude on is merely a form of enjoyment to our eyes.

Ceremonies of Possession by Patricia Seed Essay - 1673 Words

Alysha Kurani In Patricia Seed’s Ceremonies of Possession in the Europe’s Conquest of the New World: 1492-1640, several different â€Å"possession methods† were displayed from the different groups that conquered the new world. Ranging from artwork, to astrological maps, to a reading of submission, each group devised their own technique when claiming a new land. Physical demarkation was the main practice the English used to symbolize the ownership of new land. The methods they used to mark such territory were the building of houses, gardens, and constructing fences. Houses created a legal right to the land. As declared by Seed, â€Å" building the first house was critical to the initial stages of English settlement in the first place because†¦show more content†¦It had very specific instructions and everything had to be done by protocol. It had to be read aloud and acknowledged by the natives. The Requirement stated that if rules were not followed and th e natives would not yield to the Spanish authority then they would be warred upon. As said in Chapter 3, â€Å"It set the aims of warfare not as mere surrender, but as submission to the Catholicism and its legitimate representative, the Spaniards.† Thus, the spoken speech was focal point in Spanish conquest. â€Å"It â€Å"requires† that the indigenous peoples of the new world acknowledge the church as superior of the world and therefore consent to have priests preach to them.† The speech then goes on to give a written disclaimer that if anyone were to not follow these guidelines they were subject to death that they themselves brought upon them. The Spanish also used taxes as a form of submission and humiliation to conquer new worlds. This came from the influences of â€Å"jizya-inspired Moslem and Jewish tribute payments to Christian rulers.† Under Christian rule the wealthy communities paid in cash while the poorer communities paid in hard labor. Althou gh, eventually, natives would merge into Spanish society they were never thought of as actual Spanish citizens they were thought of as subjects living under Spanish rule. Most of the Spanish Requirements were influenced by the Islam’s concepts of beliefs on conquering and taking over new people. The Spanish usedShow MoreRelatedThe Colonization Of The New World1333 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.†, that’s exactly how all the ethnic groups wanted to accomplish dealing with this discovery in this foreign land with farming and the dry land possession in many field spirituals. The colonization’s in the New World was consistently complex to keep peace during those days from wars and competition for claiming the land of opportunities. Between the cultural differences, the Spanish, the Dutch, the French and the English, it was trulyRead MoreChristopher Columbus : New Trade Routes Essay2254 Words   |à ‚  10 PagesColumbus believes that the possibility does not matter, since the Spanish have encountered it, and therefore, have given it a new name. Patricia Seed delves in to Columbus’s fixation on naming the various landscapes he had encountered by stating: Columbus s practice of naming or, more accurately, renaming rivers, capes, and islands as part of the ceremony of taking possession was repeated throughout the conquest of the New World and constituted one of the culturally specific acts of Spanish imperial authorityRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words   |  518 Pagessyllabic nasal has been marked as follows: m before labial sounds (p b kp gb m f) and approximants ( w y) n before all other sounds in accordance with the recommendations of the Standardization Committee. Examples: m mÌ€ pà ¬ (horn), mbà   (town), mkpá » ¥lÃ… «Ã¯â‚¬ ¨ (seed), mÌ€ gba (wrestling), mmÄ  (goodness), mÌ€ fe (lightness), mwepà ¹Ã¯â‚¬ ¨ (taking out, subtraction), mÌ€ yà ²Ã¯â‚¬ ¤ (sieve) n Ç ¹tu (nail), nnwa (child), nsi (poison), Ç ¹nyà  afà ¹Ã¯â‚¬ ¨ (yesterday), Ç ¹já »  (evil), nÅ‹Ã ²mi (imitation), etc. 5.4 Tones The system of tone-marking introducedRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pageswith which problems are so lved and goods and services are produced. The other force generating social change in Webers scheme is charisma. Borrowing the concept of charisma from the New Testament, where it simply means â€Å"gift of grace,† or the possession of divine powers, Weber gives it a much wider sociological application.11 For him, charisma refers to an extraordinary quality, often claimed and considered to be of divine or supernatural origin, which enables some social actors to secure theRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesand the dry areas of Tibet and central Asia, family agriculture has been less productive and more difficult to sustain ecologically.60 Almost three-quarters of international migration today flows to economically developed countries or regions in possession of excess wealth, such as the oil kingdoms. With the exception of the oil kingdoms, these are all places with populations that are steady or declining in proportion to world population, WORLD MIGRATION IN THE LONG TWENTIETH CENTURY †¢ Read MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesimmoral, antisocial, self-serving, self-interested, self-aggrandizing, incapable of accepting responsibility for his or her own actions and a considerable danger to other members of society. Talking primarily about North America, Bakan argues that the seeds of this dangerous malaise were set legally by granting limited liability and awarding the corporation a legal personality with its managers and directors having a legal duty to put shareholders first above all other interests. The result was that theRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesNiagara Frontier Center Jim Breaugh, University of Missouri Peggy Brewer, Eastern Kentucky University Deborah Brown, North Carolina State University Reginald Bruce, University of Louisville Jeff Bruns, Bacone College Pamela Buckle, Adelphi University Patricia Buhler, Goldey-Beacom College Allen Bures, Radford University Edith Busija, University of Richmond Holly Buttner, University of North Carolina at Greensboro Michael Cafferky, Southern Adventist University Scott Campbell, Francis Marion University