Thursday, May 3, 2007
ABOUT MY ESSAY
I just posted my final essay. I changed the introduction that was already posted in my blog. There are many other things that could be add to the essay ( for axample that our decisions on voting on a particular president is also manipulated thru mass communication), but since it has to be a maximum 1000 words, I had to leave them out. I spent a lot of time finding good examples and references for my statements and trying to make it an easy text to read. I hope you enjoy it!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Mass Communication = Mass Manipulation
This essay is going to talk about communication technology. The first paragraph explains mostly WHY communication technology has such a powerful influence on people. After that, the essay focuses more on HOW that technology helps us to be who we are and how much of us has been influenced by the technology. Because it does not matter if you are going to navigate in the internet, watch TV, watch a movie, a commercial, read a newspaper or even walk on the street an go thru an outdoor. The mass communication technology is there, telling us what to do, what to wear, how to behave, even what to eat. The documentary "Mass Manipulation" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWQc0e9toys ) shows us that. And if we think about it a little bit further, why is it that we grow up with the idea that when we get older, we will get married, have kids, a nice job, a nice house and a nice car? That is everyone's future, everyone's dream. The dominant class society built that dream for us, it is not ours, it is societies dream. Like Karl Marx said: "The dominant ideas of a society are the ones of its ruling class ".We have to live to procreate, to work, and to consume, mostly technology. It becomes a vicious circle. The mass communication (or mass manipulation) technology is used to make us believe that we are happy, or that if we want, we can be happy. "All this communication imposes a standard of living and happiness to be reached"(Wikipedia). It rapes our minds, and there is nothing we can do about it. Communication technology is power. Finally the conclusion will talk about the negative impacts that communication technology has on us.
Explain WHY communication technology influences our being is not hard. There are two things that make us who we are: our culture and our genetic. To what point each one influences us, is hard to tell. However we know today, that both of them influence our personality, our being, and therefore also our actions. It defines who we are. What has communication technology to do with that? Well, it is our culture! Cultures may vary a little bit around the world, but now a days it does not matter where you are, you have access pretty much to the same technology.
Communication technology is helping to make the globalization come thru and that is why the world is sharing the same dream now. Communication technology is there for everyone, and today it is impossible for us to live without it. It can be considerate a powerfull instrument to control people's minds and it controls "society through the manipulation of information" (L, Neumann Educação e comunicação alternativa). I want to explain that using examples. I wanted to make clear first, that instinctive human desires, like food and sex are one thing. What I am going to talk about is a will we were not born with, that we gained later on mostly thru communication technology.
I am going to start showing how movies, and even cartoons influence us. All those movies: Bethoveen, Monster in Law, Shall We Dance?, The Wedding Planne, Legally Blond(and a monstruous list could be made here) have this idea of a perfect and happy life with consumism, a nice family with wife, husband and kids, a nice car and a nice house. I am going to use the movie "The Simpsons" to explain it better, because they have the perfect image of what I want to show. Bart and Marge are married, they live in a nice house with a nice car. And of course, they have children. This family is a "dream" family. They are consumists, fall in love for nice cars, spend more than they can afford with futile things. The accomodiation that technology gives us is another aspect. Bart sits in front of the TV and moves only one finger to change the channels. "The Simpsons" shows accomodation in such a way, that you start to ask yourself weather it is accomodation or lazyness. Even cartoons influences us. This can be seen in the "Manifestoon" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaVbYyky-Bw). The images show us the society that we are, and that we are supposed to continue beeing.
There are only two examples of commercials, because it is hard to find examples with easy access to anyone. The first comercial I am going to talk about can be found on this adress: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXYF1TTJ5uE&mode=related&search=(Unfortunatly there is only the portuguese version) The name of this commercial is "The Clip of Your Life".It talks about a guys life. People that were part of his life sing a music remembering him that he was born, went to school, had his first kiss, had his toys, went to university... The refrain says that he was born, grew up, and now he is evolving, because he's first nice and big car is comming." Your life brought you here" they say, "you conquisted in your life the best thing, yes, your big car is here." The commercial is telling you that it is part of your life to get nice cars! The other good example is I would say the best one. It is in Spanish, and it shows a perfect family, wife, husband, a nice house, even a dog. And the dream to have a complete life: only a nice car is missing out. When they get the car, their life is perfect. Those are images that are daily being brought to us, that are making us believe that this has to be our future, that this is what we want. (You can check it out your self: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-NTs2LKe-U)
I think those examples show in a precise way how mass communication technology is in fact mass manipulation technology. Of course like everything, we can not generalize, but mostly the final impact it has on us I would say is negative. Because we believe that material things will fill the emptyness we have inside of us. But it does not, it only makes us feel emptyer and emptyer. Everyone probably heard that already, but people do not realize how true that is: happiness can not be bought. So, let's not forget that that thru happpiness is in simple things!
REFERENCES
Drew, Jesse (2006) 'Manifestton' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaVbYyky-Bw (accessed 10 May 2007)
'The Clip of Your Life' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXYF1TTJ5uE&mode=related&search (accessed 10 May 2007)
'Mass Communication' http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comunicação_de_massa (accessed 10 May 2007)
'HONDA ODYSSEY - MANEJAR' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-NTs2LKe-U (accessed 10 May 2007)
Neoavan (2006) 'Mass Manipulation' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWQc0e9toys (accessed 10 May 2007)
L Neumann Educação e comunicação alternativa
Karl, Marx & Friedrich, Engels (1998) Manifesto do Partido Comunista Sao Paulo
José, Arbex (2001) Showrnalismo São Paulo
Chauí, Marilena (2006) Simulacao e Poder Sao Paulo
Edward, Herman & Noam, Chomsky (2003) Manipulação do Público: Política e Poder Econômico no Uso da Mídia Sa0 Paulo
Explain WHY communication technology influences our being is not hard. There are two things that make us who we are: our culture and our genetic. To what point each one influences us, is hard to tell. However we know today, that both of them influence our personality, our being, and therefore also our actions. It defines who we are. What has communication technology to do with that? Well, it is our culture! Cultures may vary a little bit around the world, but now a days it does not matter where you are, you have access pretty much to the same technology.
Communication technology is helping to make the globalization come thru and that is why the world is sharing the same dream now. Communication technology is there for everyone, and today it is impossible for us to live without it. It can be considerate a powerfull instrument to control people's minds and it controls "society through the manipulation of information" (L, Neumann Educação e comunicação alternativa). I want to explain that using examples. I wanted to make clear first, that instinctive human desires, like food and sex are one thing. What I am going to talk about is a will we were not born with, that we gained later on mostly thru communication technology.
I am going to start showing how movies, and even cartoons influence us. All those movies: Bethoveen, Monster in Law, Shall We Dance?, The Wedding Planne, Legally Blond(and a monstruous list could be made here) have this idea of a perfect and happy life with consumism, a nice family with wife, husband and kids, a nice car and a nice house. I am going to use the movie "The Simpsons" to explain it better, because they have the perfect image of what I want to show. Bart and Marge are married, they live in a nice house with a nice car. And of course, they have children. This family is a "dream" family. They are consumists, fall in love for nice cars, spend more than they can afford with futile things. The accomodiation that technology gives us is another aspect. Bart sits in front of the TV and moves only one finger to change the channels. "The Simpsons" shows accomodation in such a way, that you start to ask yourself weather it is accomodation or lazyness. Even cartoons influences us. This can be seen in the "Manifestoon" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaVbYyky-Bw). The images show us the society that we are, and that we are supposed to continue beeing.
There are only two examples of commercials, because it is hard to find examples with easy access to anyone. The first comercial I am going to talk about can be found on this adress: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXYF1TTJ5uE&mode=related&search=(Unfortunatly there is only the portuguese version) The name of this commercial is "The Clip of Your Life".It talks about a guys life. People that were part of his life sing a music remembering him that he was born, went to school, had his first kiss, had his toys, went to university... The refrain says that he was born, grew up, and now he is evolving, because he's first nice and big car is comming." Your life brought you here" they say, "you conquisted in your life the best thing, yes, your big car is here." The commercial is telling you that it is part of your life to get nice cars! The other good example is I would say the best one. It is in Spanish, and it shows a perfect family, wife, husband, a nice house, even a dog. And the dream to have a complete life: only a nice car is missing out. When they get the car, their life is perfect. Those are images that are daily being brought to us, that are making us believe that this has to be our future, that this is what we want. (You can check it out your self: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-NTs2LKe-U)
I think those examples show in a precise way how mass communication technology is in fact mass manipulation technology. Of course like everything, we can not generalize, but mostly the final impact it has on us I would say is negative. Because we believe that material things will fill the emptyness we have inside of us. But it does not, it only makes us feel emptyer and emptyer. Everyone probably heard that already, but people do not realize how true that is: happiness can not be bought. So, let's not forget that that thru happpiness is in simple things!
REFERENCES
Drew, Jesse (2006) 'Manifestton' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaVbYyky-Bw (accessed 10 May 2007)
'The Clip of Your Life' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXYF1TTJ5uE&mode=related&search (accessed 10 May 2007)
'Mass Communication' http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comunicação_de_massa (accessed 10 May 2007)
'HONDA ODYSSEY - MANEJAR' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-NTs2LKe-U (accessed 10 May 2007)
Neoavan (2006) 'Mass Manipulation' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWQc0e9toys (accessed 10 May 2007)
L Neumann Educação e comunicação alternativa
Karl, Marx & Friedrich, Engels (1998) Manifesto do Partido Comunista Sao Paulo
José, Arbex (2001) Showrnalismo São Paulo
Chauí, Marilena (2006) Simulacao e Poder Sao Paulo
Edward, Herman & Noam, Chomsky (2003) Manipulação do Público: Política e Poder Econômico no Uso da Mídia Sa0 Paulo
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)