Young adults, aged 16-20, are becoming Increasingly desensitized to violence in films - investigate.
Young adults, aged 16-20, are becoming Increasingly desensitized to violence in films HYPOTHESIS I have chosen to investigate this hypothesis because of the growing number of violent films being produced by the film industry. Also the violence contained in these films is becoming increasingly graphic and sociological research suggests this rapid increase in these films has lead to more violent actions committed by 16-20 year olds, as it is this age range that watch these films the most. One of the reasons suggested for this is that they are becoming desensitized to the violent scenes, potentially making them more able to commit/witness violent acts more easily e.g. Nathan Martinez. Word count : 109 CONTEXT AND CONCEPTS My first context is the Newson Report (1995). This investigated the link between children's actions and video violence. It was stimulated by the murder of the child James Bulger by other children. The main findings of the report where: ? That violence and sadism are more easily available now via films, either in cinemas or on videos. ? This material leads to real life violence i.e. the James Bulger murder ? It includes excessive research that clearly links media violence, through heavy and prolonged viewing, to violent/aggressive behavior. Through my research I want to prove Newson's finding correct by producing research that supports the same point -
Outline and assess the view that the medias representation of ethnic minorities is becoming more positive.
(b) Outline and assess the view that the media’s representation of ethnic minorities is becoming more positive. Today in countries such as those in Europe and North America, the relationship between the media and ethnic minorities is typically characterised by continuity, conflict and change. The mass media are a very powerful organisation within our society. In fact, several Sociologists argue that the mass media directly affects and shapes our beliefs and opinions through repeated exposure to print media news etc. Thus there are many differing views towards the way the media represents individuals in our society. Pluralists for example argue that the mass media only reflects public opinion, with no hidden ideological messages, whereas, Marxist commentators argue quite the contrary, and that the mass media purposefully influences people’s opinions and beliefs in society. In this essay I will evaluate and discuss the view that the media’s representation of ethnic minorities is becoming more positive. Bell Hooks (1992), (a feminist), states that there has been a small change in the area of representation. When opening a book or magazine, turning on the television, watching a film or looking at photographs in public spaces, we are most likely to see images of black people reinforce and reinscribe white supremacy. However, Jhally and Lewis (1992) at the so-called
To what extent does the Media affect body image in teens and their perception of beauty?
To what extent does the Media affect body image in teens and their perception of beauty? There is no question that the Media has a massive impact on how we perceive ourselves, particularly when it comes to our beauty. From my own experience, I have questioned my own body due to articles in magazines promoting a slimmer body type to various audiences. We shape our opinions through what the Media tells us is right and wrong. For instance, women and young girls are judged highly on their weight and appearance where as men are judged more on their masculinity and muscularity.[1] As the Media is a massive topic, I will focus on looking at magazines, in particular adverts, and how they portray beauty and how we then observe the Medias idea of ‘perfection’. I will also be looking at the effects of exposure to these magazines and adverts to teenagers; one particular focus will be the influences of the Media on Anorexia. “Low self-esteem contributes to a distorted body image, and the distorted body image can't be fully corrected until self-esteem issues are reconciled.”[2] If we don’t address the problem (the problem being the Media labelling a certain body type as perfect) then the issue of low self-esteem in women is never going to stop. Over 90% of people diagnosed with eating disorders are adolescent or young women,[3] so why do young women and adolescents feel the need
How Media, Advertising and Celebrity Culture Affects Female Body Image
Research Project Kayleigh Giles-Johnson How Media, Advertising and Celebrity Culture Affects Female Body Image In this essay we will be exploring the subject of body image, looking at which outside influences contribute to the high rate of body dissatisfaction from both psychological and sociological viewpoints, taking into account a range of evidence varying from statistics to studies in order to draw a conclusion. Firstly we will define the meaning of body image and look at the way in which the ideal has changed in recent years, before analysing the effects of media, advertising and the accompanying celebrity culture on body dissatisfaction in females. I will then apply this information in order to explain why it is that some people suffer body image related mental illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia and body dysmorphia. Body image refers to an individual’s own perception of the aesthetics and sexual attractiveness of their own body and facial features. The ideal has changed over the years with the preference of modern culture being a slender, toned figure and delicate, symmetrical features. In the 1800’s the idealised form was still voluptuous and plump, as we can see from some of the art from that time, for example in Renoir’s Blonde Bather of 1881 (Plate 1). The idealisation of
Assess the pluralist view of media ownership
PLURALISM on media ownership Pluralists hold a positive view of the media ownership, arguing the media owners are impartial due to economic reasons and reflecting audience’s demand. Pluralists also argue it is practically impossible for the owners to interfere with the media content to impose their bias. Instead, media owners reflect the interests of the audiences, who actively shape the media output by demanding certain content. However, Marxists note that in reality the media content reflects capitalist values of the media owners who come from the ruling class background and use the media to promote their ideology, which according to Neo-Marxists comes naturally to owners and editors who are educated into acceptance of a particular set of values. Pluralism argues that media operates in free market societies, thus its output is subject to competition and audience needs rather than values of the owners of the media companies. BLONDEL argues that the media is constrained by the market in which no single group had a monopoly of power, thus its content is dictated by the economic reality. Moreover, OFCOM regulations further prevent any one company dominating the market. Furthermore, Pluralists argue that increasing concentration of media ownership is a positive notion. Such trends as vertical integration (1 company controls several stages of media production), horizontal
Assess the view that sociology can and should be seen as a science
Assess the view that sociology can and should be seen as a science. Now sociology is know as a social science, along with subjects like politics and economics. The subjects which are known as sciences are, subjects like chemistry and biology, which involves explanations and reason. Positivists use quantitative data and methods such as questionnaires in order to gain trends, patterns and correlation. Science is about getting the right answers every time the experiment is done. In science if you get the wrong answer then you have done the experiment wrong, or you have the right answer but it will be dismissed as scientists have proven the correct answer is different to yours. In sociology it is difficult to get a wrong or right answer, as the experiment cannot often be redone as the variables can not be controlled, were as laboratory experiments can be redone as many times as it's needed. Durkheim argued that social facts, customs, beliefs systems and social institutions should be considered things. Durkheim also claimed to have discovered cause and effect relationships between social facts. Durkheim also found correlations between suicide rates and social facts. Comte, who invented the term sociology, argued that sociology should be based on the methodology of the natural sciences. This would result in a positive science of society, which would reveal the invariable laws.
Violence in the media.
Violence in the media MORAL PANIC In relation to the media, moral panic can be defined as being an unjustified fear of something, which tends to find expression on a wide scale in the public arena; blaming an object or activity for a wider social evil. Such controversies in the past have arisen with transcript such as the 'Penny Dreadful's, or films, which incorporated crime, as they were seen to promote violence to younger individuals. A good example of moral panic can be referred to the Jamie Bulger case, which came to the conclusion that after the two accused murders watched a supposed horror film about a psychotic doll, they became deluded and set out to re-create the film, and as an attempt killed Jamie Bulger. As the case went public society, became aware that such films could pose a threat to their younger generation, as they were very easy to get hold of and could cause permanent mental damage to their children. A campaign was set up to abolish the film and to increase the censorship factors on the films with tighter charges given to those who sold such films to under aged persons. During an experiment done by Donnstein and Linz, which showed how young so called healthy boys could become desensitized to women rape cases. They were given a survey before watching several horror films, to find out how they felt to certain issues. And then were given the same survey
Why were the police unable to catch jack the ripper?
Why were the police unable to catch jack the ripper? There were many possible reasons why the police were incapable of catching jack the ripper, one of which could have been because of the media , the media was leading the police to the wrong suspects. Jack the ripper was very clever as he left no clues at the scene. His trial stopped after Mary was murdered and there were no more clues or information. The way the bodies of the victims were dissected led the police that only some one with some sort of medical knowledge was to be blamed for the murders. In Whitechapel there were many slaughter houses so it was common for people to have blood on their clothes and there were so many water troughs, so it would have been easy for the murderer to wash the blood of himself. Although the murders were committed during the weekend and the murderer may not be a resident of Whitechapel the police still suspected people in Whitechapel. All the suspicion led to many Jews being suspected. The media published details of suspects they suspected to the story even if they had nothing to do with it. This increased public fascination and interest which led to many hoaxes. This hindered the police investigation, making it more difficult for the police to be effective. The media focused on the more sensitive issues like the amount of immigrants which influenced the police enquiry. The newspapers