Week 9
"Future Shlock" By Neil Postman
The examples that Postman draws upon for this essay are perfect for explaining his opinion that the United States is losing its culture to mass media and the entertainment industry. If you haven't seen "The Gods Must Be Crazy" or "The Producers", or haven't read "1984" or "A Brave New World" - do it. I do agree with the majority of this article, but at the same time not everyone is affected by the triviality of the media. This article kind of ties in with that website regarding media headline during wars in the "Explorations" section of this topic. The media construes so much of the news and information it's hard to know whats true...but an intelligent person knows how to see past that and realizes not everything you see and read or hear is true, that there is always more to the story than what is depicted. I'm sure that Postman is probably shaking his head over Arnold Schwartzenegger being the governor of California..haha. WHO is incharge of the media in the states is what I want to know..do they think everyone is that dumb? Probably. I could go on and on about this topic but I'll leave it at that, haha.
"Pornography" by Margaret Atwood
I just have to say I love reading anything by Atwood. She could write about a piece of garbage and make it interesting. Anyways..she presents the issue of pornography here by looking at both sides - those who say it's freedom and expression and harmless, and those who consider it to be teaching that violence to women is ok when it's in the realm of sexuality. I think that pornography in general, not even including the violent depictions such that Atwood describes in her article (sic), gives men the wrong idea about sex and what women enjoy. They say it's just entertainment, and nothing is meant by it..but this is how young men are learning about sex. In a 20/20 program I was watching not long ago, most of the teens interviewed said they learn things about sex from men's magazines, not from school or their parents. A lot of what porn depicts is pretty degrading to women, and as I have expressed time and again, women in general really do NOT enjoy that!!!! Some of it may seem harmless but as Atwood points out in her article, this can escalate to extremes, such as violence. It would be good to get some more male perspectives on this subject as most porn is geared towards them.
The examples that Postman draws upon for this essay are perfect for explaining his opinion that the United States is losing its culture to mass media and the entertainment industry. If you haven't seen "The Gods Must Be Crazy" or "The Producers", or haven't read "1984" or "A Brave New World" - do it. I do agree with the majority of this article, but at the same time not everyone is affected by the triviality of the media. This article kind of ties in with that website regarding media headline during wars in the "Explorations" section of this topic. The media construes so much of the news and information it's hard to know whats true...but an intelligent person knows how to see past that and realizes not everything you see and read or hear is true, that there is always more to the story than what is depicted. I'm sure that Postman is probably shaking his head over Arnold Schwartzenegger being the governor of California..haha. WHO is incharge of the media in the states is what I want to know..do they think everyone is that dumb? Probably. I could go on and on about this topic but I'll leave it at that, haha.
"Pornography" by Margaret Atwood
I just have to say I love reading anything by Atwood. She could write about a piece of garbage and make it interesting. Anyways..she presents the issue of pornography here by looking at both sides - those who say it's freedom and expression and harmless, and those who consider it to be teaching that violence to women is ok when it's in the realm of sexuality. I think that pornography in general, not even including the violent depictions such that Atwood describes in her article (sic), gives men the wrong idea about sex and what women enjoy. They say it's just entertainment, and nothing is meant by it..but this is how young men are learning about sex. In a 20/20 program I was watching not long ago, most of the teens interviewed said they learn things about sex from men's magazines, not from school or their parents. A lot of what porn depicts is pretty degrading to women, and as I have expressed time and again, women in general really do NOT enjoy that!!!! Some of it may seem harmless but as Atwood points out in her article, this can escalate to extremes, such as violence. It would be good to get some more male perspectives on this subject as most porn is geared towards them.