mass media and stereotypes essay

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How Mass Media Contributes to Minority Stereotyping

• Categories: Minority Stereotypes

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Published: Feb 8, 2022

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• Rivas, Anthony. “Trump's Language about Mexican Immigrants under Scrutiny in Wake of El Paso Shooting.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 4 Aug. 2019, abcnews.go.com/US/trumps-language-mexican-immigrants-scrutiny-wake-el-paso/story?id=64768566.
• Smiley, C., & Fakunle, D. (2016). From 'brute' to 'thug:' the demonization and criminalization of unarmed Black male victims in America. Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 26(3-4), 350–366. doi:10.1080/10911359.2015.1129256
• US Census Bureau. “ Hispanic Heritage Month 2019.” Hispanic Heritage Month 2019, 9 Oct. 2019,www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2019/hispanic-heritage-month.html#: ~:targetText=59.9%20million,of%20the%20nation's%20total%20population.

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Argumentative Essay On Mass Media

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Media stereotypes essay examples.

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Argumentative essay on mass shootings.

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Can We Really Trust the Media? Essay

Can We Really Trust The News Media? Can the people of the United States of America trust their modern news media? Since early colonial days, various forms of news coverage have existed in this country. And for many years now, the reliability of the information delivered by the media has been heavily scrutinized. It seems that this issue is becoming more and more significant in the 21st Century. Ronald Roach, executive editor of DiverseEducation and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine, notes that "more than ever, the American news media are under public scrutiny for the way individual reporters conduct themselves, for how news coverage on major events is carried out and for the balance media organizations purport their.. more content... Television news shows tend to emphasize negative issues and frequently portray violent or extreme news stories. It seems that television medium for news, with its large visual aspect, lends itself particularly well to emotional stimulation. Apparently due to the desire for increased profit; many in the media will display whatever has a potential to increase viewers, ignoring ethical principles. Part of this ethical problem is due to the way the overall nature of news media is changing. The former news director of the ABC Information Radio Network and past chairman of the Radio– Television News Directors Association, Rob Sunde says, News programming has become a cheap alternative to entertainment programming, and the lines that once separated the two have become blurred. The pressure to create impactful and profitable news programming for prime time will only become more intense. Young people––long on enthusiasm, short on journalism––will burn ever brighter trails across the nighttime skies, and the American people will become inured to it. The danger is not so much what will become of electronic news as what will become of the public's perception of it, its believability, and its relevance to our lives" (Rob Sunde). The news media is turning into more of an entertainment outlet than an actual source of factual news. This change is a reaction to the longing of present

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The article "Mind Over Mass Media" by Steven Pinker uses logos, ethos, pathos, and other rhetorical elements to effectively communicate that mass media is a positive development and is not a reason for panic. The first noticeable rhetorical element in Pinker's essay is the presence of a rhetorical triangle. A rhetorical triangle is made up of a rhetor, the audience, and the rhetor's purpose. In this essay Steven Pinker is the rhetor because is the one trying to make a point to the audience. The audience is the reader of the article who is listening to the rhetor. Finally, the text or point the rhetor is trying to make is that e effects of mass media are not a cause for panic. In fact mass media is an effective way for humans to keep up with the modern age. The clearly defined rhetorical triangle in Steven Pinker's essay is a surface level example of rhetorical elements in the text. Another rhetorical element that can be seen in Steven Pinker's "Mind Over Mass Media" is the element of logos. Logos is an attempt at using facts and logic to persuade an audience. It is the most emphasized and widely used rhetorical appeal in Pinker's essay about media. The first example of logos appears when Pinker writes about the "you are what you eat" theory. Pinker says that most of the critics of media act like humans immediately change follow what information they get. Logically this doesn't make much sense, people can learn about things and not be totally changed by them. Since Pinker

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Diversity in media has been a topic of concerns for years now. The diversity across all areas of media has seen significant change from that of the 50's and 60's. Comparatively, media representation has seen somewhat of a golden age in regards to diversity. Unfortunately, despite the progress we have made as a nation, we still have a ways to go in regards to properly diversifying our various forms of media. There are a few ways in which we can begin to diversify the how media is produced and well as how it is viewed. The media will need to get away from the status quo, media needs to portray a collective view and finally proper education and insight into the mindset of the target audience will help diversify the media. Media is stuck in a loop and to diversify it needs to try something new. The end goal of most media, regardless of the form, is to produce revenue. Therefore methods that have proven to work in the past will be repeated until shown to be unsuccessful. A recent article in Feminist Magazine discussed an annual report released by the Women's Media Center on gender bias in major US media creation. The report discussed some reasons as to why media creation is still geared towards males. The main cause dealt with how marketers utilize media to target the group of people that have the most disposable income, white males 18 – 49 (Mandanas, 2014). This mentality was been the status quo for years and does not take in consideration other groups or combined marketing

How To Write An Argumentative Essay On Media Bias

Taylor Maracalin Dr. Gauthier English 102 C 21 September 2015 Argumentative Essay on Media Bias Since the early 20th century, media has been very influential to mankind through various mediums. Mediums such as radio, newspapers and advertisements were used to influence opinion, beliefs, lifestyles and behaviors. Media in various ways, can aid any consumer of media in forming opinions on what ever topic they choose to consume. This is influential consumption of media is often used in politics, specifically during political campaigns. Major media outlets such as MSNBC, FOX, CNN, and ABC have the power to either popularize or discredit any potential or current candidate. However, the media can be biased to either candidate's party and/or agenda. Wether liberal or conservative, media bias should be censored in all media outlets... more content... Scholars and researchers were under the impression that media were such a persuasive channel due to the response of consumers through presidential campaigns and elections. According to A Measure of Media Bias by Tim Groseclose and Jeffrey Milyo, based upon previous studies of media bias, most journalists are liberally biased. When researching the elections of 1992, based upon Povich reports 89% of voters voted of Bill Clinton over George H. Bush.(1193) "Of course, however, just because a journalist has liberal or conservative views, this does not mean that his or her reporting is slanted" (1193). One may refute the idea of political bias or slant reporting because, all of the media outlets cover elections, nominations and other political coverage. True, all outlets cover factual evidence, however it is how and the context in which the various events, and situations are

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Mass Media The media, which is somewhat reflective of society, has become a powerful tool in shaping our culture. Advertisements are the foundation for mass media; they sell images, values, success, normalcy, and romance. Daily, we are exposed to advertisements whether they are written or commercial. Jean Kilbourne says in her 1979 video Killing Us Softly, "advertisement is part of our air pollution" (1979). Advertisements have social consequences that give them the ability to reinforce objectification of women?s bodies, and display images that may cause male violence against women, sexualize young girls, infantile grown women. According to Gabriel Weimann author of Communicating Unreality, in advertising.. more content... and are not effected by their powerful influence (Lazarus 1987). How can you not be affected by advertisements, when the average person will spend three years of their life watching just commercials and that does not include the printed ads in newspapers, magazines, or billboards. Advertising has made a huge financial jump, in 1979 it was a 20 billion dollar industry and by 1999 the advertising industry had risen to a 180 billion dollar industry (Jhally 2000). The advertising schema may be quite similar but now it is costing a lot more. Companies are also going a step further to make their point sell their product and to get the attention of the advertising public. The same ideas and approaches have been used for years, but someone always takes it a step further and as a society we continue to take a step back accepting more and more. The advertisers that do present controversial ads end up winning in the long run, they are the ones getting the extra publicity. According to Jean Kilbourne author of Can?t Buy My Love, Calvin Klein has used the free publicity to his advantage. He has utilized controversial advertisements exploiting young children; some felt he crossed the line into child pornography (Kilbourne 284). The protesting and media coverage only helped his daring, rebel like image. Over the years new eye opening advertisements have been presented

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Stereotypes in Media Essay

Introduction.

Media has a significant impact on the life of a modern person. An essential component of media is advertising, which, unfortunately, is filled with stereotypes. At the same time, people encounter it daily, which enhances the adverse effect. The repetition of the same stereotypes leads to the problem where certain principles become fixed in the mass consciousness. Consequently, people begin to believe these biases sincerely and consider them their own. Unfortunately, such stereotypes are not always beneficial or even true.

One of the striking examples of media with stereotypes is the advertising of a sportswear brand Nike. Undoubtedly, this company is trying to produce quality products and pays much attention to brand development. However, in their advertising, people who wear Nike clothes and shoes are usually healthy, athletic, and beautiful. This creates the stereotype that only slim people can be successful in sports. Thus, many people with non-standard parameters of their figure are embarrassed to start working out because they are afraid to seem ridiculous, although society would actually support them. Therefore, to reduce the negative impact of advertising on people, marketers must take a responsible approach to its development and take into account the interests of different population groups.

Follow Up Response Post

The use of stereotypes in cinema is a critical issue. On the one hand, this allows creating vivid and understandable characters. On the other hand, this can reinforce negative prejudices in the minds of viewers. Therefore, the development of characters should be approached carefully. Fortunately, in recent years, screenwriters and directors have been trying to avoid the tendency toward stereotyping in cinema. They are interested in creating unusual and original characters. Thanks to this, viewers see the multifaceted nature of a human being, which allows them to become what they want and reach new heights.

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IvyPanda. (2022, February 20). Stereotypes in Media. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stereotypes-in-media/

"Stereotypes in Media." IvyPanda , 20 Feb. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/stereotypes-in-media/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Stereotypes in Media'. 20 February.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Stereotypes in Media." February 20, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stereotypes-in-media/.

1. IvyPanda . "Stereotypes in Media." February 20, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stereotypes-in-media/.

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IvyPanda . "Stereotypes in Media." February 20, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stereotypes-in-media/.

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Mass Media: Critical Thinking Skills, Images, and Stereotypes

Introduction, theories and models, mass media: images and stereotypes, racism and discrimination.

Critical thinking is the ability to question incoming information and beliefs. The skill helps to think clearly and rationally, seek logical connections between facts, and formulate strong arguments. Critical thinking is based on the ability to reason. To become a critical thinker, it is necessary to be an active researcher, not a passive recipient of information. This skill is especially relevant in modern realities, where the flow of information is growing daily, as is the number of channels people consume. Considering the proportionally growing fake news in the media, this ability allows maintaining a stable attitude toward various social phenomena without succumbing to provocations. Critical thinking involves six essential skills: problem-solving, analysis, creative thinking, interpretation, judgment, and reasoning. It helps to analyze information, avoid falling for fake news and make better decisions.

In 2018, journalists from the Canadian newspaper The Toronto Star checked 1.3 million statements by Donald Trump during his presidency. Newspaper staff found 1,972 false statements and 68,928 untrue words (Dale, 2018). In 2017, Donald Trump issued nearly three false statements a day. Such claims help Trump gain votes, but their choice will be unconscious and unfounded. If something does not suit the voters, they will have to deal with the consequences of the choice themselves. This case shows the close relationship of the social and even political context with the media. False media reports can negatively impact one’s finances, profession, or personal life. For example, an anonymous news source reports that a particular company’s stock will rise soon. If the news turns out to be unreliable and people buy shares, they will lose money. Learning to recognize lies, separate facts, and opinions is needed.

According to the theory of information deficit, a large flow of information increases the gap between different strata of society. Educated people know where to look for the information they need, learn faster, and know how to filter fakes and propaganda. Less educated people get lost in the information flow. They cannot find and identify useful information, and their opinion can be manipulated. This fact complicates the process of socialization and development of the entire community. According to the theory of social imagination, society receives a particular deep dimension of relationships, which is formed due to imagination, reflecting the samples, attitudes, patterns of behavior, and attitudes of a person (Mooney, 2018). As a result, conflict arises at a deeper dimension of relationships within the community, leading to deeper and deeper conflict and instability.

It turns out that only a tiny part of society owns the correct important information. For example, people move away from scientific discoveries because they are difficult to understand. Because of this, they can get confused about automation or global warming, not prepare for change and lose their jobs. The opinions of such people can be shaped by journalists, corporations, or the state. To avoid the possibility of manipulation by the media, it is necessary to use various fact-checking methods and verify the reliability of sources. Now many special online services can automatically check the news for reliability, although the results of their work are not undoubtedly correct.

Consequently, the situation leads to one that is described by the theory of social conflict. Any society relies on the coercion of some of its members by others, which leads to inequality of social positions concerning the distribution of power, which often controls the main media channels (Zeitzoff, 2017). The difference in the social status of various social groups and individuals causes mutual friction, contradictions, and, as a result, a change in the social structure of society itself. If the majority of the community does not have the skill to think critically about the consumption of information from the media, manipulation and restriction of the freedom of society without its consent is possible. As a result, the Overton window will significantly approach the indicators of less freedom, and what seemed once unthinkable may become one of the extremes of the moving norm. National Review magazine ran an article accusing Trump of shifting the Overton window on national security and immigration issues (French, 2018). The publication believes that the president changed public consciousness, calling for the erection of a wall on the border with Mexico and banning Muslims from entering the country, which is considered unacceptable in the context of globalization processes concerning the current prevailing norms.

According to the theory of structural functionalism, the elements of the community in the context of the media are stable patterns of the activities of people who, to one degree or another, depend on information. Even those capable of critical thinking, many of them study news in order to analyze the political, social, and economic situation in society. Nevertheless, this concept is descriptive of the entities and mechanisms of interaction within society, while various determinants can cause the reasons for the existing organization of the structure. Almost each of them has their point of view, which describes, for example, the dynamics of the economic or social situation in the community.

The use of such theories and models helps assess media performance for several reasons. Overton’s window allows at a long-term distance to notice the dynamics of changes in social norms and their reflection on the freedoms available to society, which speaks not only of the activities of the media but also of the political situation in the region as a whole. The propaganda model reflects systematic statistical outliers in media content for economic reasons (Fuchs, 2018). With the transition of most news channels to online and the availability of Internet technologies to everyone, the share of information consumed has increased. The contextualization of ad posts has increased the importance of ads in this stream. Each person has greater freedom of choice among various channels.

However, the main feature of population stratification is still carried out in the capacity of critical thinking: the media can manipulate overly gullible populations, forming differentiation at a deep level. These facts are reflected by the theory of social conflict, the concept of social imagination, and the theory of information deficit. As a result, applying these concepts makes it possible to prevent unwanted differentiation of the community layers for these reasons. No wonder, according to the study results, between 2001 and 2020, the number of British schools with courses in critical thinking increased from 130 to 1300, while student performance increased ( Research from The Center for Critical Thinking , n.d.). This study also suggests that critical thinking increases the intensity and effectiveness of learning.

The media image of the modern world is built on the archetypal values ​​of the subject of information activity and the consumer of information. At the center of this process is the dialogue between the creator and consumer of information archetypes. Similar processes are observed in the processes of interaction between the images of individuals in the media and their listeners. The visual image is one of the determinants of modern culture; however, with the transition of many channels to the online environment, the content behind the image becomes equally important. However, it plays a decisive role only after a closer acquaintance with the person, while the visual image helps to attract attention at first.

Modern trends force us to pay attention to the source of information, especially when presented as an individual. Behind this person’s words to the open public, there is a considerable background of personal history, various events, an active citizen, life, and political position, which together form a complete picture of a person. Through this picture, the context of the presented information is perceived, which can manipulate public opinion, strengthening stereotypes or destroying them. It should be borne in mind that an image can be considered objective only from the position of the source of its reflection – its carrier (Aiello & Parry, 2019). The media are the creators of images due to the specifics of their activities and the characteristics of work tools.

Operating in a specific language, the media indirectly participate in forming images of the perceiving audience. In the future, concrete mental constructions, taking root, become social norms, patterns or ideas. These images subsequently shape public consciousness (Aiello & Parry, 2019). In the same way, perhaps more indirectly and implicitly, oppressive ideals, power inequalities, and stereotypes are taking root through media presentations. The influence of archetypal attitudes on creating a particular picture of the world passes through media images, which can be in a wide range, on different channels of influence.

In this context, the concept of racism in question is currently receiving much more attention than before. Due to the global trend of equality of rights, regardless of gender, race, and other personality characteristics. Critical thinking, in this case, allows one to reasonable reason about these complex categories, differentiating the context, source, narrator’s image, non-verbal gestures, and other determinants that form the appropriate worldview, at least within the framework of the question raised. In other words, the fundamental values ​​that lie in opposition to discrimination and racism involve applying critical thinking to the information received. In fact, this explains the extreme need for this ability at all stages, from the formation of information to its delivery to each person.

One of the reasons why people trust stereotypes, while they could hold more objective views, is that stereotypes can serve as the core of any tradition, a way to protect their position in society. At the same time, stereotypes present a consistent picture of the world. As a result, the power of habit combined with fundamental enduring traditions forms an attachment to stereotypes, which media publications will strongly support as more reliable sources. Globalization and the migration crisis in Europe have led to a surge of xenophobia and racism around the world. The press, primarily owned by large international corporations, adds fuel to the fire. It turns out a vicious circle – the media plays on the basest feelings of people, provoking further manifestations of racism and xenophobia in society.

However, in the United States, non-white employees make up about 21-26 percent of television workers. However, in other instances, this figure is much lower at 11-14 percent (Titley, 2019). There is an opinion that television, by the way, is still trying to preserve racial and ethnic diversity, especially when it is noticeable to viewers. At the same time, the producers who remain behind the scenes, but determine the channel’s policy, are mostly all white (Titley, 2019). On the one hand, this opinion demonstrates the facts, but the submission, on the other hand, is aimed at inciting conflict. As a result, according to the theory of social conflict, members of society will not only rely on reliable facts but also form a correspondingly negative opinion about inequality. This example does a great job of highlighting an important issue while setting an example that is obvious and accessible to everyone.

The media often reinforce their position at the expense of celebrities in advertising. While the critical ability of most people is much more active concerning advertising than other media content, media literacy rates are still significantly lower (Jones-Jang et al., 2021). In this regard, critical analysis is essential not only for the analysis of information itself but also for analyzing the environment, the context of this information. It is not only the source and fact-checking within the content that matters but also the images that accompany that content. According to the theory of information deficit, differentiation in society increases due to the large flow of information based on people’s education. However, media literacy is a category that transcends information literacy and is used to validate news stories (Jones-Jang et al., 2021). As a result, media literacy, regardless of the size of the data stream, can help narrow the gap in society and stabilize the social situation.

The social environment can be prone to internal conflicts not only due to differentiation in global economic and political processes but also due to the shift in current values. For example, the somewhat biased coverage by some media of the murder of a police officer believed to have involved Troy Davis has sparked unrest far beyond the United States border (Brown-Dean & Jones, 2017). The widespread publicity of this case shifted the Overton window towards greater freedom for people of a different races, and more independent media began to promote corresponding values ​​of equality, which led to many actions around the world. Similar processes are observed concerning gender discrimination, sexualization, and many other acute social problems: each of them has its resonant cases that stir up public opinion, which contributes to the legitimization of new emerging values.

As a result, through media literacy, each person can improve the social situation in society through a critical analysis of both information and the environment in which it is presented. At the same time, the process of socialization remains more complex since the strength of the majority is still relevant. If the majority of the population succumbs to manipulation, transferring, and spreading of the imposed opinion, which may be accurate, but far from always, then critically thinking people will have to make disproportionate efforts to form new values ​​and orders.

Aiello, G., & Parry, K. (2019). Visual communication: Understanding images in media culture . Sage.

Brown-Dean, K., & Jones, B. (2017). Building authentic power: a study of the campaign to repeal Connecticut’s death penalty. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 5 (2), 321-342. Web.

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StudyCorgi. (2022, December 2). Mass Media: Critical Thinking Skills, Images, and Stereotypes. https://studycorgi.com/mass-media-critical-thinking-skills-images-and-stereotypes/

"Mass Media: Critical Thinking Skills, Images, and Stereotypes." StudyCorgi , 2 Dec. 2022, studycorgi.com/mass-media-critical-thinking-skills-images-and-stereotypes/.

StudyCorgi . (2022) 'Mass Media: Critical Thinking Skills, Images, and Stereotypes'. 2 December.

1. StudyCorgi . "Mass Media: Critical Thinking Skills, Images, and Stereotypes." December 2, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/mass-media-critical-thinking-skills-images-and-stereotypes/.

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StudyCorgi . "Mass Media: Critical Thinking Skills, Images, and Stereotypes." December 2, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/mass-media-critical-thinking-skills-images-and-stereotypes/.

StudyCorgi . 2022. "Mass Media: Critical Thinking Skills, Images, and Stereotypes." December 2, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/mass-media-critical-thinking-skills-images-and-stereotypes/.

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