Reflection

 

Media is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it is convenient for consumers. I use it for nearly aspect of my life. Homework and learning is done largely through media, such as typing online and using learning websites as supplementary lessons. It's role as our entertainment provider has become more and more efficient for producers, as social media, streaming, and increasing portability allows us consumers to consume entertainment media at our leisure, rather than waiting for a certain show to air on TV. For me, the Nintendo Switch is an embodiment of increasing usability of media. For one, the fact that it is a portable home console means it I can play resource-intensive games wherever I want. It also has a leg up on the DS, since it can play games designed for the TV, which typically are better-looking than DS games. While the quality depends on what amount of effort they put into it, the ability to choose means I can enjoy what I want, where I want.

Speaking of developers/producers of media, I'll now introduce the other end of the sword of media, indoctrination. Because of how ubiquitous media is, the messages they present will reach thousands to millions of people. For bigger budget productions such as movies and advertisements, or even youtube videos, the messages portrayed tend to be fitted to the narrative, and many are implicit. Here's what I mean by this. Because of capitalism, companies that make these kinds of productions are driven for the most part by profit. This means that their narrative, and thus their message, will be fitted to their profit motive. Simply because of how the human brain works, companies can utilize the basic appeals of advertising and psychological needs and desires to manipulate the audience into buying the product. The great thing for companies is that they can hide these messages as implicit so that not everyone will notice what they're doing, so the likelihood of being called out is less. This creates the situation we are in right now, where advertising techniques have made many identify with a stereotype rather than define themselves as their own person. For example, the notion that a woman's value is determined by her looks. This would have never happened had companies not appealed to young men with sexy women, but as this sold their products, the stereotype eventually became commonly known enough to the point where females actually began to define themselves along values set by other people rather than themselves.

While the solution to this is to stop appealing to needs that would create harmful stereotypes, it is not as simple as that. Companies need this, and humanity will always be susceptible to stereotyping. Thus, advertising that creates harmful stereotypes won't ever go away. Thus, it's on the consumer to realize that companies are never telling us everything they have to say about a product. We need to make implicit messages explicit to ourselves, and while this won't stop stereotypes from being created, using a critical thinking mindset will lessen the effect these stereotypes have on our thinking. This is the most important thing I've taken out of doing these media blogs and throughout the second semester of critical thinking.