The Facet of Mass Media - Essay Example

?Critically Examine How an Experience of Attending A Concert May Be Affected By Your Expectations Of It, In Comparison To Expectations You Would HaveOf Experiencing It In A Mediated Form Table of Contents Critically Examine How an Experience of Attending A Concert May Be Affected By Your Expectations Of It, In Comparison To Expectations You Would Have Of Experiencing It In A Mediated Form 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Thesis Statement 3 Discussion 4 Critical Evaluation 7 Conclusion 8 Works Cited 9 Introduction The facet of mass media is considered to be those forms of media technologies that intend to reach a substantial number of audiences by executing the function related to it. The different organizations such as the publishing companies or the various television stations which controls the media technologies are also typically recognized as mass media. The major functions of mass media entails assistance in terms of making variations in the habits as well as in the attitudes of an individual, bringing people close across the world and most significantly promoting efficient distribution of goods. The mass media with the aid of different technologies often provide the viewers or the audiences with synthetic realities like animations, fast as well as slow motions, computer simulations and zooms. The broadcasts in the televisions deliver a clear view of any events or actions rather than experiencing the real event. The different effects of mass media include the deliverance of valuable information as well as news to the people, informing the public about various government programs along with policies, entertaining people and promoting various trades and industries through advertisements (Marikkar, “An Introduction to Mass Media and Their Effects and Roles in Society”). Thus, it can be stated that the mass media imposes crucial impact upon the individuals and the society at large. Thesis Statement In this discussion, a critical examination about the way an experience of attending a concert may get affected due to the prior expectations in comparison to the experience of the same event in a mediated form will be taken into concern. Moreover, a detailed analysis of both the types of experiences of the event in terms of various relevant conceptions and theories will also be portrayed in the discussion. Discussion It has been observed that the notion of synthetic experience or a mediated type of experience is qualitatively different from a real experience. The aspect of real experience principally originates within the natural sensory envelope of a person i.e. constant vision sounds among others which arises from the events occurring at their own paces in real time within the reach of the sensory capabilities of a person. Conversely, the facet of synthetic experience arises from the conceptions which do not possibly originate within the natural sensory envelope of an individual. During the years of twentieth century, the public has known to become quite familiar with an informative environment which is based upon real experiences blended with unreal or synthetic experiences. The motion pictures usually provide synthetic experiences to the people and they self-consciously attend them as a recreational event. In this regard, both real as well as synthetic events are gradually presented to the audiences of mass media and hence every individual experiences the mixture of both the events. Through the expansion of mass media, synthetic events have increasingly become more persistent in comparison to real events in modern life in the form of synthetic experiences. The mass media has been successful in attracting the attention of a huge number of people and it has been recognized in this context that much of the current day experiences are entirely different from the experiences prior to the years of twentieth century (Funkhouser & Shaw, “How Synthetic Experience Shapes Social Reality”). However, there exist both synthetic as well as real experiences with regard to attending a particular concert. The experiences related with this event can be analyzed in different forms which include the acceptance of boredom or inactivity, hope of perfection along with high performance level and probable misconceptions of social and physical events. From the viewpoint of the acceptance of boredom or inactivity, it can be stated that attending a concert as a synthetic experience will be more attractive in comparison to the real one due to excellent picture clarity as well as high resolution motion pictures. This form i.e. the acceptance of boredom or inactivity can be related with the cultivation theory which was propounded by Larry Gross as well as George Gerbner and examines the enduring effects of television. The theory suggests that with the increase in the number of people watching television, there lay more probable chances to hold a view of actuality. The expectations of experiencing a concert as a mediated form will be vastly different in comparison to viewing the concert as a real event. Relating to the cultivation theory, it can be stated that most of the people would prefer to view a concert as a synthetic event or in a deviated form rather than watching the event in a real form. This is due to the fact that periodic viewing of television portrayals ultimately leads the viewers to ‘cultivate’ television based information by incorporating it into their real-world judgments as well as perceptions. Moreover, during last few years, television has become a strong information source about societal reality for numerous individuals and turned out to be an integral part in the daily lives of the people (Moon and Blaney, “Assumptions Major Tenets of the Theory”). In terms of hope with regard to perfection and high performance levels, it can be stated that the perfection as well as the performance level would be relatively high while attending a concert rather than viewing it in a mediated form or as a synthetic event. This is due to the fact that the situation of attending a concert would engage every possible chance of experiencing disturbances in the surroundings where the concert would take place which would lead to disappointment, dissatisfaction and frustration. But in the case of viewing a concert in a mediated form, least level of disturbances might be encountered as the concert would be viewed on television where the performance level will be high and the level of perfection will be quite in accordance with the standard as compared to the real one. This form i.e. the expectation of perfection and high performance level can be related to the theory based on cultural norms which states that the mass media represents as well as emphasizes certain contemporary cultural values or ideas. According to this theory, it is the mass media which greatly influences the norms by altering or reinforcing the cultural ideas or values by a considerable level. Moreover, the theory also suggests that the television programs deliver a dynamic lifestyle that changes the beliefs as well as the attitudes of the viewers in a differentiated form (National Open University of Nigeria, “Introduction to Mass Communication”). From the perspective of possible misconceptions of physical and social events, it can be stated that all the events such as drama, sports or a concert along with any other entertainment programs which are presented on television or in a mediated form are neatly tied up and compactly packaged. Any sort of problems that arises while viewing any events through mass media or rather television such as a concert can be resolved within a short span of time. In contrast, the problems with regard to the real experiences of viewing any events such as a concert often appear to be complex, unsettled and unending. Due to the aforesaid reasons, there exists a possible misconception regarding physical and social events in relation to real experiences. Finally, from the viewpoint of possibly limited contact with and a superficial view of one’s own environment, it has been observed that until the years of twentieth century, majority of people never travelled long distances. They attained the experiences from the knowledge of several reports, artistic illustrations, stories, myths and television commercials among others (Funkhouser & Shaw, “How Synthetic Experience Shapes Social Reality”). Thus, it can be stated that on the basis of the aforesaid fact, there lies a crucial difference between the experience of synthetic and real events. Critical Evaluation Several theorists such as Constantino strongly believes that television in relation to synthetic as well as real experiences of the events is less dominated by imported programs in several regions of the world (Constantino, “Synthetic Culture and Development”). But conversely, Funkhouser and Shaw argued that television has been more dominated in certain regions of the world by a significant level relating to synthetic and real experiences of events. This can be better explained by taking into concern a practical instance. According to Funkhouser and Shaw, television has become a daily routine in majority of the homes of United States (US) and the viewers prefer to watch any sort of events such as a concert in a mediated form or wish to experience synthetic form of events. Moreover, Funkhouser and Shaw pointed out that an average number of children in the US are likely to spend more time in watching their preferred events on television (Funkhouser & Shaw, “How Synthetic Experience Shapes Social Reality”). Conclusion After having considerable idea about the nature as well as the consequences of mass media, it has been apparent from the fact that media is often attributed with enormous power which brings the major events of the world inside the living-rooms of every individual. In fact, the media does not primarily reflect the actuality but they expose the viewers or audiences to focus upon synthetic realities in such a way that comply with the needs of the media. There lie numerous differences between a synthetic and real experience of events such as a concert in which the expectations of the viewers are affected by a considerable level. In this regard, the expectations are duly affected because of various reasons which include the acceptance of boredom or inactivity and hope of high performance level among others. Works Cited Constantino, Renato. Synthetic Culture and Development. Synthetic Culture, 1985. Web. 04 Aug 2012. Funkhouser, G. Ray, and Shaw Eugene F. How Synthetic Experience Shapes Social Reality. Editor’s Note, 1990. Web. 04 Aug 2012. Marikkar, Abdul Bary. An Introduction to Mass Media and Their Effects and Roles in Society. Mass Media's Effects and Functions in Society, 2003. Web. 04 Aug 2012. Moon, Kyung, and Blaney Joe. Assumptions Major Tenets of the Theory. Portfolio, 2007. Web. 04 Aug 2012. National Open University of Nigeria. Introduction to Mass Communication. Enforcement of Norms and Cultural Values, 2008. 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