Television and Its Niche in Society - Essay Example

Television certainly has implanted itself as an important and major part of our society and as it was twenty years ago, so it is to today and will be in twenty years our major source of entertainment and information. There have been many theories over the years relating to different forms of media and The Use and Gratification Theory in Television and Internet was developed from studies in the late 1970s which explored what gratifications attracted people to television.

We also have a Media Dependency Theory which in effect tells us we are easily lead fools who are controlled by the media. Psychologists and Sociologists come up with a variety of theories as to why we watch TV. They have said that the Mass Media Have a Direct, Immediate, and Influential Effect Upon Audiences by injecting information Into the Consciousness of the Masses(Wikibooks,2011) The fact of the matter is human beings have needed to be entertained since the beginning of time. We need to enjoy our leisure and before TV or even the radio, the natives in the jungles of Africa invented their dances and rituals for their entertainment or self-gratification if you want to make it sinister.

What interests us is driven by our basic needs and background, our experiences, and, our education. Rather than being controlled, we control the mediaPeople Bend the Media To Their Needs More Readily Than The Media Overpowering Them(Wikibooks,2011 ). We do not have studies theorizing why a person prefers a pair of blue jeans over black and quite frankly who cares. Their reasons are the same as why they watch a particular movie or documentary or sporting event. There is no University degree needed here and there are no psychological or sociological problems, it is simply about a human being their need for leisure and entertainment. Television has not changed in the last 20 years only the technology involved in producing the entertainment.

Semiotics and Super Bowl The Semiotic Media Theory interprets signs, communicative or cultural that point to the significance of popularly appreciated phenomena. The cultural and communicative signs of the popularization of the Super Bowl are pronounced and far-reaching in American History.

The human being needs excitement and is driven by emotions, both highs, and lows, it is almost an addiction. They need to have someone to cheer for and someone to boo at. This is an inherent nature that we all possess. We have to have a hero, someone to admire and follow, and someone to dislike and jeer at. The media certainly realize that these human signs are all evident in American Football and they present them continuously to heighten our senses and our emotions. By the time the Finale comes around Super Bowl and its lead-up have been driven into our minds until those Semiotic human signs have become so heightened, we have to watch it, almost like an addict.

The Semiotics point to the success of the Super Bowl and all popular sports are bound up in those simple signs, the needs, and emotions that make us human.