Current Discourses in the American Media - Literature review Example

Newspapers and Gun-Control of Newspapers and Gun-Control Newspapers are vital in providinga democratic nation with its daily quota of news. They play a very important role in making the public of a nation aware of the importance of national events and the implications that they have on the running of the electorate. The newspapers of a nation constitute that part of the state that is able to impose checks and controls on the executive and the legislature of that state. This can then translate into collective action on the part of the state. For instance, an article regarding the use of guns in the United States of America in The New York Times reflects this attitude of the media that has led to the government always having to be on its toes. The article by Michael D. Shear and Peter Baker talks of the political hullabaloo around the increase in restrictions revolving the use of firearms in America. While doing so, it also takes into account several of the problems that affect legislation in this regard. This includes the lobbying that is done by many people who are a part of the firearms industry. This article explores the legal aspects of the problem that affects many parts of the United States of America (2013). Another aspect that the article explores is that of the immediate provocation for the government to initiate these proceedings. This is the shooting that took place in Connecticut recently. This took the lives of many young people as a result of the lax laws related to the possession of firearms within America (Aarthun and Candiotti, 2012). These laws have then to be looked into in a more serious and critical way and new methods have to be found out so as to deal with these problems. The article talks also of the problems that the government is likely to run into with the companies that manufacture firearms. Such companies would be hit hard due to the problems associated with that of the reduction of the use of firearms (Holland, 2013). This would then lead to problems where lobbying has to be dealt with in a firm manner since lax laws have led to high rates of violence within America. (Warning shot: Gun violence lands US lowest life expectancy among rich nations, 2013). One of the most important advantages that such an article has is the amount of information that it is able to contain within a small space. This then becomes a space that can look at the various sides of the argument that the government has laid against the relatively free use of firearms in today’s society. This article differs also from other journalistic pieces that were created during this time because of its ability to research into the inside story regarding lobbying and the social implications of the use of firearms. This then leads one back to the larger roles that are to be played by the media in the society and the checks and controls that are to be applied by the media. Marcus Walker Brauchli NewsBios provides one with a very good introduction and account of the life of Marcus Brauchli, a journalist who became the managing director of The Wall Street Journal in 2007. The article has all the good elements of an account of a person’s life. It also provides one with a good understanding of the circumstances that had led to the rise of Brauchli to the extremely high position in the media that he had reached. The article provides the reader with an account of the familial circumstances that had shaped his growth as a journalist. The article also enables the reader to understand a great deal about the importance of Brauchli as a social figure within the community that he is a part of. It also details as a part of this, the family background that he was a part of. This article also makes clear the charitable side of Brauchli (NewsBios Presents: What You Wont Find in Marcus Brauchlis Official Biography). The article gives a good yet extremely concise description of the editors of one of the most important publications of the world and the United States of America. It gives a concise description of the activities that Marcus Brauchli has been a part of and hence gives a description of the life that he had led till the time that he became the editor of The Wall Street Journal. The importance of this lies in the fact that the reader then becomes able to understand the extent to which the events of this person’s life shaped the success that he had gained as far as his profession was concerned. This concept of the man who had made his own success stems from a capitalist conception of success and importance within the world. Within the space of a few lines, it also gives one the essence of what constitutes the Great American Dream of being able to create success for oneself. There are also problems with this piece. The very strength of it can be seen to be its weakness as well. The conciseness of the article makes it difficult to take it seriously as a piece of journalistic work. It also stresses excessively upon the importance of the circumstances that created the person that Brauchli is. One keeps returning to the length of the piece or the lack of it, as a fault of its. It fails to provide one with details regarding the places that Brauchli had worked in prior to his being appointed in the position that he occupied in The Wall Street Journal. There is thus, very little emphasis that is placed upon the professional achievements that Brauchli has achieved. This is despite the fact that the article regarding him is written primarily to create a profile for him that people may read and understand his career graph through. This is especially absurd since there is no other aspect of his life that needs to interest people who are common readers of the publication that he is a part of. Knowing these would, however, lead to a better understanding of the articles that he writes. Review of The Hobbit in Daily News This review of the highly anticipated movie The Hobbit, talks of the technical innovations that have been made in the movie. It terms the innovations unavoidable and takes these innovations to be a hindrance to the enjoyment of a certain amount of illusion that is necessary for the maintenance of the visual appeal of the movie. The director’s victory in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is precisely what is missing in this movie according to the reviewer, Elizabeth Weitzman. The movie lacks, according to the reviewer, the ability to transport its viewers into another world in the way that the novel had done so. There is thus, a constant series of comparisons that the movie has to face when it comes to its aspect of being an adaptation. The aspect of being an adaptation then brings in questions of how faithful the movie is to the novel. This can then be understood as an attempt to look at adaptation not as a separate creative effort on the part of the director but a concerted effort to replicate what the author does. J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel is sought to be represented visually without any changes and the reviewer thus, does not take into account the separate interpretations that the filmmaker may himself introduce into the several aspects of the novel. There is then the other aspect of the history that the filmmaker has. This is then connected to the importance of The Lord of the Rings in the history of Hollywood cinema. Hollywood becomes the center of technical innovation that is able to create this trilogy on screen. However, the same technology is transformed into the villain when there is an excess of it or when the reviewer feels that there is no illusory quality to the fare that is served up. This then becomes an important aspect of what is felt by the audience and the other reviewers alike. One of the limitations that are faced by reviewers is the fact that the medium of print that they employ is often not sufficient to understand the complexities of film as a medium. This has become even more prominent with the introduction of film theory as a specific set of discourses that are able to look at the different aspects of filmmaking and its presentation before an audience. The aspect of the reception of film is also taken into consideration here. The reception of film can often be an indicator of the society that creates the movie in the first place. The issues that are tackled and the form they take on celluloid depend heavily upon the importance that is given to the medium of film over that of literature that is written. This then leads one to look at the differences between the two media. The review then attracts our attention to these aspects of the movie. References Weitzman, E., 2012. Movie review: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’. [online]. Available at http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/movie-review-hobbit-unexpected-journey-article-1.1217806 Shear, M.D.; Baker, P., 2013. Tough Path Seen by Obama on Ban of Assault Weapons. [online]. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/us/politics/biden-to-meet-with-gun-advocates-including-nra.html?hpw&_r=4& Holland, S., 2013. Biden draws NRA ire in drive against gun violence. [online]. Available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/us-usa-guns-idUSBRE9090YM20130110 NewsBios Presents: What You Wont Find in Marcus Brauchlis Official Biography. [online]. Available at http://www.newsbios.com/Spotlight50107.htm Aarthun, S.; Candiotti, S., 2012. Police: 20 children among 26 victims of Connecticut school shooting. [online]. Available at http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/14/us/connecticut-school-shooting/index.html Warning shot: Gun violence lands US lowest life expectancy among rich nations. [online]. Available at http://rt.com/usa/news/guns-report-739/ Read More