Media Anthropology - Men, Masculinity, and the Media - Essay Example

Running Head: Media Anthropology Media Anthropology s Media Anthropology There is a power thatthe media holds that goes unnoticed by many people. Only 12% of the public thinks that media influences them (Johnston). Media should not have the power to set the standards for society because it influences our sense of appropriate expectations, it creates ideals for love and lifestyles, and it can expand or constrain our dreams for opportunity and self-actualization in people of all ages. Everyone has expectations in life. Where do these come from Some are from friends, family, or self, but mostly they are from media. The power of media can influence family life, our youth culture, and how we view a man's or woman's role in society. Advertising can affect the relationship between children and their parents. Some advertising tries to influence the buying patterns of parents by linking love and guilt with the purchase of products. When a child is mad at a parent, a gift from the parent might make them happy again. Some parents feel that they can buy their child's affection. Children have also become very status conscious and are aware of brand-name items. As time passes it keeps happening at younger ages. Kids want other kids to like them and appearance is very important. For some reason children are led to believe that clothes from Abercrombie, Gap, or Tommy Hilfiger are better and will make them more popular than no-name brand clothes from Wal-Mart, Target, or K-Mart. A recent study found that parents spend 40 percent less time with their children than their parents did. On average, parents spend about 17 hours a week with their children, while their children spend as many as 40 hours a week using all forms of media (Ryan 44). Parents need to take practical steps to make sure that they--and not the television--are influencing their child. It can shape their reality, set their expectations, and define their values and their behavior. Every day, messages and images from the media--messages about how to behave, what choices to make, and what to think, bombard children. Children even try to imitate what they learn from television, video games, and the Internet. They're more vulnerable to these messages than adults because they haven't developed good judgment or the ability to process the information they're given yet. Since its not interactive, children get the message that they can just sit and be entertained. Children will think activities other than media experiences, particularly school, are boring if there's not a high level of stimulation and entertainment-focus. Media may also interfere with creativity. Children are not engaging in their own skills, imagination or fantasy, because they're getting their entertainment passively from a television screen. If children are watching TV instead of talking to others, they also will not develop the necessary social skills. Social expectations of femininity and masculinity are created and maintained by society based on the media. Media has provided society with a mold of how people of different genders should be and act. Many women in today's world have a low self-esteem caused by the image of a "perfect woman" broadcasted in the media. Models in magazines and product ads have been airbrushed to make the women more appealing. Millions of diet products, fashions and cosmetics have been sold to make woman feel as though they could have a better body. These products are sold because media has no regulation that requires portrayals of people or products to be honest. The images produced by the media and businesses are made to hold audiences and to sell products. It is true that people want to see beautiful people. Would a show or magazine be successful if it featured so-called ugly or average looking people Women want their bodies to be perfect, but what is this ever changing definition of perfection Is it a model on the cover of Cosmopolitan Today's women do not have enough time in a day to get their hair, nails, make-up and clothes done. The fat on women's bodies can't just be airbrushed away like Katie Holmes. So who is setting this standard for the 'perfect' body Most men seem to enjoy these fake images of models and actresses that they see in magazines, television and the movies. Therefore if a woman is not like these models of perfection, they automatically feel inferior and less confident. It is good to want to look your best by exercising and eating healthy, but it is sometimes taken to the next level, anorexia and bulimia. These drastic measures are taken to obtain that level of perfection. Media formulates what is considered masculine. Masculinity portrayed on television is a white, middle-class heterosexual masculinity. Men that are portrayed to be masculine are those that are beer drinking, athletic, have a prestige job, big muscles, and outdoorsy. Research shows that television can shape a child's beliefs about gender roles. Television can influence children's beliefs about the gender appropriateness of occupations and their own career goals. "Preschool, first, and fourth graders who were shown a film featuring a male nurse and a female doctor later recalled that they have seen a male doctor and a female nurse instead" (Nathanson 925). Research shows this is a direct result of the gender stereotyping in television and society. The man takes on the more "masculine" role in this situation. Beer commercials are always set up to be appealing for men. Not just any man though--it has to be a manly man. Sensitive men, gay men, stay-at-home dads, scholars, poets, or political activists are never seen in beer ads. These commercials are basically a guide for masculinity and, to young boys; they are the rulebooks for becoming a man. Author Lance Strate, specialist on masculinity, reports that, "Beer commercials are highly accessible to children; between the ages 2 and 18, American children mat see as many as 100,000 of these ads" (Craig 92). Children often find them humorous and exciting. As an example, at a daycare a group of boys ranging from four to nine years old wanted a drink of water. After receiving this, they all sat around the table chatting and pretending like they were drinking beer. They were talking loud, laughing, and downing the "beer." They are already exposed to the definition of masculinity that media has created. To create a form of media that is perfect would be impossible. Every person is different and different things will affect him or her. To help improve the effect of media maybe the government should get involved, after all, it is their airspace. Together the media and government could take action by providing incentives for a positive family-viewing programming, creating and funding educational uses of the Internet, and funding nationwide media literacy efforts in schools. The government has the power to make a difference. There is a power here that goes unnoticed by many people, but hopefully many can tear down the wall. The world needs to come together and not allow such walls to block people from becoming who they really are. This wall of media should be destroyed because it sets limits on a person's potential and it is not a healthy way to live life. Media can influence our sense of appropriate expectations, it creates ideals for love and lifestyles, and it can expand or constrain our dreams for opportunity and self-actualization in people of all ages. Therefore media should not have the power to set the standards for society. References Craig, Steve, ed. Men, Masculinity, and the Media. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1992. Johnston, Carla Brooks. Screened Out: How the Media Controls Us and What We Can Do About It. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2000. Nathanson, Amy. "Counteracting the Effects of Female Stereotypes via Active Mediation." Journal of Communication 52.4 (2002): 922-935. Ryan, John, and William M. Wentworth. Media and Society: The Production of Culture in the Mass Media. Needham, Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. Read More