Media on Culture the Objective

¶ … Media on Culture

The objective of this work is to write a research proposal relating to the effects of media on culture.

The effect of media on culture is well documented in the literature reviewed in this research proposal. Media in advertising affects purchases, choices of styles in clothing, choices in music and in fact affects a plethora of areas within a culture including the commission of violent crimes.

Questions that this research intends to seek the answer to are the questions as follows:

Do you allow violence in the video-games or television viewing of your household?

Have you or any family member committed a violent crime?

Who makes the media viewing decisions in your household?

Are you swayed by the wishes of other household members and if so what are their ages?

METHODOLOGY

The proposed methodology of this study is one of a qualitative nature through use of the research instruments a pre-formed survey/questionnaire to be given in a semi-structured interview.

PROPOSED TIMELINE

The proposed timeline for this survey is a period of six weeks during which randomly selected households will be interviewed.

CONCLUSION

After having reviewed the literature in the following Annotated Bibliography it is the opinion of this researcher that a better understanding of the influence of media on the culture can be understood through the proposed research as stated. Further this brief study concludes that media affects on culture are both positive and negative.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Pope, V. (2002) What Do We Mean by 'Mass Media' and 'Modern Culture' Online available at http://www.litnotes.co.uk/mass_media.htm.

Stated in this work is that in the study of media also studied is "how we define out own sense of who and what we are..." Stated as well is that "Since the mid 19th century, we have come to live not only in a situated culture, but in a culture of mediation. The press, film and cinema, television and radio and more recently the Internet, have developed to supply larger scale means of public communication." This work states that there are there major areas of concern which are those of: (1) Mass media has a political and a persuasive power over us. Radio, TV, the press and film can manipulate whole societies. Political propaganda, advertising and the so-called 'mind-bending' power of the media are long-standing causes of debate and concern; (2) Since the 19th century there has been a mistrust of so-called 'popular culture', which is thought to debase or degrade cultural traditions and standards. The ongoing debate about the future of public service broadcasting in Britain in the 1990's is an example of this. What exactly is 'quality' and cultural value in broadcast output? (3) The most contentious issue concerns the effects of the mass media on social behavior, in particular violence and delinquency. The media have regularly been accused of 'causing' outbreaks of unrest in society."

2. Computer Games - Violence - Media Effects Theory (2006) Encyclopedia of New Media Online available at http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Computer_Games_-_Violence_-_Media_Effects_Theory.

The study of Anderson and Dill into violent videogames to make assessment of their impact "on the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of gameplayers" states findings that "real-life" violent video game play was positively related to aggressive behavior and delinquency. Also stated in their findings was that exposure in the laboratory of video games that were 'graphically violent...increased aggressive thoughts and behavior (2000:1) Also stated in this report is that other studies conducted by Anderson and Gentile give indication that videogames "have a strong effect on aggression..." particularly in children.

3. Coleman, Loren (2004) The Copycat Effect Paraview Publishing. Online available at http://www.paraview.com/coleman/index4.htm.

According to Coleman, the copycat effect has been a result of media coverage of events such as school shootings. Coleman brings to light how media affects culture within a society.

4. The Culture of Commercialism (2006) Media Awareness Network Online available at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/ethics/rr_culture_commercialism.cfm.

This work states that "advertising projects false images commercialism distorts our culture by turning every event into a reason to consume.... [and that]...advertising perpetuates stereotypes..."

5. Digital Beginnings: Young Children's Use of Popular Culture, Media and New Technologies Popular Culture and Media Literacy: Research Reports, Reviews Etc. National Literacy Trust.

Findings of this study include: "1) Young children are immersed in practices relating to popular culture, media and new technologies from birth. They are growing up in a digital world and develop a wide range of skills, knowledge and understanding of this world from birth. Parents and other family members scaffold this learning, either implicitly or explicitly, and children engage in family social and cultural practices which develop their understanding of the role of media and technology in society. (2) Parents report that their young children generally lead well balanced lives, with popular culture, media and new technologies playing an important, but not overwhelming role, in their leisure activities. Engagement with media is generally active, not passive, and promotes play, speaking and listening and reading. In addition, engagement with media and new technologies appears to be a primarily social, not individual, activity, taking place most often with other family members and in shared parts of living spaces.