Television And Commercialism Essay - 1544 Words

Television and Commercialism nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Television is populated with images which are superficial and lack depth. Programs look more like ads and ads look more like programs. All this leads to a close circle of consumerism. The three excerpts relate to these unifying ideas thus the validity of their argument. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;quot;Surface is all; what you see is what you get. These images are proud of their standing as images. They suggest that the highest destiny of our time is to become cleansed of depth and specificity altogether.quot; (1). We live in a world populated by images. Childrens television has concocted small, preset groups of images such as rainbows for happiness, red hearts for warmth,†¦show more content†¦nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;quot;Television, with all its highly touted diversity, seems to becoming more of a piece, more a set of permutations of a single cultural constant: television, our debased currency.quot; (4). TV looks like TV and when you look at it deeper it takes you back to itself, this is referred to as homogeneity. quot;But even as television becomes television—plus, it remains the national dream factory, bulletin board, fun house mirror for distorted images of our national desires and fears...And yet non of the metaphors seems quite right, because finally television is not quite anything else. It is just—television.quot; (5). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ads are becoming to look more like programs with the use of narrative strategies called quot;mini- narratives.quot; This strategy is used in a particular Pepsi commercial which models the TV show Miami Vice. It features Don Johnson and the music of Glenn Fry. It is almost as if the commercial is a three minute episode of the show. Similarly programs are beginning to look like ads. When Price Adam pulls out his sword in the show He-Man, he is encircled with lively, lightning flashes as he shouts in a deep, echoing, voice, quot;By the power of Grayskull... I have the power!quot; He then transforms into He-Man . This appears to be a commercial for the He-Man action figure and sword of power. There is a history behind program—length commercial. A cartoon Hot Wheels , which is also the name of aShow MoreRelatedConsumerism And Free Market Economy1509 Words   |  7 Pageswatching television, reading a magazine, or watching a sporting event without being flooded with the images of commercialism. Messages in our televisions and print sources that encourages us to buy are created by people who uses their talent to speak to both our conscious and subconscious desires. The products that we buy, the food that we consume, the clothes and shoes that we wear, and our everyday lives are influenced by commercialism. Proponents for commercialism can argue that commercialism as essentialRead MoreReality Television and the Dance World Essay890 Words   |  4 Pagesexistence of the dance world, but they do not know much past that. T he assistance of reality television shows, such as Dance Moms, So You Think You Can Dance, and Dancing with the Stars, present the inner workings of the dance community to the general public. Unfortunately, the publicity can change how society perceives the dance world. Reality television affected the dance world by contributing an air of commercialism to it, influencing younger dancers to suppose the main focus should be in the eye-poppingRead More Music Television: Modern Phenomenon or Passing Fad? Essay816 Words   |  4 PagesMusic Television: Modern Phenomenon or Passing Fad?    Dr. Pitton’s Comments: This student was asked in this essay to write about the causes of a modern phenomena. In active prose, she did an excellent job both of detailing the popularity of music television in todays society and offering a variety of creative and innovative reasons for this effect.    MTV promotes a romanticized teen lifestyle, reflecting the images of famous artists that differ with the realities ofRead MoreEssay about Exploitative Commercials in Children’s TV Programming1359 Words   |  6 PagesObesity. Violence. For kids today in the United States, these are only a few of the problems linked to the child-targeted mass media, especially the multi- million dollar business—television commercials in children’s programming. With the disappearance of a TV-free environment, a typical American kid sees about 40,000 television advertisements each year, most of which are for soda, candy, video games, fast food and their free toys. In order to collect some information, I sat down on a Saturday morningRead MoreTelevision Advertising Effects1153 Words   |  5 PagesTelevision has a tremendous impact on the American culture. Even though television has positive effects, the negative effects of television outweigh the positive effects. The maj ority of television watched is through advertisements. Television advertisements have a great impact on Americans, especially the youth. In fact, a young person views 40,000 television advertisements per year (Committee on Communications). Concerning a child’s developing cognition and social pressures, television advertisementsRead MoreMultiracial Identity in Essays by Julia Alvarez and Danzy Senna876 Words   |  4 Pagesemergence in the mainstream is unlikely to be due to a more liberal attitude towards multicultural, multiethnic themes. The recent, newly found popularity demonstrates more of a realization that companies can exploit multiracialism for a profit. 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One key message becomes clear early on in the book: The role of blinding commercialism in peoples lives provides comfort in its thoughtlessness. Commercialism does not encourage deep thought by any means, it instead preys on the quick impulses of the human mind. Murray points this out when talking to Jack about his students and their dislike of television, â€Å"‘Look at the wealth of data concealed in the grid, in the bright packaging, the jingles, the slice-of-lifeRead MoreStructural Changes To Programming To Attract Audiences .1785 Words   |  8 Pagespropaganda promoting commercialism, the changing of the structure of programming in efforts to direct attention to advertisements also demonstrates this focus. The structure of television programming often consists of cliff hangers, the use of commercial breaks, banners, and sensationalism to attract as many audience members as possible. In Paul Nesbitt-Larking’s book Politics, Society, and the Media, he quotes polit ical and communications scholar Dallas Smythe who â€Å"refers to television programming asRead MoreChildhood Obesity: Fast Food Companies Are To Blame Essay897 Words   |  4 PagesOne of the factors that is usually overlooked in the cause for obesity is the role of television. Not only does it reduce the amount of physical activity, the advertisements and commercials are targeting innocent viewers. In a survey completed by Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert, the average child watches nearly 19 hours and 40 minutes of television a week (Ruskin 2). With that amount of time spent watching television, advertisements for fast food will be entering the children’s minds. Commercials