Media Analysis!

The media is the exemplification of what we, ourselves, and what other nations look at to perceive our society. We are a society that looks at things in Dichotomy yet tries to stave away from that, but we do not always succeed. If what you see isn't exactly realistic, which most of what our media displays isn't, then it simply shows our aspirations and desires. The media shows us, the people, what we want to see. Or, what they think we want to see anyway. From what sorts of foods are advertised on our TVs' to the books that make Bestseller and finally, down to film and general entertainment, our society is a mash of longing for romance, gore surplus horror, and of course full of many different kinds of heroes and compromisable villains.

Now, we don't exactly have all three of these things in our regular everyday lives; However, it does not mean that we do not want them. People typically watch horror films for the adrenaline rush it brings. Those of us who enjoy said films want to feel that skin crawling fear that comes with the sheer possibility of such events taking place towards us.  It shows that we're a world looking for anything shocking, anything different, anything surreal. Romance  though, is a common interest amongst the general audience because society finds it desirable. Society is a capitalistic venture and supplies on demand. If the public is lonely, they supplement a movie or television show that fills that void-That depicts something that feeds our woes or quenches it for the mere viewing. Then there's of course the ever common hero films. Whether you want to be the hero or the villain, these movies supply both, and usually take us to a world that we can relate to with the exception of the occurring fantastical events and deeds. Our society takes heroism and turns it upside down, making us question which side is better, the rational between both ends. Harvey Dent said, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

The media depictsour woes, our hopes and dreams, and our innermost demons on the big screen for all to see.

I find the best of media is the sheer concept of villains and heroes are ntertwined. Perhaps thats simply because those are the films that appeal to me most. They sculpt us, you can tell what a person's interests are from their film choices and it truly is interesting to see that the person you thought would love comedies absolutely despises them. The media rounds out the people, the people simply demand more in return, its truly a viscous circle and I find self image to be the worst of it. One of the powerpoints brought up a Korean film, 200 Pounds of Beauty, that displayed a parallel to what we intially believe. Our society tells us that for things to work in a favorable manner, for us to be heroes, for us to find that beautiful romance, for us to survive the horrors found in horror flicks...That looks or weight will ensure that. However, this film they said showed the opposite. She lost her weight and still did not have the man, albeit, she gained self confidence and was able to sing on stage comfortably. The media defines us as a society that does things to impress others be it from a heroistic act, for a love interest, or to escape a murderer...But, in reality, we should be doing these things for ourselves and that is what I find to be the worst of the media.

A common theme I find portrayed in the showing of media was something I mentioned prior; Dichotomy. Dichotomy is the concept of black and white and that everything must relate to an opposite for it to exist. In romance films we see a repetitive story that can revolve around a girl who is witty and a guy who is slow, the surprise is supposed to be that they will end up together. But, we know they will, otherwise they wouldn't be in the damn movie to begin with. In terror flicks we see a commonolity of revenge. The killer may be too jacked up to know that who he is killing is not the person he's looking for, but to him that doesn't exactly matter. Hero movies are the greatest example for this theme and thats because you truly cannot have  hero without a villain. I mean honestly, we like that sense of accomplishment and fine border. It makes us feel safe. Therefore, no matter what genre we are looking at, I say media has a common depitction of Dichotomy. Yet, it is up to the people to decide if everything is truly black or white in the end.