The Influence of Media in My Life

It is the constant teetering between love and hate that expresses my relationship with modern media. As we discussed in class we look back on our past experiences with television shows that influenced us as children, the commercials with our favorite toys, and the songs that inspired us to grow and become who we are today. This formation of identity is without a doubt intertwined with our relationships with media, and the capitalism that fuels American society. I cherish these memories of Saturday morning cartoons with my family and prime time "marathons" at friend's houses, yet I can't express the same genuine expressions for modern media representations. It is a sense of bitterness that I feel in response to modern programs, whether targeted towards kids or adults. I don't feel confident in the direction mass media culture is taking, especially in regards to the advertisements and skewed realistic portrayals that are repeated on a large scale regardless of channel or network. It is this abundant amount of stereotyping, materialism, and enforced hegemony/ gender roles that I now solely identify in media. Regardless what the premise of a show is about, there are blatant portrayals of gender roles, racial discrimination, "othering" ethnicities and cultures, and other forms of prejudice. It is a whirlwind of controversy that top media controllers understand and regulate, then filtering it down to the consumers who eat this mixture of unrealistic constructs and irregular means in which to shape one’s needs and wants. It is with hesitance that I think about the media of the future, but I truly hope the continuous pattern of simplified, sex-based, and general stifling of individual creativity dissipates, or at least is acknowledged and therefore changed.