I feel that the
media can both reflect and create reality through many forms. These forms such
as TV, Radio, Newspapers and the Internet can be used by many people of any age
across the globe that’s to the growth of Globalisation. Media is used in many
different ways during a person day for example yesterday I used a verity of
media products to check the weather, watch TV, update my Facebook status and
even watch YouTube so as you can see media is a big part of my life and many
others across the globe.
The media reflects
reality through many forms: Newspapers, the News on TV, Radio, magazines etc.
All these forms are mainly used, as ways of reporting on reality however all of
these go about this reporting in different ways. Newspapers are notorious for
bending the truth around their reports: Stuart Hall a media analysis says that
there is a Gap of representation from the true meaning of the story and the
media representation of it this theorem is best seen in newspapers. However
there are papers that do report on stories by twisting them to influence people
in till thinking other things for example a paper may report badly on a
Politician so that the public doesn't vote for that party. The News is normally contractually obliged to
report the news and stories of the world in complete truth and honesty towards
the situation. This is one of the few Media forms that do reflect reality in
its entirety. Radio much like the News reflect reality as people need to know
what’s going on in the world while they are driving otherwise they may be lead
to go down the wrong way. Magazines are also one of these forms that reflect
reality and also create it. “Gossip Mags” like Hello and OK do report on real
people but the images and stories are sometimes twisted in till creating sales
for the Magazines. However Magazines like Auto car and Xbox Magazines don’t do
this twisting they in fact do report on reality.
The Media Creates
reality through, Social Media, TV and posters. Social Media like Twitter and Facebook were
people create profiles don’t reflect themselves but create reality through an
alter ego. This means that they will only post images of them were they look
good and post things that make their lives seem interesting. TV shows rarely
reflect true reality but a melodramatic drama which someone is either shot,
stabbed, arrested and caught in bed with someone else. TV shows like EastEnders
and Waterloo Road are prime suspects of these occurrences, however the shows
ideas are built on reality they don’t reflect the true nature of the world
where the incidents are much more rare. Posters advertising for beauty products
do not reflect what the products will do to your looks, they show a thin,
beautiful model whose skin is near perfection but this is far form the reality
of what the products will do infect they rarely change much about you.
The media is also
used to shape the way that society sees the world. Through things such as
Social Networks and Newspapers can affect the way that people think and how
people act. There are lots of different newspapers across Britain and each
affects the public in its own ways. For example the Sun is the countries
biggest and most popular Newspaper and the influence that it holds means that
it can affect the way people vote in elections or the way people respect a
certain social group or national disaster.
This means that
the news and the papers can truly change the way that society thinks and acts.
Social Media is another way that the media can affect society for example if
lots of people are talking about a topic the nit will only grow and become a
world wide trend this shows the power that social media has for example if
someone started a trend in one part of the world about supporting a certain law
and people in another country see this and agree then it doesn't take much for
it to be a world wide trend. Another way that social media can affect society
is through the amount of follows people have for example Justin Bieber who has
missions opan millions of followers this means anything he says its seen by
millions of people around the world and means that he can affect so many people
that he has more power in his tweets that some real countries do in actual
politics. He has over 43,000,000 followers on twitter which is over 3,000,000
more than the population of Kenya, which means things he says are seen by more
people then in one of Africa’s highest populated counties countries. Showing that
having followers means you should be respectful and mature in what you say
because you have untold amounts of power.
The media is shaped by society but the media shapes society, this is
because the things in media are only there because the public wants it to be
there you cant have one with out the other.
In conclusion does
the media reflect society or create it I
think there is a fine line between both and the Gape of Representation is
important in deciding what reflects and what creates. The media does shape society
but it needs society in ordered to know how to shape them.
By Matt Goodman
This is from the 2010/2009 labour conference where The Sun are reporting that Labour have completely lost the plot.
This is just one of the deaths from an EastEnders Episode.
