We are the consumers.
You are the consumer.
I am the consumer.
Our world is consistently adapting to what people need, what people want, what people “have to have.” The consumer mindset of “the next best thing” is extremely common in our society, making each new development yesterdays news. Within this culture it has become a typical assumption to say that “you get what you want; you want what you get.” I think that this idea is true to a certain extent and only until it crosses certain lines.
First of all, the media that we allow into our lives is increasingly submerged with things that we may not even agree with within our own lives, and yet we are constantly entertained by. Most of us could care less what we see and hear, and because of this the media around us is going to continue to feed into that “this is what the consumer wants” mindset. What about the people that don’t want those things to be viewed in our media? This is where the line is drawn for me with this idea, because even though a certain percent of our culture may not have any filter for what they are entertained by or what they let into their lives, there is also a percentage of people that don’t want those things to be accessible with the simple click of a button.
For me, personally, the area of sexuality and nudity on the screen has been a sensitive part of who I am. I simply do not agree with a lot of the things that are on today’s televisions or in today’s movies or even music; however, I have always felt that this specific aspect of the media changes something inside of me and makes me hate any part of it. It has been a deep struggle in my life and I’m continually learning how to protect that part of myself as well as live in a world where this is simply how it is. With this in mind, I think that it is somewhat unfair that just because some people allow or even crave for more and more sex to be put onto our screens that I have do deal with its existence to such an extent. It’s getting worse and worse, with less and less boundaries. Who knows where we are going to draw our lines; shouldn’t we have some somewhere?? I don’t see any, do you?
So I absolutely agree with the statement “you get what you want; you want what you get.” But I only think that this is true for those that aren’t thinking about the lives around them. We have failed to realize that by choosing certain paths in our lives or by allowing certain things to happen, we are affecting the entire world. That’s a huge responsibility, in my opinion. Something that should not be taken lightly, and yet constantly is.
I am the consumer.
You are the consumer.
We are the consumers.
Don’t take that lightly.
I agree that society has the ‘get what you want; want what you get’ air about them. The media is always ready to mass produce the thing that sells the most, also known as what the people want. Today’s society, it happens to be an absurd amount of sex and violence. And even though there are many people who are disgusted by the idea, and never wish to see that in movies or television, it still sells. If people really wanted to change and draw lines about what we show and don’t show on tv, they would have by now. People would have stopped buying into the sex and violence taboo and the media would have had to find another selling point.
ReplyDeleteBut the thing is that most people who don’t like that stuff sometimes never do a thing about it. Sure, they don’t go see the movies with the themes they don’t like nor do they buy anything with the same theme, but most of society lives off of this stuff, and a majority of people will go out and buy or see that movie, watch that tv show etc. And because there’s many more people who are willing (Or are just too lazy not to do anything about it) to go out and buy into the sex and the violence means money is still going into that specific theme. And if the theme is making big money, no way that the media is going to stop ‘giving the people what they want’.
I liked how you said “First of all, the media that we allow into our lives is increasingly submerged with things that we may not even agree with within our own lives, and yet we are constantly entertained by.” I totally agree with that, I don’t agree with a lot of things in the media, but I am constantly entertained by what I see on the television. It’s not that I’m entertained in the way that I enjoy the media and constantly watch it, it’s more of, when I see things that the media projects, I’m entertained by the ridiculousness of it. I don’t really like spending my time watching shows that show celebrity gossip or are concerned with the lives of celebrities, I like watching movies, but don’t feel the need to spend time indulging myself in the lives of celebrities. The majority of the media is to show the lives of celebrities or upcoming stars (like new reality shows that make people semi-famous) when really there are more important things we should be discussing..like starving kids in Africa or breast cancer awareness. I do believe also “ that you get what you want, and you want what you get” good blog :)
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ReplyDeleteIn referring to the movie "Sexual Stereotypes in Media: Superman and the Bride," the statement “you get what you want; you want what you get” was true for men, but I don’t think it was true for women during the time that the movie was made. In comparing the time when the movie was made and today’s time, back then men dominated the media, and they were bias when broadcasting images of males and females; it was also during the time that not a lot of woman bothered to have their voices heard; so unfortunately, they were subjected to go along with what was depicted of them on the television as well as in the movies, which happens to be false stereotypes of women. For this day and time, it is a different story; the same statement “you get what you want; you want what you get” I deem to be true for both sexes; The media today no longer is portraying females as weak, silly, and all those other negative sexual stereotypes of the past; men sexual stereotypes have not changed; hypothetically, they still think they are strong enough to conquer the world and woman, and that is how they like to be seen. Women wanted chances and they got it, and I know they want to keep getting their voices heard, so that they will be able to make positive changes happen within the media.
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