"Radio Days"

Every one strives for something better than before. Better technology, better innovation, better ways of communication. People feed off the newly and improved technology whether for personal or corporate use. When new technology emerges, the idea spreads like wildfire to the masses. People become aroused with the “new and improved.”  Such as radio in the 1920s, technological change proves to be a motivating factor for popularity to the common people.

 When Gugliemo Marconi invented the wireless telegraph, it spurred a major outbreak of radio to the masses. Radio was the first true means of worldwide communication in the early 1920s. This technological change proved to be a turning point in history.

David Sarnoff was the radio operator that radioed for help when the Titanic hit. This radio innovation proved it could be a powerful tool in government and military safety.  When the government released the radio to private hands at the end of World War I, people latched on to this craze like wild fire. The technological change shifted people’s ideals to keep up with the latest information.

 Radio became a common household item. It factored into everyday life. In Woody Allen’s film “Radio days”, radio became sort of each person’s identity. Radio became part of their lives. People accept technological change and conform to the lifestyle that technology allows for them.  It’s almost like the “keeping up with the Jones” theory – when fellow neighbors are conforming to the latest and best innovations, it is almost someone’s obligation to follow in the midst of the change. In “Radio Days” everyone keep up with the latest radio shows to prove to themselves that they were current in society.

However with this evolution of radio becoming part of everyday life, radio evolved into what the people wanted – variety. Radio started to stream different types of talk shows, music, family shows, or news. Each person could now adapt to any particular radio show they wanted to. Like in “Radio Days,” each family member had a different show they liked. Some liked Masked Avenger while others like romantic tunes. Radio evolved into anyone’s interests. Radio because of the technological change that it beheld became an American necessity.

Can Media be the Blame?

Within the last few decades, teen pregnancy has been on the rise. Today, 75 percent of teenagers have engaged in sexual intercourse and within that percentage 20 percent of young girls conceive a child. With this recent uproar of teen pregnancies – who is to blame? Is the media to blame for this uproar? Can the media embed sexual tendencies into the minds of young vulnerable teenagers? Media has created a world where sex out of wedlock is mainstream. Teen pregnancy is mainstream. Media indirectly brainwashes the minds of teenagers to believe media’s perception of “mainstream.”

Social learning is a concept in which users of media model and imitate the attitudes and actions seen in the media. People learn by observing and whether the affects of social learning are immediate the images people see on TV are permanently placed into “vulnerable” minds forever. The constant reinforcement of typical ideas placed in the media (such as pre-marriageable sex) leads to the behavior itself. People without their consent are molded by the media to believe certain ideas. Profit seeking media alters people’s standards for the worse.

The constant reinforcement of sex in the media continues to be a main concern. Sex is seen as cool, useful, and normal. It is seen as something used to manipulate people. The recent show “Gossip Girl” is flooded with provocative sex scenes and promiscuous  situations. With this glamorized form of sexuality, it is evident that shows like this mold the minds of teenagers (being young adults the target age group for the show). “Gossip Girl” shows that sex is mainstream without any real consequences that partake with sex before marriage. It is evident that shows like “Gossip Girl” mold the minds of teenagers by the recent increase in sexual activity and teen pregranacies.  Teenagers cognitive minds are swayed through social learning. The morality of our teenagers has decreased dramatically since media has come into the equation.

The following video shows a provocative sex scene on "Gossip Girl" -

Media and Body Image

Smooth skin, long legs, acne free, flowing hair, slender shape…perfection. We are under this mind set of that a women’s body needs to be the ultimate physical perfection. The perfection that is flawless from head to toe. The emphasis that the media has on perfection has negative impacts on society.  The media stresses the importance of the aesthetics and sexual appeal of the body, instead of the personality.  Media has control of the way we think and feel about our bodies. This  idea has become the “norm” in society and it has become so normal that we didn’t even know it hit us….

            Hegemony is the use of media to sway our view toward a particular topic. Without the audience knowing, the media creates the idea that audience overtime accepts as “common sense” in society. The media has proved this theory correct through incorporation of physical perfection.

The media (as a whole) has altered our perspective about the way we feel about bodies. It is “common sense” that women’s bodies should represent perfection because that is what we see on ads, magazines, and television. The overwhelming sights of perfect bodies has lead girls to believe that perfection the ideal causing girls to nearly starve themselves to attain this “common sense.”

In the documentary, “Killing Us Softly” women are still as things. It proves that physical perfection is seen so much throughout society that it alters women’s perspectives. Women are used as tools for sexuality for men – “pornography has become mainstream” as stated in the film. The media inflicted idea has caused generations of girls to rethink their bodies resulting in anorexia, mental disorders, and sometimes suicide.

The image below proves hegemony in society. This common belief that women are seen has sexual creatures, only used for male play. The ad is an ad for “Fetish.” The title reads “he can smell the scent even as you shake your head no”. This ad is a little over the top but still represents that idea that women are used for sexual play and overemphasizes the importance on physical beauty. However, this ad made tabloids all over the world and didn’t seem to obstruct a outcry. This proves the hegemony in society that beauty and sexuality in women is the only thing that matters.