HOLLA! 8/30/09

During Wednesday’s class we stumbled across the familiar topic of fear and how the media uses it to get their points across to viewers. Why does the media continue to instill fear in us on a day-to-day bases and why do we still allow this to happen? Maybe fear has become the driving force of all forms of media and advertisement? Anyways, I have pondered these questions myself as I’ve become more aware of the surrounding media with age. I feel as if every time we turn on the television we are told to fear everything! For example a simple Clean & Clear commercial comes on telling viewers zits are not attractive and to fear zits because you will not be popular if you have them. Clean & Clear is using the fear of being unwanted as a means to sell their product! Another more obvious example of the media using fear is the nightly news we all have grown up watching. This summer I interned at a news station and clearly saw that the only news stories that were really going to get on the news were ones that would instill fear. For example, the Swine Flu is here in your neighborhood or there is a child molester on the lose keep your children in doors! It was very rarely that the news would put on something like Grandma Pat turned 100 today or here’s a better one, there was 1 case of Swine Flu which is under control, please do not fear but take the necessary precautions. As we explore different critical theorists I hope we touch base on this specific area and the scare tactics the media uses to number one get their point across and number two sell their products to us as viewers of this WORLD OF MASS MEDIA!