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names Forrest, i'm 29. i live in new mexico. at times i love my life....but most of the time i hate it. if u wanna interview me have ur people call my people. The Effect of Media and Entertainment on Modern Society People have always depended on what other people say and do to mold their own lives. The creation of televisions, magazines, and radios have only made people’s opinions more well known. We have gotten to a point in our society where you cannot buy anything, leave the house, stay home, or even talk to other people without getting someone else’s judgment and accommodating their ideas into your own. No matter how hard you try, especially in your teenaged years, other peoples opinions do come into focus with what you think. If you only hang out with people who are atheist, then you will most likely adapt the thought that there is no god, and if you mostly are around people who act a certain way, they will undoubtably rub off on you. This is the same with the media and entertainment industry. For the most part, teenagers tend to agree with whomever they find to be ‘inspiring,’ and in modern society that is normally whomever is on the front of all the magazines that month. Music has always had a big impact on people’s attitudes and thoughts. If you only listen to ‘hardcore’ music, then you are expected to dress a certain way and be into similar things as other people who happen to like the same type of music. There is a large variety in music these days, and depending on what you’ve grown up on, or what you have been most exposed to, is what you listen to. Well, if the band you are listening to the most dislikes the government, or thinks that a specific group of people are bad, then you will most likely gather this as a ‘truth’ and meld it into your own opinions. As very well expressed in these lyrics, “Let me control the things you think You'd like to think you could resist, But you're being hypnotized by this.” “Hypnotized” - The Faint society has been lead to believe that what they have accepted to be normal is completely justified, and that they have their own opinions, which of course have nothing to do with anyone else. This could not be further from the truth. In today’s society a false since of “reality TV” has taken over the essence of real life on television programs. Companies have chosen these specific people from all over America that are what we would consider perfect, and broadcast them as normal, which makes every one want to be like them. This alters everyone’s image of what people should be like and how they should act. Television advertisements tell us what to buy, shows tell us what to wear, and music channels such as MTV tell us what to listen to. Today’s society has pretty much given up the right to think for ourselves, and in Fahrenheit 451 TV does basically the same thing, when people would normally spend time thinking about things they want, or just about life itself, they are forced to watch TV that drowns everything else out. “My job is to help destroy What's left of your imagination By feeding you endless doses Of sugar-coated mindless garbage... ...The lowest common denominator rules Forget honesty Forget creativity The dumbest buy the mostest That's the name of the game” “MTV.- Get Off The Air” - Dead Kennedys This song, while most of it’s lyrics are not acceptable for school, is very influential due to being so brutally honest about how television has become a way for big business to use our brains as billboards. We’ve given up our own imagination and traded it in for a chance at winning a modern popularity contest. Last, but certainly not least, magazines; magazines portray the ideal person as a Barbie doll of sorts. Someone who doesn’t have to think, or have any bit of intelligence, all you need is a cute smile and the right clothes to get what you want. This, again, is a horrible thing for girls to look up to. You go to any store in contemporary society and you see hundreds of fake smiles all over the covers of magazines, leading you to believe if you are not as happy as they are, as attractive as they are, or have all the same ideals, that you are somehow less of a person. These specific pieces of literature are full of gossip and pointless make-up tips, it seems if a company knew their product was going to be that influential they might at least attempt to put facts into it, instead of pushing out a whole new crop of clones. Is Brad and Angela’s love life really that important? Do we need to see the same face on 40 different girls every week? I would assume no, but then again, every month, it’s the same thing. “I'm no Barbie doll I'm not your baby girl I've done ugly things and I have made mistakes And I am not as pretty as those girls in magazines I am rotten to my core if they're to be believed” “Why Do You Love Me?” - Garbage We have been told since we left the whom that everyone is equal, unique, and somehow special, apart from everyone else. If this is true then why do all of these industries try to make us all the same? If we are all supposed to be different and think for ourselves, then why have they been attempting to think for us for so long? We would all like to think that Fahrenheit 451 is crazy, that an entire nation could not be ruled by the government though television, and that it would be impossible for the media to brainwash that many people, but is that not very similar to what is happening right now? Are we not all fixated on looks because we were told to be? Do we not judge entire groups of people because televisions told us they were bad? Honestly, not only has Fahrenheit 451 presented a believable story, it’s entirely plausible for an actual outcome of our society. The way things have been going, people would rather watch The Real World then read a book, they would rather listen to the latest 50 Cent song then read a newspaper, and they would rather find out about Britney Spears shaving her head then see what is happening with the war. Due to our lack of a will to do our own thinking, we are slowly becoming brainwashed, and a world ruled by television is not just something visible over the horizon, it has already began. How might we control this problem? Instead of sitting around watching that new show on MTV, try picking up a book. Instead of slurging $700 on a new outfit, maybe put the money to a bit better use. The next time you hear someone say they are against something, try finding out exactly what it is before you go along blindly with whatever you are told. Contrary to what you might think, you have your own brain for a reason, maybe you should attempt using it.{} MyGen Profile Generator