After beginning the novel Amusing Ourselves to Death written by Neil Postman, I was surprised to find many interesting quotes just in the first few chapters! For example, the quote, "indeed, we may have reached the point where cosmetics has replaced ideology as the field of expertise over which a politician must have competent control" (4) made me stop reading and think about media today. The quote made me realize that we were in fact going downhill because of television. There is so much focus on production and image that the content and the meaningful information is forgotten.
This quote emphasized the beautiful people who are on television and social media that are listened to because of their appearance. The harsh reality is that many people don't listen to those who don't have society's ideal image and figure. As a result, most of the newscasters, T.V. show hosts, or content carriers of today are not the ones who actually understand, research, or know about the information they are sending out; they are society's beautiful people. Did anyone else find quotes from any of the summer novels that made anyone stop and think? If anyone did, what were they, and what did those quotes mean to you?
I can completely relate to this. The other day I was having a conversation and I was asked if I can think of a male singer that isn't known for his looks or doesn't have the homogeneous pop teen singer look. I kept thinking and thinking, but I couldn't think of one teen singer that stands out and who looks different from the rest. Media focuses on appearances more than anything else.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with you on that, I don't think the appearances and images make us forget about the information behind it. Singers and newscasters may have a certain appealing appearance, but when I see them I don't pay attention to their face, I hear their talented voice or listen to the story they are telling. It doesn't matter what their appearance is to me, it's just about what they have to say or what they bring to society.
It is true that images don't disturb the content. On the other hand, I was saying that if their appearance is not how society expects it to be, then many will not listen to them. For example, if a newscaster wasn't dressed professionally and had piercings and tattoos covering their body, then many people wouldn't trust the information they are sending as much as a newscaster who didn't have those things. This is why most media companies have strict rules about covering tattoos and other things.
DeleteSo much for "never judge a book by it's cover." Today's media depicts a person as reliable or unreliable by their appearance. For example, past stars, such as Michael Jackson or Steven Tyler, who made/sang such great songs, were not very physically attractive. My point is that what Natalie said is completely true; a person's appearance does not alter the information that they pass on. However, the masses think otherwise: many people refuse to see or hear something just because the "information distributor" is unpleasant to the eyes.
DeleteI agree with the fact that television is dominated by beautiful people. Let's just say we are talking about the newscasters. Most of them, if not all of them, tend to lean towards being attractive and "beautiful people." However, I do not let their appearance distract me from the information they are giving, or the breaking news that they are reporting. In my personal opinion, they could be dressed in inappropriate attire and I would still listen to the story instead of changing the channel because of their looks.
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