Public Perception of women is misrepresented, disempowering them in politics and social life featured in the “Miss Representation” documentary. The analysis development starts with identifying how media influence individual beliefs and norms. Then how our beliefs about ourselves and others are shaped by what we see. Monitoring media influence through learning helps people overcome negative messaging. Objectification is viewing a person, especially a woman, as an object to be used with no account of their feelings. Media corporations and product marketers benefit from the way women are represented, whereas women, children, and the general public suffer from misrepresentations. The government should further regulations for the media because it is impacting negative behaviors, emotions, and performance.
How do the media influence our individual beliefs and cultural norms?
The media convinces individuals to adopt new distorted conceptions affecting beliefs. The notions gain common knowledge since individuals are synchronized to accept them. The media, therefore, shapes our society’s cultural norms. For instance, the social standard of gender equality is deteriorating in American politics, and the 2010 midterm election is a perfect case (WatchSeries 16:53). Despite women accounting for 51% of the population, they represent 17% in Congress, and 2010 was the first time women made no gains from the polls. Attempts to oppose media machines are perceived as opposed to social order and are highly criticized by media houses. The lack of regulations in advertisements causes marketers to dictate cultural norms and values. The media, therefore, develops direct effects on individual beliefs and the social beliefs affecting norms.
What does what we see shape our beliefs about ourselves and others?
People use the media as the primary source of information based on how many hours people spend on media platforms on an average day. What individuals see discloses what is possible for them in life. What we see develops into a consensus in our communities, and we believe it is right, even though wrong. Some body weight and size are consequently made to resemble body dysmorphic disorder, although normal (Watchseries 13). For instance, women are made to believe they should have curvaceous shapes, so plump women perceive or view themselves as unfit—the media conditions our expectations in real life to align with what we see. Media is shaping politics, national discourse, and teenagers’ minds and emotions in the U.S. Women’s representation in the U.S media is of ‘objectification’ rather than promoting women in leadership hence affecting their achievements.
How do we overcome the media’s wrong messaging?
We can overcome the media’s wrong messaging by understanding the roles and the impacts the media has on society. Understanding how powerful the media is on the subconscious can help us achieve conscious attention to the images and information the media conveys to us. We can limit our time on social media by monitoring the connections, following, and subscriptions to those that inspire wrong messaging. Learn how to control the extent to which media content influences our beliefs and how to overcome misrepresenting social norms through professional mentorship to women and teens on managing their time on media programs. Embracing value for time will discourage women from spending more time on social media and instead on self-reflective and productive activities. Women should also recognize their inherent strengths and use their numbers to gain more presence in governance (WatchSeries 1:19). The public ought to alter their attention from capitalism to social accountability and responsibility. The media houses promoting wrong messaging should be faced with accountability and much criticism for success in media responsibility.
Describe what ‘objectification’ means and then explain what that means in advertising.
Objectification is the viewing of a person, mainly a woman, as an object of use whose encounter and emotions need not be considered. Objectification in advertising is the exploitation of women’s bodies in advertisements to enhance sales of magazines, brands, and goods for capital gains. Women’s bodies are used as sales objects, inconsiderate of the harm imposed on their Perception, consciousness, individual beliefs, and cultural norms. Women’s bodies are used to make sexually offensive images, demeaning images, and subservient adverts for the financial gain of the media corporations.
Who benefits/profits from how women are represented in the media industry? Who loses
Media corporations benefit from how women are represented in the media industry. The media houses leverage women’s bodies to attract adverts. The marketers for the advertisements also benefit from women’s misrepresentation since they manipulate attention to sell their products. Product broadcasters use inappropriate contexts without consideration of public and women’s interests. They often resolve to violent images, demeaning images, and sexuality. The high misrepresentation rate is because of the media’s high tenacity in advertisements invoking women’s demeanor. The women lose from the misrepresentation since their value, and social status are subject to depreciation, denying them equal opportunities as men.
The children also lose from the way women are presented in the media industry since they are exposed to gender disparity at a young age. There has been multiple sexual harassments, and rape cases among young school children in the U.S. Children face the risk of conforming to stereotypes. Parents and the general population also lose to the stereotypes propagated by the media. Social media influences unnecessary pressure, anxiety, and negative beliefs in the general U.S population.
Do you think the government should create more rules for media companies? Why or why not.
I think the government should create more rules to curtail media content since it dramatically influences teenagers’ perceptions, behaviors, and emotions negatively. People of different ages have different interpretations of what they see and read from media sources. The media industry is highly deregulated and is shaping negative culture and norms. The media interest should represent the general public interest failure to which they should be held legally accountable. Objectification affects women’s conscious emotions in that they develop depression, eating disorders, lower confidence, and affect cognitive functioning.
Work Cited
WatchSeries. (2011). “Miss Representation.” Web.