"Mean World Syndrome"

Have you ever watched a horror movie and had nightmares for the subsequent week? Kept the lights on throughout the whole night? Checked under your bed for a monster? I have, and I am assuming 99% of Americans have experienced similar behavior after watching Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre slaughter a teen.  This direct effect that media messages have on us is called the Magic Bullet Theory.  George Gerbner surpassed this theory and founded the Cultivation Theory, which studies the long-term effects on viewers of media.  Media portrayals are often false and exaggerated and therefore heightens our culture of fear, making our society very irrational.  The film, "Mean World Syndrome" takes a look into Gerbner's findings not on how media violence causes more violence, but on how it has formed a normalized culture of constant meanness and anxiety.  The entire film was more than compelling and provided me a rational view on the media from the outside in.  The effect that media has on our society as a whole is appalling, and even more horrifying then simply buying an over-priced security system is how media has one-sided representations for characters in TV, video games, and movies.  The most interesting moment in this movie is how these one-sided representations is ultimately the cause for the 'meanness' in our society.  More specifically, media's portrayal of Arabs and Muslims as terrorists has resulted in shocking beliefs and behavior.  According to the film "Mean World Syndrome", "As attention to TV news increases, from low to heavy viewing, the number of people supporting restrictions on Muslim Americans increases nearly 50%".  Similarly shocking, according to the Journal of Communication, "Blacks are twice as likely as whites to be shown as perpetrators of crime on local news".  This persistent exaggeration of news and violence that is depicted in media has left it's viewers feeling constantly anxious and over protective of loved ones.  I believe every aspect of this film was very educational and very informative, therefore I would certainly recommend it to others.

Similar to the reaction of 'War of the Worlds' broadcast on October 30th, 1938, many had the same reaction to the news that the world was going to end on May 21st, 2011.  Considering news corporations decided to air this, many became extremely anxious and some even took the most severe measures by selling their belongings and homes.  Below is a closer look at this bizarre prediction seen on CBS.