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.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
"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.
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.
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Hi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for including the video. It's crazy when you think of how many people there are in this world who hold such radical views so different from my own. I wonder what Mr. Fitzpatrick had to say for himself when the world didn't end after all! Also - what do you think about him paying for all those posters and advertisements? I'm curious about the restrictions on content of personally-commissioned billboards and such. It seems odd that he would be allowed to put those out there, but hey... If the price is right...
Personally, I would be more concerned that the world *isn't* going to just end in a blaze of glory but rather that the planet is going to become so densely overpopulated and short on resources that the so-called "end of the world" will be an extremely long, drawn-out, and miserable process. I'd say that situation is both more likely and yet harder to accept for most people. Just as in our reading by Glassner and in the video, it seems that in some cases people would rather fear the wrong things (like an Apocalypse) instead of the right things. In doing so, it almost seems to give people an excuse to be lazy/apathetic and not make significant changes in order to avoid some real-life problems that could arise in the future (such as overpopulation.) I mentioned this in my Discussion post as well. What do you think?
-Julia
I completely agree. Considering we live in a culture of consuming, we are slowly destroying our world. It seems WAY more realistic to believe that, as you say, the end of the world will be a long, drawn out, miserable process. I find it very ironic how the media will cover stories this bizarre about our world, yet ignore the true reality of our dwindling resources and our over populated areas. If we were more aware of our situation, we could easily take stand and adjust how we live. We are so caught up in consuming (I blame the media and the multi national corporations) that maybe we are scared of giving up our 'necessities', and it is easier for us to ignore the situation at hand because our media isn't freaking out about realistic issues.
DeleteI loved the connection you made with that video clip. I remember that with those announcements of the impending judgement day, I felt a weird sense of fear in me. I didn't actually believe the world was going to end, but there was this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach right around 6 pm on the supposed judgement day that had me thinking, "what if?". It's so messed up how we can just become scared so easily.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I was really concerned about the portrayals of other racial groups that were discussed in the film. The facts about American thoughts on Arabs was probably the most disturbing to me, as we're in the war right now and the only insight that many Americans have on Arabs is from the portrayals they have seen in movies and on television. That's no way to be informed, yet Americans are believing that these portrayals are accurate.
Also, I don't feel like clicking a separate "reply" button on Julia's comment, but I feel her fear of the world becoming overpopulated and us running out of supplies. We don't treat this Earth right and our future generations are really going to regret what we have done.