It is incredible how we sometimes tend to imitate what we hear or see without thinking that we are actually becoming someone else. It is alright to adopt some opinions or characteristics that we find interesting and adequate for us, but the control over it is very hard to be held. Once we start changing who we are because TV lady said it is bad and completely 'out', we become media victims suffering from very harmful disease called loss of identity.
There are so many factors that we could blame for that. We are in constant influence of media telling us what we could achieve if we looked or behaved differently. One of the most popular tv channels for youth today is definitely Music Television. There we can constantly see and hear the definition of attractiveness and success. Accordingly, we become unhappy about ourselves and realize something has to be changed otherwise our future will suffer. I believe most people are so afraid of being socially rejected that they would rather change themselves than remain who they really are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rgStv12dwA
In this video, women are portrayed as objects. The reason I wanted you all to see this is because I would like you to pay attention to the message this video is sending. It is practically telling us that girls will be noticed and appreciated by males only if their physical appearance is provocative.
Anyway, here comes a very interesting story about the influence of the popular TV Channel.
In March 2004, MTV launched a show called “I want a famous face”. The description of the show on MTV’s web page:
“As long as there have been celebrities - people have wanted to look like them. Every day, it seems, we count on the famous to show us how to dress, how to cut our hair, how to work out, even how to eat. But in today's advanced, modern world, it's getting easier and easier for many of us to take this infatuation with celebrity - to a whole new level.(…) Each week, MTV I Want a Famous Face follows a different person who is going under the knife to alter his or her looks to resemble the famous person they admire. Whether it's a Pamela Anderson wanna-be or a Britney Spears impersonator, the goal is the same - to use plastic surgery not just to look different - but to look like a star.”
Does this seem okay? Telling young people that the only way to succeed in life is by changing their physical appearance? It might not affect individuality per se, but if we think about it more closely, it actually does take away everything that made us different from others. We could be unsatisfied with our looks, but it is only because we have something to compare it with. Having an ideal image of a woman practically lets us know how far away from perfection we are and on that way it takes the special part of us that used to make us proud and unique.
If you want find out something more about this particular show, here is the link you should visit: http://www.mtv.com/shows/i_want_a_famous_face-2/series.jhtml
By seeing this show by such popular TV station as MTV, teenagers could start thinking that it is simply the way it should be; that by becoming like someone famous would be warranty for success itself. So, here is one of the ways to lose individuality. I just can’t wait to find out about some more. Sarcasm of course.
You bring forward a very interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteI left a comment on Eva’s Blog [http://evas-unyp.blogspot.com/], which focuses on beauty in the media, making the connection between beauty standards and social network trends.
An interview with Dr.Sax, a family physician and founder of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, uncovers what could be new negative effect of this sort of media influence. He says that young girls are now Photoshoping their Facebook photos, in an attempt to make themselves more attractive for boys.
As you said, TV stations like MTV help to generate a schema and script in the minds of the teenagers about the way life should be, what success is, and what beauty is.
All of this then leads to the de-individualizing the individual, as they strive to take on the roles and identities of people the media represents to them. The problem is that most people are unaware of how they are loosing their identity as they continuously buy products and do things the media has regarded as ‘cool’ (for the moment), in an attempt to brand themselves and become more individual – it’s ironic.
Great topic and a great site. It defiantly needs more public awareness.
[To read Dr.Sax interview, follow this link: http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/05/03/gender-expert-leonard-sax-on-the-empty-world-of-girls-impressing-each-other-with-sex-booze-and-facebook%E2%80%94while-parents-opt-out/ ]