My childhood hero was Madonna. She used to have this unspeakable power over me. That power made me dress up like her, sing like her and wear make-up like her.
That power wore off as I got older. But we gotta admit, the woman's still got it. She has evolved along with the little girls that adored her. She's 52 now and still relevant. She has remained important.
Madonna is my metaphor for media. Much like Krippendorff's "control." Like media, Madonna creates a social stimulus. She has made her way into the culture of music fans that are more or less unsuspecting. She impacts them greatly and influences them like religion would.
Media can do and be a lot to a lot of people. But ultimately, like artists, media seeks to influence. Any product or text it produces would be nothing if it does not mean anything to anyone.
A lot of social surveys and researches carry the "media" factor. For example, kids think the way they do because of media. Such is the perception towards government because of media. People have a better/worse view of the world because of, well, you know the drill, media.
And they are probably right. Media has become a way of life. Our values and our decisions are greatly influenced by media.
Take the Vizconde case for example. In our heads, we were deciding who was the victim. Newspapers flash a photo of the crime scene along with a photo of Hubert Webb. And then there is an inset of poor Mang Lauro. Didn't media's portrayal make us persecute Hubert in our minds at one point?
President Aquino's Porsche. His love life. His smoking habit.
Media made us care more than we should. Those are legitimate stories, I believe, but maybe these were taken too far. Because at the end of the day, the President buying a sports car, and later on selling it, did not change the world.
And remember Ondoy? Didn't we all suddenly feel like we can do something?
Media is powerful like that. And you know what Spiderman said about power, right?
If media were to influence society the way it does, it must at least be conscious of giving enough, right information. Like Krippendorff said, media is a "container" filled with information and content. These metaphors, container and control, must strike a balance.
For people to decide fairly, for people to be influenced positively, the media must release information responsibly.
The responsibility of media to be truthful and fair is as great as its power to impact decisions and lives in general.
The symbolic power that media draws from really cuts across all other forms of power, and like you said, "Media has become a way of life. Our values and our decisions are greatly influenced by media." I completely agree with your statement, and with your assertion that the media should recognize the responsibility that comes with the power it wields. But, I also think that as participants in media, we also share this responsibility to challenge the information and opinions we receive with a critical mind and offer our own as well - in this way, we truly become co-creators of media.
ReplyDeleteMadonna is one of the perfect examples! I agree with what you said. Madonna is very much a representation of how powerful the influence of media can be. Madonna, through the years, has successfully wormed her way into different generations' minds. My mother always plays Madonna's old songs every Sundays (i'm not kidding). It just wows me that Madonna has been able to reinvent herself to cater to every generation's taste. And that is still happening now. All very much the same as to media.
ReplyDeleteMadonna is definitely an icon because of how media has portrayed her. She's not only a role model to regular folk, but she is also admired by so many celebrities. I do agree that part of the reason why icons such as Madonna are very popular and influential is because of how media presents them to the public. Media can twist the perception of people. They have so much power in terms of highlighting or under rating a story. That's why I think the presence of citizen journalists is a good thing because it gives people an alternate view. If media is only present one side of the coin, citizen journalists allow the public to see the other.
ReplyDeleteYour closing words are interesting to me. The responsibility of media to be truthful and fair is not as great as its power to impact decisions and lives in general. Responsibility to the news content is the primary responsibility of managing the media.
ReplyDeleteBut, in my opinion, the media always respond to market needs. That is the media trying to answer the needs of the community. For example, such as selling cellphone today. Not matter whether people know to use it well or not. But the cellphone to do with lifestyle. In a certain way, Madonna as an idol, because according to society's perception and the concept in that era. Phenomena like this, I'm sure open to understanding other metaphors also.
"Media made us care more than we should." I love this, Icy! Very well said.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like most about your blog posts is that they posit questions that spark very interesting debates or issues about the things we see in mainstream media, particularly the news. Good job! :)