The Mean World Syndrome Analysis

Words: 1124
Pages: 5
Open Document
Introductory Paragraph The purpose of my essay is to analyze the video, “The Mean World Syndrome: Media Violence and Cultivation of Fear.” This video is about the media’s portrayal of violence in our society and how that portrayal affects us as human beings. According to the creators of the documentary, and based on the work of George Gerbner, the ever increasing depiction of violence by the media has had a negative impact on society by making us more fearful of our surroundings and more tolerant of violence. Cultivation studies show that “heavy viewers of television are more likely than light viewers to perceive the world as a frightening and dangerous place” (Video). Essentially, more frequent viewers of television and other forms of …show more content…
What this means is that every social experience affects us in a small way. Four key agents which influence socialization are family, school, peers and mass media (Lecture notes, Chapter 3). Family limits our choices because the responsibility to teach the child skills, values and beliefs falls mainly on the parents. The values and beliefs of the parents, however expansive or limited, are shared on a continual basis with the children. Children learn from the type of environment adults establish for them (Macionis, p. 94). Parents also give a social identity to their children, this also involves race. Race plays a big role in establishing a child’s personality. Social class is also a big factor in socialization because parents want their children to be successful in the world (Macionis, p. 94).
School is another agent of socialization. School limits our choices because school makes it so a child should be willing to step out of their comfort zone. As they meet people different from themselves, children come to realize that race and social position are important. Schools start to socialize children in gender roles. Studies show that at school, boys are more involved in physical activities and girls like to help teachers out with housekeeping chores (Macionis, p. …show more content…
The entire media context is what it is comprised of. The mean world syndrome is how one kind of story or program blends into another to create and reinforce a distinct view and sense of the world. To get to the heart of the mean world syndrome, you have to simply pick up the remote and do some channel surfing. As you move from one channel to the next, the world is portrayed as either funny, ridiculous or a place of constant danger, threat, psychotic killers, child abductors, murder, disease, plague, threats of war and visions of the end times. More and more it is the latter that is most prominent. For example, sixty-one percent of all lead stories on local news are dedicated to crime, fires, disasters and accidents. Cultivation is defined as a stable system of messages and images that shapes our conception of the world and of ourselves, life, society and power (Video). This cultivation, over time, ingrains a sense that the world is a dangerous place. It also conditions the viewer to accept that violence is a fact of life and to be more tolerant of
Show More

Related Documents: The Mean World Syndrome Analysis

Ethical Issues Of Eugenics

Although eugenics in unethical in practice, its complex history started with good intentions. The term “eugenics” was first coined by scientist Francis Galton in the late 1800s (Tredoux). Galton’s first advancement into eugenics began with the analysis of the characteristics, such as general intelligence, of England’s upper social classes and concluded that they were hereditary, thus desirable traits could be passed down through generations, proving that eugenics is “simple” and began with innocent…

Words 1186 - Pages 5

human cloning Essay

one really knows. But it is against many people’s religious and ethical views. I am against human cloning. While people are in constant pursuit of ways to improve and advance the quality of human life, some activities in the field of genetics face analysis from many support groups because they are seen as violating fundamental and ethical principles. Human cloning is one area of genetic engineering that has started intense debates. Below are some ethical arguments against human cloning. Many people…

Words 914 - Pages 4

Report: Autism and Wang Dafu Essay

also entail impairments that continue through adult life. There is a strong genetic component, and more males are afflicted than females. Autism spectrum disorders in short form ASD, it includes Autistic Disorder, Rett’s Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger Syndrome and other not otherwise specified Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Movie Description Summary of Ocean Heaven Ocean Heaven is a story about a father, Wang Xincheng (Lao Wang) and his son, Wang Dafu. Dafu is a 21 years…

Words 4442 - Pages 18

Essay about King John Pyschological Analysis

childish perspective of the world. Moreover, episodes of rage and mania can be clarified by epilepsy. Distrust and aggression are symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and inability to socialize, maintain relationships are characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome. That King John was a cruel and oppressive King is debatable since the events that have caused the negative overtone, can be explained by the presence of multiple mental health disorders, such as Asperger's Syndrome, Post-Traumatic Stress…

Words 1676 - Pages 7

Essay about Asbergers Report

Asperger syndrome From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Asperger syndrome Classification and external resources People with Asperger syndrome often display intense interests, such as this boy's fascination with molecular structure. ICD-10 F84.5 ICD-9 299.80 OMIM 608638 DiseasesDB 31268 MedlinePlus 001549 eMedicine ped/147 MeSH F03.550.325.100 Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger disorder (AD), is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized…

Words 9740 - Pages 39

Theoretical Analysis Theory

4.4. Introduction to graph theoretical analysis. The case of brain perfusion SPECT. In the field of quantitative neuroimaging, graph theoretical analysis is one of the methods to study brain connectivity [93-95, 100, 101]. A key concept of this method is the notion of topology. This concept can be illustrated with a simple idea which is used when we travel in the subway of any large city. In figure 3 two maps of the London subway appear, the first map shows a precise spatial description of the railways…

Words 1482 - Pages 6

HIV Presentation 2 1 Essay

PRESENTED BY Minash Keshwani Ayisat Omotayo Atinuke Bangbelu Oluwatosin Odetila Halimat Haleem Kafayah Ojugbele What is HIV/AIDS  HIV means Human immunodeficiency virus  AIDS means Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. This is a disease of the human immunodeficiency virus. Acronym H I – Human – This particular virus can only affect human begins. – Immunodeficiency – HIV decrease the immune system by destroying important cells that fight diseases and infections. V – Virus – Virus…

Words 2331 - Pages 10

SS1611 leelokyiu Essay

to go back in Shawshank Prison and the letter he writes to his friends in jail stating that he jokingly plans to bring the gun and shoot the manager for the sake of going back“home”. Unfortunately, Brooks cannot endure the pressure of the stressful world and he commits suicide. Personal reflection I think everyone, including me, has had tough times or faced challenges in our life. We feel depressed or even losing confidence in our lives. To me, the movie The Shawshank Redemption conveys a meaningful…

Words 1052 - Pages 5

Essay about Nora: Lung Cancer and Self-reported Shs Exposure

have most previous studies of the health effects of SHS exposure.2 We calculated mortality measures for 2 conditions (lung cancer and IHD) found in adults (aged 20 years and older) and 4 conditions (sudden infant death syndrome, low birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome, and other respiratory conditions of newborns) found in infants younger than 1 year. We selected these conditions because strong statistical evidence has indicated a causal link between SHS…

Words 5521 - Pages 23

Autism Growing Essay example

Ms. BJ Levis HSS 418-75 4/5/13 Autism Growing up at a young age I thought everyone was the same and that there were no problems in the world. But as grew I came to realize that people are different in many ways. There are many disorders and diseases that abnormally affect many people around the world. And now I think its important to learn about the uniqueness of those with disorders and diseases, and how to interact and be a help to those that have difficulties helping…

Words 1281 - Pages 6