Growing Up in the Age of Technology :: Nick Gillespie Violence Essays

growth Up in the Age of TechnologyIn a lodge where it is increasingly common for the perpetrators of violent crimes to cite their favorite movie or song lyrics as the inspiration behind their actions, one has to wonder - ar democratic culture audiences so mindlessly impressionable that they become dupe to any or all media suggestion? Does pop culture make up as large an affect on morality as the critics claim, and atomic number 18 current attempts to police pop culture necessary? Not really, says notch Gillespie, editor of Reason magazine and author of the article View know What is on the screen or on the stereo is not irrelevant, of course. scarcely it matters far less than one might suppose. In Gillespies opinion, viewers are not merely passive receptors of pop culture instead they pulmonary tuberculosis the context of their own lives to create meaning and value in what they watch. Consumers of the pop culture phenomenon have al personal manners viewed media technology l ike the television, the telephone, and the computer as an interactive experience. Through dialogue with friends, station surfing, posting to a shows computerized bulletin board, or even turning off the television, viewers demonstrate the exponent to become whats known in literary studies as resisting readers. In early(a) words, these reactions demonstrate a mental engagement with what is presented, and not merely an uncomprehending reception of what is offered. Individuals sitting in a theater, or watching television, or listening to a CD dont always see and hear things the way theyre supposed to, says Gillespie, and the variety of human viewpoints are what allow for interpretations and misinterpretations of the medias particular message. According to media analysts, well-nigh audiences sit passively while, Hollywood merely projects morality - good, bad, or sluggish - onto us. These proponents of media censorship support the careful supervision of the entertainment industry, ch iefly because they do not perceive viewers as intelligent critics, able to take a leak their own opinions or to make independent decisions. To censors, media is capable of further dickens functions instilling greater moral and educational ethic in society, or a provoking a craving for chaos and depravity. The government and many skeptics play a key role in this ideology, not only through a belief that good entertainment should be whole didactic, but also by underestimating the viewers ability to make independent choices, or to bring his own interpretation to bear on what he sees.