Films

Escaping into the fantasy world of movies is one of the most common methods of recreation worldwide. Films captivate their audience by playing on their emotions through romance, comedy, action and drama. They leave a deep seated impact on the gullible minds of the viewers. Without consciously realizing their influence, viewers very subtly change their behavior. Today many young adults know about the world through films. Their perception of the world, to some extent, is defined by the films they watch.

A source of media that has such phenomenal impact on the generation today has certain responsibilities. Film makers have to strongly consider the influence that their creation will have on young minds. With majority of the movies made currently, most seem to have almost no sense of this responsibility. This issue needs to be addressed in the American cinema, but also the cinema I have grown up with, Bollywood.



Since the advent of globalization, there has been an increasing homogenization of cultures. The western ways have had a profound effect on the east. Movies have erased boundaries that used to separate the east and the west culturally to a noticeable degree. These blurry lines have brought confusion for the east. As an Indian I have grown up watching movies produced by Bollywood, and have witnessed the changes in Bollywood. It seems that Bollywood has lost its essence in its efforts to incorporate the western culture. There have been positives when technology and new methods of film making are concerned, but the content of Indian movies seems lost in translation. The Indian culture and the American culture are essentially very different, therefore when Indian movies are made based on the Western culture, they seems wrong and awkward. The Indian culture which is a much more orthodox and conservative one has been heavily influenced by the western culture. Sex, violence, drugs and alcohol abuse are now more explicitly displayed in Indian movies, now more than ever before. This depiction of content that may have a deep impact on the young minds is now available freely and is barely monitored. In the United States, the rating system is in effect and therefore “restricted” movies cannot be viewed by children. In India even though there is a rating system, it is not implemented effectively and therefore there is no regulation for what children watch.



Another effect of globalization in movies is the encouragement of consumerism. The clothes, accessories, cars, lifestyle depicted in the western movies are quickly seeping into movies all over the world. As viewers watch these movies, they want to buy goods and products that are shown in the movie. The actors in the movies are beautiful and glamorous, and the viewers live in this illusion that if they buy these goods they can live a better life. This is a faulty notion that leads to unbridled consumerism which encourages a shallow and materialistic lifestyle.

Globalization has also brought about a lack of originality in films. These days, when we watch a film, we feel as though we know what’s going to happen next. Movies have become extremely predictable, and several times are based on true stories, biographies or are remakes of existing films. This makes us wonder… is there no longer any creativity left in the film industry?



In Hollywood, we see film makers produce sequels of movies that have already done well in the industry. This shows us that the film industry is profit driven, and does not care about how original the film is. Further, the movies created are based on similar concepts. A movie meant for children tends to have animation and a movie for young adults will have action. For example, Dreamworks Studios produced ‘Shrek’ an animated film in 2001 and are expected to release ‘Shrek the Fourth’ in 2010. This just shows that producers and film writers no longer feel the need to be original. Through these sequels, they increase sales of other consumer products that attract their viewers such as Shrek toys, bottles and games. In addition, these films are made into musicals and end up becoming successful Broadway shows.



We notice the lack of creativity not just in Hollywood, but also in Bollywood. In India, there are some films that are made based on Hollywood movies. Although there is a lack of originality to an extent where the title is the same, people still watch these films. For example an Indian film titled ‘Mere Yaar ki Shaadi Hai’ which means it’s my friend’s wedding, is based on ‘My Best friend’s Wedding’ starring Julia Roberts.





Bollywood movies, at one point had something exclusive about them. However, today, most of these movies are based on Hollywood films, or are remakes of successful Bollywood films. Being a movie buff myself, I do not enjoy watching Indian movies that are based on Hollywood movies. I feel as though the lack of originality along with the predictability of films makes movies boring.

Movies are created with the motive of making profits and entertaining the viewers. However, the question arises whether films provide entertainment because the industry is market driven or if it is what people want. I believe that these movies are not only entertainment but also art. They do not fit the definition of art being a still object, a painting, or a sculpture; but some independent films grab our attention and challenge critical thinking. They stimulate us to think about what we have watched and make us feel connected to the film. In addition, the making of the film involves the combination of direction, cinematography, sound effects, costume designers, stylists and several other forms of art. With the use of special effects, and advanced technology, some films are created with the sole purpose of entertaining its audience, while other films are created in order to arouse its audience, and challenge critical thinking.



The development of film has brought about a lack of originality, and has to an extent killed creativity in film making. With globalization, it has become very difficult to produce a film that is different and based on a new concept. The conglomerates in this industry have an incentive of making profits and thus do not care whether the movie lacks originality or not. They use advances in technology to make these films, and at times create works of art, while at other times create pure entertainment.

McChesney vs. McKibben

Robert McChesney in his book ‘The Problem of the Media’ discusses how the media system works in the United States and the myths associated with the media. He also illustrates how the media system has failed us through due to the problems associated in the media. On the other hand, Bill McKibben in his book ‘The Age of Missing Information’ describes his extreme experiences. In one 24 hour period, he gets people to tape one channel each on the television, and then watches each channel at a stretch. He does this because he wants to know what programs are shown on television in one 24 hour period.In contrast to this experience, he spends another 24 hours in the mountains,cutting himself from all media. Through his experiences he explains how we are replacing fundamental information with artificial information and how television makes us stupid and unaware of our surroundings. He also states that due to an overdose of media, people are now disengaged from the real world.



Both these authors explain how hyper commercialism and advertising have become an integral part of media and how they bring about an increase in consumption. McChesney says that advertising emerged as a response to the needs of corporate commercialism, and is “crucial to building brand identity.”(McChesney, 141)Through emotional experiences, advertising meets our desires, and shows us what we want to see. In addition,it leads to an increase in consumerism and an increase in people’s wants and needs soon becoming “consumerism on steroids” (McChesney, 143). Consumption becomes addictive, not allowing us to be satisfied; yesterday’s luxuries become today’s necessities and no matter what people’s incomes are, they always want what others have. Even a solution for consumption is more consumption. McKibben in his book explains that already owning something is not enough reason for people not to buy it again. He gives an example of “Pearle Vision insisting that you need two pairs of glasses so that your frames can match your mood.”(McKibben, 125)It is television that teaches us that material things bring happiness, and that growth and consumption is the only path to being content.



With the continuous increase in consumption, economic growth has become our goal. We are never satisfied, and always want to build more, produce more, sell more and make more. “People acquire more money, and buy more things with it, and the economy grows, creating more jobs and more prosperity…growth in income, growth in consumption, growth in convenience and comfort-all seem absolutely obvious to us, as obvious that a beautiful day is a sunny day.”(McKibben, 105)McKibben believes that Television encourages growth. He says that although growth is good in the short run, in the long run population growth will use up all of the worlds resources. He gives an example of an ABC newsman reporting a flood in Texas to be the cause for Wal-Mart’s low sales. McChesney talks about how media focuses on the market perspective instead of the public sphere perspective. Media’s only motive is growth, and profit. By using commercials, and the concept of consumerism, it intensifies profit making, thus focusing on the market perspective. As our economy continues to expand, there will be a point where the earth will not be able to sustain consumption the way we do. Our generation is faced with a challenge. How much will be enough? When will be satisfied and not want further growth? “The question is, does it make sense for us any longer- is it automatically cheerful news that the American economy is busily expanding? Or, like Californians in a drought, should we perhaps raise the tops on our convertibles and welcome little rain?”(McKibben, 106)



Another aspect both these authors discuss is how the quality of media has deteriorated. We are provided with fluff, and being media consumers, to some extent it is our fault that we encourage media to provide us with this fluff. In a way, the media is giving us what we want; but it is also possibly the media’s fault since it is from a young age that we are trained to watch this fluff. Instead of providing us with information and knowledge, the television is dumbing us down. It has brought about “a loss of information about our bodies that has enriched the lives of most members of every previous generation.”(McKibben, 197) The media has worsened to an extent that their only motive is profits, which they generate through constant advertisements. These advertisements at times compromise journalistic integrity since “Advertisers often pressure networks to have their particular message incorporated into the editorial content as much as possible” (McChesney, 144) It can also be seen that media provides us with information that stirs up controversies and increases viewers. They provide us with sensationalism, and information that does not teach us much. When Rihanna was abused by Chris Brown, the media sensationalized it, and articles could be seen or heard in news papers, magazines, on the radio and the television. It was everywhere; and was the headlines. This makes us wonder that when there are more important issues in the world such as global warming and nuclear wars, the media chooses to cover celebrity relationships. The media also provides very narrow and limited perspectives. We are provided with limited ideas, and from this restricted menu provided by media, we have to choose.



Further, we have limited perspectives of diversity that is inherent within different cultures and societies since concentration and conglomeration play a major role in the media industry. There are a small number of big companies in control, whose main motive is to make profits. Due to concentration in the industry, freedom of speech is reduced and a diverse range of perspectives are not portrayed. Cross promotion and advertising and blockbusters are the cause for synergy. In a democracy, journalism has three major roles-“journalists need to act as watchdogs of the powerful, or those who wish to be powerful; to ferret out truth from lies and to present a wide range of informed positions on key issues.”(McChesney, 57) Instead, media owners today act as lapdogs of those who are in power. They work with and for those who have power rather than against them. McKibben explains the concept of the ‘global village’ where we let go of our diversity and differences and incorporate a perspective that brings us all together. He says that the content of the global village can be “successfully translated across languages, customs, climates, political tendencies, religions and the other varied circumstances of people’s lives-a certain range of consumer products.” (McKibben, 49) The world of television homogenizes everything. It tells us we have everything in common even though we do not. Television’s global village provides us with very little variety, and information is wiped away in order to make communication easier.

Both McChesney and McKibben believe that the quality of the media has deteriorated. They are aware that although the media has potential to improve, and be more informative, the conglomerates need to provide viewers with more perspectives on global and social issues such as global warming. As consumers, we need to become more self aware and reduce our consumption, otherwise future generations will have to pay a price for our stupidity and lack of understanding. We must also make an effort to be more aware of our environment, and the damage media causes. Finally, we must try avoiding to lose information, and use our senses when we can instead of depending on media for small things such as the weather update.

Portrayal of Women in Print Media

Advertising has grown to be present all around us. It has brought about brand bombing and now occupies a special position in modern society. We are faced with advertisements even when sitting in a classroom. From logos on t-shirts and sweatshirts that can be easily identified, to water bottles like ‘Poland Spring’ and ‘Aquafina’ that are placed on desks, it has become impossible to avoid being influenced by advertising. Todd Gitlin, in his book ‘Media Unlimited’ states that the torrent of the media is omnipresent. It tends to over whelm us by presenting ideas, attitudes and values, through advertising which embed its meanings into the beliefs and values of society. In addition, it causes us to be unsatisfied, and makes us believe that we are not good enough, thus lowering our self image. Although we are fully aware of the impact advertising has on us, we still succumb to it each time and buy products that will apparently make us fairer or help us lose weight.



Advertising is continuously telling people what it means to be desirable. These advertisements make women believe and measure themselves against what society and culture believe ‘ideal beauty’ is. McChesney says,"Advertising often relies on convincing people that there is something wrong with them and that purchasing a product or service will solve their problem."(McChesney, 143) “The average American woman is 5'4" tall and weighs 140 pounds whereas the average American model is 5'11" tall and weighs 117 pounds. Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women. Four out of five American women say they're dissatisfied with the way they look. On any given day, almost half of the women in the United States are on a diet.”(http://www.inch-aweigh.com/dietstats.htm)These models in advertisements lead readers to believe that in order to be considered beautiful, you must be thin, perfectly toned, and have flawless skin. They also bring about a sense of insecurity and low self esteem amongst viewers. By making them feel this way, they increase sales of the products they are advertising. The underweight Barbie doll image created by advertisers is impossible to attain and in trying to fit that image, women today end up having eating disorders or are sickly underweight. Since a young age girls fantasize of growing up to look like Barbie, not knowing that with Barbie’s weight and height they would not be able to stand on their feet.



Similarly the women in these advertisements, who appear to be perfect, are taken up as role models. These advertisements influence societal notions about beauty which in turn pressurize women to resort to a stereotypical mold.In a recent study by Dove, the researchers found that out of the survey respondents,only 2% considered themselves to be beautiful and 81% agree that “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve.”(http://www.dove.us/#/CFRB/arti_cfrb.aspx[cp-documentid=7049726]/) Through the Dove Campaign, we can see how images of women depicted in magazines look nothing like they do in real life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U

Magazine advertisements portray women to be weak, childish, dependent, irrational, domestic, subordinate beings in comparison to men. These advertisements further objectify and sexualize women. In the Dolce and Gabbana advertisement, it can be seen that the woman is portrayed to be weak. She is pinned down by her wrists under the gaze of several other men. It seems as though she is getting gang raped while the men, who are shown to be fit and strong, are watching and looking down at her. This advertisement further questions a woman’s role in society and the idea of violence towards women. Is she expected to satisfy the whims of men or can she create and identity for herself? Dolce and Gabbana through its controversial advertisement is successful in capturing the readers view.



Abercrombie and Fitch when marketing to children, in their summer catalog had images of teenage looking models groping each other. In addition, they also started advertising a line of underwear for girls between the ages of 7 and 14 with words like ‘sexy’ and ‘eye candy’ on them, thus promoting sex to children.



In India, where society is quite conservative, Levis, in its advertisement for jeans, sexualizes women once again. One can see the model wearing just a pair of jeans and covering her upper body with her arms and a bead necklace. In these advertisements women have been sexualized and reduced to an object of exploitation.

McChesney, in his book ‘The Problem of the Media’ discusses the concept of hyper commercialism which is solely based on intensified profit making that serves only the market perspective. There are several instances where the product sold has nothing sexy about it, and the advertisement is yet sexualized. In a print advertisement for a vacuum(http://inventorspot.com/articles/ads_prove_sex_sells_5576),a German Company selling appliances, uses images of women in fishnet stockings, and men tied up to sell its product. This just shows us that sex sells. If you were not aware of what the ad was for, you would be confused; since the vacuum is visible only on the extreme right hand corner of the image.



Dolce and Gabbana through its advertisement is selling sex. It targets its clothing to everyone. Through their gay advertisements, and provocative images, it stirs up controversies and grabs the attention of viewers. Although these advertisements are targeted to homosexuals, there are no advertisements in favor for them or their rights; such as encouraging marriage rights; instead marketers focus on only profits from their increase in sales.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVQxkqVek0

It can be seen that in advertisements, women are depicted to be more feminine and sexual. They are exposed sexually and are also represented in limited roles. Rarely are they shown in successful business roles, work settings, or position involving authority. In India, an advertisement for ‘Movado’ features Twinkle Khanna, as a successful actor. The text in the advertisement associates the actor's artistic talents with the quality of the product. Her brand image as being a talented successful actress is stressed on in order to promote the product. Although we have a few of these advertisements,the portrayal of woman in this positive light is very limited.



The portrayal of woman has not changed much over the years. Women in advertisements represent what the society holds as an ideal image of her. They are continuously depicted as sexual beings, thoughtless, dependent, caretakers, who believe in the stereotypical definition of beauty. The representation of women considered weak and sexual objects, perpetuate the notions of femininity and reinforce them every time these advertisements are read by the audience.

Media Unlimited

Media is a global, source of information that provides us with entertainment, feeling, emotions and a sense of freedom. It defies national boundaries, and is virtually unlimited in its reach, thus making it hard to ignore. As the need for stimulation in humans constantly increases, we can observe how society finds additional ways to integrate media into our lives. Although society has an urge to have media as a part of its everyday life, at times, the vastness and the global torrent of media overwhelms us. Todd Gitlin, in his book ‘Media Unlimited’ compares the vastness of media to a forest. Gitlin says that the vastness of the media saturates us to an extent where we are unaware of being affected by the media.



Media has tremendous power, which is sometimes not effectively used. It allows individuals to base their thoughts and ideas on what media thinks, assumes and feels, at times taking advantage of these individuals and their faith in the media by playing on the emotions of viewers, and not giving out facts. It can be observed that the media at times creates information based on half truths in order to increase profits, and the number of viewers. With the ‘information age’, media conveys messages by getting into our heads. It pushes our thoughts and feelings in certain directions. Although we are aware of the power media has over us, we continue to fulfill our needs by turning to the media. The media constantly sends across information to its viewers, and saturates their lives with a promise of feeling.
Gitlin discusses the concept of ‘Virtual Plenitude’, where media (television and computer screens) get our undivided attention, but do not reciprocate. Although we own these sources of media and decide what images and sounds should be viewed, these media sources demand a certain attention from us, without reacting to us and as Gitlin says, “…to a certain degree, it is they who possess us.” (Gitlin 21) The key argument Gitlin makes is that most people are habitual viewers and they do not even realize it. They spend hours watching television, even when there is nothing to watch. Gitlin states that there are more people watching prime time television rather than being engaged in any single activity. It was only after reading Gitlin’s book did I realize that I too was a habitual viewer. While flipping channels, I would come across a show that would interest me, and then after watching one episode, I would religiously follow the television show.



The constant repetition of images and sounds in the media brainwashes us. We confuse the ‘almost real’ with reality. When we watch a television show, or a film, we relate to the characters on the screen. We imagine them to be real, and while watching the show, we feel as though we know those people; but in reality we know nothing about them. It also shapes the way people think; making us believe all the images we are constantly shown. When we flip through a magazine with pictures of extremely thin models, some of whom are anorexic, we believe that’s what one should look like, even though that is not true. This is how we see media being a cause for people who live life whilst dreaming about what media makes them consider.
Keeping in mind the impact advertising has on us, I agree with Gitlin’s argument that commercial media and consumerism, force viewers to impulse buy products even though they do not need them. Further, the media tends to distracts us from important duties and responsibilities we have as a citizen of a democracy. Advertising through media sources, pushes us in certain directions, and brings about a desire for the product advertised. In a democracy, an individual, as a citizen, should be allowed to think for himself, and not be influenced by media. He should be active, involved, and critically thinking in regards to the media. This does not happen in the consumer driven world we live in, since media distracts and influences us to an extent where we buy products knowing we do not require them. Being a consumer myself, I would not want to admit that the media has the power to convince me to buy something I do not require, even though it does. Through the continuous repetition of images, it convinces and sort of dupes an individual into buying something that is unnecessary.



Gitlin’s opinion in regards to over simplification made me realize how often media distorts information, and alters it in favor of the image they are trying to portray. They do this through sound bites, in order to speak the language that is clear and understandable to everyone. Using sound bites, media decides on what content should be shared, and what should be altered in order to prove their point. This is evident in Gitlin’s anecdote about his experience giving an interview. Gitlin, who was anti war, was shown by the media as someone who was rooting for war. The media managed to successfully convince his friends and other viewers by manipulating the interview in order to prove their point. This further shows how influential the media is. The media decides on what to broadcast, in order to increase profits. Gitlin presents the argument that violence and sex are universal, and can be sold in every culture. By observing the US media, we can see how much importance the media gives to violence within the country as opposed to internationally. When the massacre took place on the campus of Virginia Tech, it became “breaking news” across the globe. In comparison to this, we see how the war in Iraq was covered by only three percent of the media.
I never realized the amount of power media had in influencing society. It uses emotions and feeling to modify our thoughts and beliefs. Even though the original motive behind media was to keep people informed and thus use media for the betterment of society, today media has deviated from its original purpose and become a medium of profit making for corporations. Thus the great power of media is exploited for the benefit of the media producers as opposed to improving the society.