Television

Length: 5:06
Description: A compilation of Disney clips that depict a multitude of racial stereotypes that were prevalent in cartoons and movies at the time.
Chapter 6: Movies, Chapter 9: Television
Question: What kind of insight can the media give about a certain time period in a society's history?
Answer: The culture values of a society are always reflected in the media, and thus it is through the study of this media that one can make inferences about the conditions present during that time period.

Favorite Movies

Hands down, 500 Days of Summer was definitely one of my favorite movies from 2009. The non-linear storyline and captivating dialogue kept the movie interesting, and set it apart from most other movies of 2009.

Given the massive amount of movies I have watched over the course of my life, it's hard to say which is my favorite. There are so many that stick out in their own unique ways, I really can't say what my favorite movie is. One that I really enjoyed as a child was actually the Star Wars trilogy (the original one). I can't count how many times in my life I have watched those three movies.

Most Influential Books

Given that I've read so many books, and that each of them has influenced me in some way, it's hard to pinpoint exactly which ones have been the most influential. One easy choice for me, however, would be "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss. This is the book that single-handedly turned me from an illiterate child to an avid and well-rounded reader. The simple sentences, all bound together by an easy-to-follow rhyme scheme, made it easy to struggle through the drab fog of illiteracy. The vivid images and ridiculous content also reinforced the idea that reading was fun, which provided motivation to continue reading. Overall, I don't think I would be the same person today if not for Dr. Seuss and his books.

When I was a freshman in high school, I read a book that, to this day, is still one of my favorites: "For Whom the Bell Tolls", by Ernest Hemingway. The book is about an American fighting with Republican guerillas during the Spanish Civil War. The powerful yet subtle writing style gave the book an almost mystical quality, and since first reading it, I have re-read it on numerous occasions, each time finding new subtleties and different understandings. Before reading this book, I never realized how much an author can say without saying anything at all.

And, most recently, a book by Ken Kesey called "Once a Great Notion". This author has the wonderful ability to tie his many abstract and metaphorical concepts in with what is physically happening in the story. It can truly change the way you perceive the world and make you realize that everything you see in life, even things previously deemed to be mundane and irrelevant, has or is part of some greater meaning.

How Media Affects People's View of the Government

The media is powerful, but just how powerful is it? In George Orwell's 1984, the tyrannical ruling party makes effective use of the media to portray itself as the omnipresent and benevolent Big Brother, sedating the population into subservience. But is this situation really plausible? In order to test this, one would have to set up a number of blind tests in which the individuals are shown different news reels on matters relevent to the government (ie speeches, foreign policy, ect.), and then asked to form an opinion on the government in question. Would they have a better opinion of a government if they were only shown positive news reels? Would they react vehemently towards a government that was shown commiting atrocities? Could their opinions be bent from one side to the other? I believe the results will confirm that the media does have a powerful impact. However, the nature of that impact will likely vary from person to person. Perhaps some people would be skeptic and shrug the positive reels off as propaganda, or vice versa. I have little doubt in my mind, though, that the media is an incredibly powerful weapon. As the proverb goes, the pen is mightier than the sword.