Influencing Cultural Values

The media, and advertising contributes to the formation of normative cultural values.   In many ways can   the media, and advertisements influence cultural values.   It can be in the form of radio, television, newspaper, magazines, Internet, and even video games.   Everyday whether it is noticeable or not, the media and advertisements have an impact on the way I think, and the decisions I make.   For instance, in 1967 The Doors defied the CBS-censor,   refusing to alter the lyrics of their song “Light My Fire” while performing on the   Ed Sullivan Show   (CNN, 2002).   “Light My Fire”   include lyrics that insinuate drug use which was unacceptable within the normative cultural values for that time.   CBS feared a public outcry pleading indecency toward CBS’s broadcast.   Over time, this sort of performance was much more accepted in society.   The Ed Sullivan Show was very popular and viewed nightly by tens of millions of people.   According to Nielsen Media Group and U.S. Census Bureau At times as many as 73 million people viewed the show.   On September of 1956, Elvis Presley first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show.   The camera crew focused mainly on the upper half of Elvis making sure to block out his lower half hip gyrations from the innocent viewers.   When reflecting on these appearances, it is hard to believe they created so much controversy.   Normative cultural values were very different then from now.   With the influence of media, and advertisement cultural values will continue to change as they have in the past.

References
CNN Entertainment. (2002, October 2).   When the Doors went on Sullivan.   Retrieved             October 24, 2009, from   http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/03/ed.sullivan.sidebar/ [continues]

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