Mass Media and Popular American Culture
Running head: MASS MEDIA AND POPULAR AMERICAN CULTURE
Mass media and popular American Culture
Team B
University of Phoenix
In the last 50 years the mass media has grown exponentially with the advancement of technology. Our society has come a long way since the telegraph and the newspaper. The most used source of media today is the television. In today’s society over 250 billion hours of television is viewed annually by Americans. Children are exposed to more than 40,000 ads a year, and this number is climbing. Americans as a whole are exposed to thousands of images of sex, crime, advertisements, celebrity news, hidden subliminal messages and much more. Today’s society is not aware of the negative influences we expose ourselves and our children to on a daily basis. Surprisingly enough, 95% of the media is owned by only 5 companies, which are, Time Warner, Viacom, Vivendi Universal, Walt Disney, and News Corp. These companies own the major entertainment theme parks, movie studios, radio broadcast networks, and sports entertainment. These superior companies also own integrated telecommunications, wireless phones, video game software, electronic media the music industry and more. In earlier years there was diversity in companies, now there are just a few that have the power to influence the minds of your children. When children constantly watch violence and negative images over and over again it becomes traumatic on their psyche. Television is shaping the way young Americans think. Therefore they grow up thinking they have to look a certain way to fit in today’s society. We need to develop a mind of our own or we will become a culture filled with zombies with low IQ’s. As one examines the relationship between the media and popular culture it is evident that the affects of the media has had a great impact. The popular culture before the media was somewhat simple. The pop culture was primarily dictated by the elite and the religious
Mass media and popular American Culture
Team B
University of Phoenix
In the last 50 years the mass media has grown exponentially with the advancement of technology. Our society has come a long way since the telegraph and the newspaper. The most used source of media today is the television. In today’s society over 250 billion hours of television is viewed annually by Americans. Children are exposed to more than 40,000 ads a year, and this number is climbing. Americans as a whole are exposed to thousands of images of sex, crime, advertisements, celebrity news, hidden subliminal messages and much more. Today’s society is not aware of the negative influences we expose ourselves and our children to on a daily basis. Surprisingly enough, 95% of the media is owned by only 5 companies, which are, Time Warner, Viacom, Vivendi Universal, Walt Disney, and News Corp. These companies own the major entertainment theme parks, movie studios, radio broadcast networks, and sports entertainment. These superior companies also own integrated telecommunications, wireless phones, video game software, electronic media the music industry and more. In earlier years there was diversity in companies, now there are just a few that have the power to influence the minds of your children. When children constantly watch violence and negative images over and over again it becomes traumatic on their psyche. Television is shaping the way young Americans think. Therefore they grow up thinking they have to look a certain way to fit in today’s society. We need to develop a mind of our own or we will become a culture filled with zombies with low IQ’s. As one examines the relationship between the media and popular culture it is evident that the affects of the media has had a great impact. The popular culture before the media was somewhat simple. The pop culture was primarily dictated by the elite and the religious
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