According to Robert Scholes, author of On Reading a Video Text, commercials aired on television hold a dynamic power over human beings on a subconscious level. He believes that through the use of specific tools, commercials can hold the minds of an audience captive, and can control their abilities to think rationally. Visual fascination, one of the tools Scholes believes captures the minds of viewers, can take a simple video, and through the use of editing and special effects, turn it into a powerful scene which one simply cannot take his or her eyes from. Narrativity is yet another way Scholes feels commercials can take control of the thoughts of a person sitting in front of the television. Through the use of specific words, sounds, accompanying statements and or music, a television commercial can hold a viewer's mind within its grasp, just long enough to confuse someone into buying a product for the wrong reason. The most significant power over the population held by television commercials is that of cultural reinforcement, as Scholes calls it. By offering a human relation throughout itself, a commercial can link with the masses as though it's speaking to the individual viewer on an equal level. A commercial In his essay, Scholes analyzes a Budweiser commercial in an effort to prove his statements about the aforementioned tools.…
The Trouble with Television is an Article that was written by Robert Macneil. In his Article he believes that television harms society. In the Article the author states that the main trouble with television is that it discourages concentration. Macneil believes that television requires to apply zero efforts, therefore resulting in zero concentration. If you don’t apply yourself and concentration, you will not be successful.…
In “The Trouble with Television,” Robert MacNeil states his viewpoints strong and thoroughly about how he thinks television is harmful to society. Many different things have gone wrong because of television. MacNeil states that, “Television is like a drug.” Once you watch so much of it, you get addicted to it and then you can’t stop watching it.…
choices, but I do agree with Johnson that my selections usually fall into the rating and…
The main conclusion[s]/inference[s] in this article is that just like everything else in life it is good in moderation. Television is not the problem as is the quality and quality that is being consumed that is the problem.…
Fox, Roy F., and George Gerbner. Harvesting Minds: How TV Commercials Control Kids. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1996. Print.…
Popular culture has a tremendous effect on our everyday lives for years and has had a significant change on everyone in some type of way. It is heavily influenced by technology. In some form of way technology has allowed people to gain more knowledge on general topics. “2b or Not 2b” by David Crystal, and “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” by Steven Johnson, both discuss how technology has had a huge impact on the way our modern day society works. Crystal argues the benefits that come with texting. He explains that although in many ways texting has tainted the English language but at the same time it allows people to have better understandings as well. He beliefs it is the evolution of language. Johnson argues that television is not making us dumb but in fact is actually healthy for our brains. He explains throughout his essay that television enhances our cognitive faculties, making us more intelligent. Both essays show how pop culture, being technology, can have positive effects on people which are what ties these two articles together.…
Often I don’t watch television for several reasons one being it is brainwash. When most people think about brainwashing they think big metal pieces strapped to someone’s head pumping electrical pulses through their head, I imagine a television set. Commercials in particular can influence someone’s mental process . Commercials have evolved since I began my experience with television. The evolvement started with Gieco , before Gieco’s advertisement campaign commercials were bland . Now commercials seek attention in many different ways, some yell at you to the point you have to turn the volume down. Others use attractive people,a joyfull jingle can also be improvised, some even will use talking geckos!…
The main purpose of the article “The Debilitating Effects of TV on Children” By Dr. John M Grohol, is that the more time children spend watching television, the more harmful it is. It is not only detrimental to a child’s education, but also socially and medically. Dr. Grohol believes that despite the negative effects television has on children, parents continue to allow children to watch way too much.…
Children also can get tired of the commercials, and start wanting better attract to the commercials. Corporations will now try to make the commercials like a cartoon or have a mascot in there. The reason they do that is because kids love colorful episodes on television and movies. Overall, using commercials to persuade kids a good effective result at the end of the…
In our society we are conditioned to TV, and in TV there’s reality shows and media. We watch episodes that we enjoy, but in those episodes there’s commercials. In the commercials they try to adversities get you to buy things that normally attract the kind of audience of the show. For an example, on channels like…
By the time the ad ends, I already forgot what the TV show was about. And sometimes they even spoil TV shows. Let me give you an example. I once saw an ad about the newest episode of the Flash. The ad just spoiled everything. I learned from the ad that the main character, Barry, basically came back from the dead. If the ad had not been played, I would’ve actually been interested in watching and continuing the show.…
One of the things that annoys me most are TV adverts. Now, I think that TV adverts are a bit like marmite, you either love them or you hate them. Personally I absolutely loathe them seeing as I find them really irritating as do most people. Whenever an advert comes on the TV I usually switch the channel to another programme that’s on until my programme comes back on. Why? Because TV adverts are just ridiculously annoying and so time consuming. One of the things that annoys me the most is when you have to change the channel because you don’t want to watch the advert but then you end up completely forgetting about your first programme causing you to miss it. I mean I believe that TV adverts are basically hated by everybody. To me there is nothing worse than watching your favourite programme and having to wait about 5 minutes during adverts to find out what happens next. For example, lets’ set the scene, you’re sitting at home looking for something good to watch. You find a horror film that looks quite good and that has just started. You start to really enjoy the movie, you’re dying to know what’s going to happen, you’re on the edge of your seat and the rising suspense is unbearable. You’re just getting to the best bit and all is about to be revealed when suddenly the darkness from your screen is replaced by bright light. The creepy tension building music has gone and now your ears are filled by with nice calming music as the John Lewis clearance advert begins. Then you have to sit there for the next five minutes having to…
Television commercials are an agent of socialization and have been used to persuade the viewer into voting for a certain president, stereotyping a certain ethnic group or race because of comical value, using sex to make a product look appealing, or learning what qualities in a beer is important. Yet, although such trivial information exists in commercials and would permeate the consciousness of Americans, certain girls and boys may see an advertisement that may cause harm and damage subconsciously. Television commercials can mold individuals and “show and value diverse images as a way to enrich the imaginations, hopes, and dreams of girls and women raised in a culture in which advertising’s images are ubiquitous” (Yoder, Christopher, Holmes, 2008, p. 303). The commercial of the woman in the kitchen cleaning and cooking, or preforming some…
Nowadays, almost each family has at least one television. Even when we grow up, we still have a cartoon in our memories. But we can see, more and more children indulge to TV shows, they pick up bad habits from the programs and they lost a lot of fun because of they spend too much time in watching TV. Not only to the children but also to the adults, watching TV is harmful to people’s health.…