Language and Written Expression IV

Essay N° 4 - midterm
Di Giorno, Ezequiel
3rd, July 2019

THE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE MEDIA

Jim Morrison, the popular ex singer of the famous band The Doors once said, “Whoever
controls the media, controls the mind” (Morrison). Most societies around the world tend to
believe that the media has changed the way in which people interact with the world and that it
has widen the general perspective that societies have towards the world. However, there are
negative aspects of the media that not currently taken into account such as the manipulation of
information to control public opinion, the spread of negative values and the creation of
unnecessary necessities for acquiring goods fostered by advertisements.

There are many powerful companies around the world that are usually in search of
political and economic goals. In Argentina, for instance, many political parties and business people
support financially media companies in order to spread ideas and views that favor their interests.
In doing so, politicians and business people control the public opinion and manipulate people’s
view of the society. In return, media companies get huge amounts of money and access to political
and business decisions. In the famous novel ‘Home Truth’ the character Fanny says, “An interview
is not the exact record of society. It is a selection. An interpretation” (Lodge, 47). In her statement,
the character explains clearly how messages are manipulate according to whoever has the power
and depending on the intentions the person has. So information from the media is manipulated in
order to control the public opinion.

What is currently spread and expose in society by the media is usually taken as part of
culture, values and education. When people are able to get access to general or scientific
information, individuals are improving their knowledge and opening their minds. Unfortunately,
when violence, gossip and information with sexual connotation becomes priority for the media,
people start changing their perspective of the world for the worse. In some cases, jokes and gossip
news imply some kind of bullying instead of fostering positive values. These types news seem to
be more useful for the media that cultural information which may be beneficial for individuals. “All
I know is just what I read in the papers, and that’s an alibi for my ignorance” (Rogers). The media
usually spread information that tends to affect people’s values and education in a negative way.

The media also tends to create a false illusion of having a necessity of acquiring
unnecessary products. From time to time, thousands of advertisements appear in every corner of
the media, fostering people to consume more than it is usually necessary. “Many key arguments
about the way ads perpetuate dominant ideologies, about the way they construct audiences as
consumers, and about the impact they have on culture more generally, are grounded in semiotic
analysis” (Matheson, 39). People get addicted to the idea of constantly acquiring new products
without thinking weather it is really important or not. The media creates this necessity of
consuming through advertisements creating consumers from audiences.
 To conclude, the media has a negative impact on society in terms of manipulation of
information to control public opinion, the exposure of negative values and the creation of an
unnecessary necessity for acquiring new goods.

WORDS: 510.

WORK CITED

 Morrison, Jim. Good readers. 28th, July, 2019.

http://www.goodreader.com/quotes/jimmorrison/themedia

 Roger, Will. Good Readers. 28th, July, 2019.

http://www.goodreader.com/quotes/willrogers/themedia

 Matheson, Donald. Media discourses. Open University Press. New York,

USA, 2005.

 Lodge, David. Home Truths. Penguin Books. London, UK, 1999.