Battle of the Mind

Life is experience. Everything that happens to us, either directly or indirectly, leaves an impression on our character. Inevitably, our experiences are our own. No one, not even twins, experience life the same way. Differences that arise, when the diverse element of our environment is added, vary greatly as well. Grasping this concept, and then looking out our window, why is it that we tend to categorize and stereotype groups of people? What defines these preconceived assumptions? This apparent contradiction emphasizes how deep this influence is. Our dominating form of entertainment, the broad aspect of the media, has a drastic influence on our society. Reading between the lines should give us some insight to this influence induced on the American people. We all believe in relative truths, whatever they may be, in which our culture demonstrates to us how we enjoy lies and how that causes us to willingly believe lies, resulting in a distorted view of reality with detrimental effects on society, such as racism.            

            The extent to which the media is exposed to the audience, ultimately determines the extent of its influence. Technology has assisted the media in reaching more people, more of the time, and apparently will increasingly continue to do so. The initial intent of the media is to “inform and educate, as well as entertain (Culture, p4, ¶1).” Therefore, this is where we go to attain various types of information, education and entertainment. Consequently, entertainment has encompassed the intent of the media, and has reached beyond a point where it is now an important factor when it comes to reaching the audience with education and information. In order to reach the masses and maintain the audience’s attention requires elements of entertainment, which in turn, endangers the information of bias.

The definition of entertainment is “amusement or diversion provided esp. by performers; also: something or someone diverting or engaging (Merriam, 2007).” The definition of divert is “to turn from a course or purpose: deflect 2: distract 3: to give pleasure to esp. by distracting the attention from what burdens or distresses (Merriam, 2007).” Some definitions for engage is “to bind by pledge… 3: to attract and hold esp. by interesting; also: to cause to participate… 5: to bring or enter into conflict (Merriam, 2007).” The definitions clarify what entertainment is, and as you read along, the connections will be more apparent. The fact being that on the most part, entertainment is experienced, not often conceptualized.         

Based on research “work of Conway and Rubin… established the following gratification factors in TV use:  passing-time, entertainment, information, escape, relaxation, and status enhancement (Oliver, 2010).” From these fundamental factors derives a wide range of determinants that leads one to seek to be entertained, which results in added exposure to the media. Emotional factors such as stress, boredom, loneliness leads some to seek “information that may ultimately help the mournful viewers ‘work through’ (Oliver, 2010)” a negative state. Other motivators are “means of experiencing beauty and raising morale (Oliver, 2010).” In other words, entertainment has the ability to manipulate our emotions and allows us the freedom to select media to feel how we would like to feel.

            Due to our desire to ultimately “escape,” leads us into an area in which we are susceptible to be mislead and deceived on many levels. Green explains:

“To compensate for the difficulties in their lives, people spend a lot of their time daydreaming, imagining a future full of adventure, success, and romance… The perfect illusion is one that does not depart too much from reality, but has a touch of the unreal to it, like a waking dream. Lead the seduced to a point of confusion in which they can no longer tell the difference between illusion and reality (2001, p. 251).”

Considering the extent of the reach of the media, “Heavy television viewers tend to internalize the media’s messages… Media representations that are consistent and intense become mentally available for influencing real-world perceptions, beliefs, and values…(Ramasubramanan, 2010).” This proves that the media is a very effective, yet acceptable tool for manipulation.

The art of persuasion and the art of seduction can be blueprints for the techniques used by the media to reach the means to their end. Straight to the point, the media is overall, in it for the money. Entertainment and advertisements in particular, are directed to motivate and persuade, in other words, seduce you to their proposed instruction.

“The trick to making them listen is to say what they want to hear, to fill their ears with whatever is pleasant to them… Inflame people’s emotions with loaded phrases, flatter them, comfort their insecurities, envelop them in fantasies, sweet words, and promises, and not only will they listen to you, they will lose their will to resist you (Green, 2001).”

Not only do they persuade one to do things or buy things, they will stimulate particular emotions in order to affect behaviors. Take for example the use of fear and shock appeals. “Fear appeals attempt to frighten target audience members in order to motivate them to take appropriate precautionary, self-protective action (Jones, 2010).” Motives for shock appeals have been suggested to capture the attention of the audience, the interest that results in free publicity, to raise awareness, to affect attitudes, to enhance recall, to influence behaviors, to increase sales and profits, or to achieve other mission-related goals (Jones, 2010). For example, “advertisers invest time understanding the human spirit to shape it into a consumer mentality (Touzard, 2007).”

Going back to our window, does the media affect perspectives on diverse groups of people? “Television can teach us many things, can tell us many stories, can make us laugh, but it can also make us angry, and it can take us to a number of different worlds and force us to establish our position towards them (Mitu, 2010).” The media allows the world to open up to us and, accompanied with a false sense of freedom, determine for ourselves what is right and wrong in these simulations, and therefore other similar situations. “Individuals experience the greatest level of enjoyment when the portrayed outcomes in media entertainment are perceived as ‘just’ or ‘correct’ (Oliver, 2010).” But, whatever the media has displayed up to this point has been “in accordance with the intentions and desires of people (Mitu, 2010).” This then insinuates that one particular perspective of reality is predominantly acceptable, but that is another topic altogether, although it is inevitably unavoidable and will be present.

In 1946, William Tymous, an African American, World War II veteran, wrote a letter to Federal Communication Commissioner, Clifford Durr, in which William stated he worried to what extent they had nailed “down in the minds of millions of listeners derogatory and false judgments of fellow citizens…conditioned by these anti-racial stereotypes that they placidly accept them and can see no wrong in such disguised fostering of race hatred (Pickard, 2008).” This letter resulted in the creation of the “Public Service Responsibility of Broadcast Licensees,” also known as the “Blue Book,” as a guideline that is hardly recognized, even today.  Due to the universal fact that money is power, money can safely be assumed to be the motive for any established set of rules that are ignored, not to exclude rules they allow to be enforced. Follow the money trail, you will find “who” is at the end of it, another topic for another time.

The manipulating hand behind the media is characterized as insidious. Green explains in Appendix B entitled “Soft Seduction: How to Sell Anything to the Masses” how, through a few key factors. The most apparent factors present in our media are very interesting. “Design your words and images to stir basic emotions – lust, patriotism, family values… they feel stirred, uplifted. Now you have their attention and the space to insinuate your true message.” Another aspect is to use visuals, images to hypnotize, to make them feel, to your design. Also, that the “most seductive way to sell” is through trends. The most astonishing key factor is “Tell people who they are.”

“Making them unhappy with themselves gives you room to suggest a new life-style, a new identity. Only by listening to you can they find out who they are. At the same time, you want to change their perception of the world outside them by controlling what they look at. Use as many media as possible to create a kind of total environment for their perceptions. Your image should be seen not as an advertisement but as part of the atmosphere (2001, p.447).”

These points are apparently familiar. Yet we are so blind to it, including those who are negatively affected. Perhaps due to the fact that it is easier to identify issues for others than it is to identify of ourselves.

            “His love of justice often became a blind and furious passion, and whenever he deemed his own or the public safety endangered, he disregarded the rules of evidence and the proportion of punishments (Gibbon, 2003).” Aurelian, a Roman general was also described as desensitized and unsympathetic to tortures and death. This is just one of the innumerous personages who abused power to their standards of justice. Rome, once being a dominating power in the world, is a paralleled, “safely acceptable” example to use. Can anyone honestly say they are not blinded by their own rationalizations in their own standards of justice?

 Evidence of a governing standard that poses as just, proves to be a real possibility in our society as a nation. An experiment conducted on White Americans that consider themselves unprejudiced, demonstrates where rationalization plays a major role. “Because maintaining an unprejudiced self-image is so important to most individuals…any event that casts doubt on their unprejudiced self-image…then respond to this threat by seeking out an opportunity for comparison with more prejudiced individuals (O’Brien, 2010).” The media is readily available to provide these comparisons, which accounts for how it is possible that a particular perspective of reality is commonly accepted. When you follow the trail of oppression, it will become evident “who” determines what is commonly accepted, another topic altogether.

Racial prejudice is the best example to show what is happening “behind the scenes,” and reveals the detrimental effects of a distorted view of reality. Discrimination against Black people is the most extreme and most prevalent, yet the most disguised. It shows where our standards originate from and the source of many inconsistencies in our society. It does not exclude the discrimination of other races, or disparage them.

Assata Shakur is a Black revolutionary woman who was charged with being an accomplice to a murder of a White state trooper in the 1970’s. Her autobiography illustrates her experience throughout the trial which reflects how “they [judicial system] had used the law to abuse the law (Shakur, 1987).”

Through her upbringing, she reflects on how racism affected her perspective of her environment and the part media played to frame her mindset growing up. She watched shows such as, “Ozzie and Harriet” and “Lassie” and wanted to be like them because it was thought that was how it was supposed to be. Commercials had caused her to act as a puppet, “and I didn’t even know who was pulling the strings,” by wanting what they told her she wanted, believing that’s what she should want.          

Personally and socially, the experiences of Assata testify to a force in the world that manipulates the masses to a dominant, governing point of view. The distortion of reality is not solely limited to the media and the “fantasy world,” but extends it influence into reality. As mentioned earlier, it leads “the seduced to a point of confusion in which they can no longer tell the difference between illusion and reality (Green, 2001).” As a child growing up in a segregated environment, external pressures were felt to want something influenced. As an adult, an external force laid claim on her life because she interfered with their interests.

“Meanwhile, we in this society must remind ourselves again how we threaten our own interests and rights when we condone by our silence the government’s use of surveillance, attacks on the legitimacy of political activists, and the use of the criminal law to suppress and punish political dissent (Shakur, 1987).”

The media, in relation to how it portrays our reality in society, shows how the “puppeteer” wants, or allows issues to be portrayed. No matter what race, I believe we are all in danger of, and susceptible to, the self-righteous control of the judicial system. Ultimately, this shows how we are all living under a false sense of freedom. The media is always there to confirm that for us. Though, it must be stated that the media is referred to in general. There is media that is valuable, relevant, and beneficial in existence. Even when the media is corrupted, there is a fundamental truth that deceptions are derived from. The main point is identifying underlining “lies” in the media in order to avoid their influence.

We are not qualified to judge when we possess preconceived notions in viewing the “world,” how much more so when we interact with it? Racial prejudice is just one of the many aspects of conditioned thinking existent in our American culture. Others include; materialism, religion, aging, class, etc.  

Common knowledge is that we can change the world by the relatively small things we can do as an individual. A place that we all can start is by realizing what we don’t want to realize. Wishful thinking, especially when money, also known as the root of all kinds of evil, is involved. “Seduction is the ultimate form of power. Those who give in to it do so willingly and happily (Green, 2001).”

References

Gibbon, E. (2003). The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Toronto: Random House Publishing Group.

Green, R. (2001). The Art of Seduction. New York, New York: Penguin Group.

Jones, T., Cunningham, P.H., &Gallagher, K. (2010). VIOLENCE IN ADVERTISING. Journal of Advertising, 39(4), 11-36. Doi:10.2753/JOA0091-3367390402

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus. (2007). Library of Congress Cataloging –in-Publication Data.

Mitu, B. (2010). “CULTURE AND TELEVISION AFTER 20 YEARS. THE TELEVISUAL GLOBALIZATION.” Annals of Spiru Haret University, Journalism Studies, 11237-244. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

O'Brien, L. T., Crandall, C. S., Horstman-Reser, A., Warner, R., Alsbrooks, A., & Blodorn, A. (2010). But I'm No Bigot: How Prejudiced White Americans Maintain Unprejudiced Self-Images. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(4), 917-946. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00604.x

Oliver, M., & Bartsch, A. (2010). Appreciation as Audience Response: Exploring Entertainment Gratifications Beyond Hedonism. Human Communication Research, 36(1), 53-81. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2009.01368.x

Pickard, V. (2008). A Postwar Settlement for U.S. Broadcasting: Conference Papers-International Communication Association, 1-30. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Ramasubramanian, S. (2010). Television Viewing, Racial Attitudes, and Policy Preferences: Exploring the Role of Social Identity and Intergroup Emotions in Influencing Support for Affirmative Action. Communication Monographs, 77(1), 102-120. doi:10.1080/03637750903514300

Shakur, A. (1987). Assata. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books.

Touzard, G. (2007). Destructive advertisements: The relationship between advertisements and the environment. Conference Papers -- American Sociological Association, 1. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Something to Consider.

Lately, love has generally been on my mind. The issues of the world that we are exposed to seem so complicated and intense. Honestly, it is really that simple. It is just not the easiest thing to do. Genuine love requires sacrifice, and not many are willing. Those who confess to believe in Jesus Christ should understand, this is the true cross to bear; agape. 

Whether or not you believe in the Bible or in Jesus Christ, take a look at the person depicted. Love, expressed through a filter of wisdom. A revolutionary. He brought truth, and depending on where the heart was, the person was either freed, confounded, or slapped in the face.

I think another aspect to address would be that His people were expecting freedom from Roman dominance. Consider that He freed people from something greater than that. He freed them mentally and spiritually, which in turn also freed them physically. Consider that! And not even primarily from the Romans, but from their own people, their own government, their own religion. 

America. A country that was founded on a Christian foundation. So transparent to see through that facade. Everything that was done, was done in hypocrisy. All men are created equal, but not all men are equal. This is a country that professes "freedom" and "democracy," yet many citizens find themselves enslaved to this very day. 

Divide and conquer to such a great extent, we are even divided within our own selves! We are divided within and hate ourselves, we are divided within our family and hate our family, we are divided within our neighborhood and hate our neighbor. Not knowing, not understanding what or who the real enemy is. Division and hatred so trivial that people destroy due to sports rivalry. Come on now, it ain't even that serious.

To change the world, it takes planning and action motivated by love and the desire to truly see the world as a better place, as opposed to hate and destruction. Yet, we can't even do that within our own realm of influence.  

Why Hate?

"Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet." 
-Maya Angelou

Has hate ever solved a problem for you in your personal life? 
Reflecting on this question, I have to answer no. I can't think of any problem hate has solved for me personally. In fact, I can remember it having the exact opposite reaction. Hate has either enlarged the problem, prolonged it, or allowed the emotional pain to continue for a long time after anything can even be done about it. 

I've heard love is where the answer lies. Love, and compassion, and understanding. 
Why does love tend to be hard to give? Why does love tend to be hard to find?

I spent most of my life very naive. I gave a lot of love to a lot of people who didn't appreciate it. I've been hurt too many times to count, and I can't lie, I ultimately became very bitter. I became very angry and on edge. The majority walk around as predators, just searching for prey. How can you love in a world like that? 

Hating comes out easily. We know what we like, and what we don't like. We know what we believe, and what we don't believe. We understand our own worlds. Then, we are confronted with something different... 

Love doesn't seem so easy for many to express. I believe it is because love has become selfish. Love is easy to give when it is beneficial, as opposed to sacrificial. To top it off, why would you show love for someone you don't understand?  

With this lack of understanding, combined with the choice not to love, there is a self-imposed illusion of separation. Yes, illusion! If there really is a separation, there would be no room or reason to hate to begin with. We all affect each other. We are even affecting others on the other side of the world. (If you don't believe that, I invite you to comment.) 

An essential element that must come from each one of us is self-responsibility. Many may think that they live in a bubble, but fact is, our actions and thoughts have a ripple effect throughout our world. So much suffering is going on all over the world, we each need to acknowledge our part, and what we can do about it. 

Every day carries enough worries of its own. We all have our own struggles and obligations. It takes many of us all we have not to go insane. I experience the same. But just as we all contributed to the madness, we can just as easily contribute to the solution. We do what we can. 

Blood On Our Hands

In the last couple of weeks, I've seen numerous videos of murder and violence done in the name of "religion." I have to be honest with you, what comes vividly to mind are the conquests done under the Christian Bible. Although Christianity wants to play the innocent and judge at this time in our earth's history, it cannot hide what it holds behind the scenes when evil is too intent on showing its true colors.

I am an adamant believer in free will. If God refuses to force me to love Him, no force on earth is going to force me to serve anything against my conscience. Though my beliefs are rooted in Christianity, I believe there is truth and wisdom in other religions. I believe religions are started with pure intent, but become over-ridden by tradition and human ambition over time. Persecution does not come from God. It just makes no kind of sense!

Watching American History X, I realized something that sharpened my perception of all "division" in general. Behind the main character was another character instigating violence and hate. The goal was to gain control of the area and put people of color under submission. What I came to realize is, just as the instigator sent out the main character, someone up that line must have sent the instigator. The story line may be fiction, but I feel, holds a lot of truth to it. 

Violence and hate can be summed up by burning crosses. Burning crosses may not have originated in religion, but has been professed to be a symbol of faith in Christianity. I had to throw this out there because this is recent history, if "history" at all.

Looking back at history, it can be seen that the church used religion as a form of control over a vast area, even over oceans. The objective of the missions in California was to convert the Native Americans in order to ensure their loyalty. Devout men and women may have gone out with sincere heart to do the will of "God," but by the order of men, fueled by men's ambitions. 

Throughout the dark ages, anyone who spoke out against the church was persecuted against. The reformers are testimonies to that, and what it shows is that the Catholic church acquired and maintained its control in the name of religion, but against God. Catholic means universal in extent; involving all; of interest to all. Seems very ambitious. Tens of thousands were massacred during these centuries. 

Now that Muslims are killing Christians and Buddhists, I can't help but wonder what the force behind it is, and why. There is, no doubt, a chain of command. Why is this action being taken and for what purpose? I do not take this at face value. Besides that, I have to be careful the role I play as a pawn in "their" whole game.  

  

Dark Corners

Not knowing, ever wondering.

I fear what I don’t know.

I am always aware there is more than what I am limited to.

I am always aware there is variety inexhaustible.

Nothing stays hidden forever.

I’ve illuminated some dark hidden corners.

I am always aware I could not have found them all.

A charade always follows. But in time another corner is found.

Until the charade is so redundant it’s predictable.

I am always aware of what comes next.

Keep them all. Your secrets. Your charades.

All of this is unnecessary.

I am always aware you will always have your way.