We talked a lot about different studies that have been done to look at media and its impact on the people that watch it. I think it’s really interesting to see the impact media plays on society. We truly are influenced by everything we see on television or read in a book. Whether we are watching television for entertainment or for news we end up learning something. Do you think that you can learn something from a comedy show on television or do you think that you can only learn from educational and factual television? I personally think we learn something from every show we watch. It may not be the most important of information but its new information either way. I think we are all subconsciously influenced by media. We may not be able to see it but it affects us either way. Do you think the television you watch impacts the things you do on a daily basis? I think reality television influences us the most. We see real people in real life situations and how they handle them. We may handle those same situations the same way or we may have seen what doesn’t work and try something different. In the end it’s pretty easy to see how much the media influences not only ourselves but the people around us as well.
While we undoubtedly learn a lot from the educational television we view, I think we also inevitably learn from the entertainment shows we watch, including comedy shows. The information we consume may be interpreted as positive or negative; I think it depends a lot on our cultural competence as well as the setting. If I were to tell a joke to friends making fun of a different ethnicity than my own while at a party, school or another function, it may be seen as deliberately belittling that race and others may view me as irresponsible. However, if I am at a comedy club telling that joke to an audience, along with other jokes regarding other races, it would probably be seen as funny and some may even nod their heads in agreement. To learn something from comedy, we must know and understand the surrounding stigmas and background. The television that I watch is all-inclusive; I start my day out with the news, come home to Oprah, later I tune into Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and before bed I get my fix of reality television. I definitely agree that I learn something different from each show that I watch. Whether it is information about my community, hot topics in the world, word formations and fun facts or how the girls in Teen Mom are raising their children; each of the shows affect me after watching. The postactivity that I engage in is definitely affected by what I watch; after seeing the news, I am a little frightened to go out at night alone, and after watching Jersey Shore I am ready to go out and party. And the activities that I do participate in are definitely affected- according to The Bachelor I should play hard to get, and The Real Housewives tells me I should marry rich. But while these events are in the back of my mind, and I am influenced by the positive or negative things that I see, I also use my own reality, like friend’s and family’s experiences, in everyday life. However, this may be an endless circle because I’m pretty sure their lives are extremely influenced by the media, as well. So really, how do I know what impacts me the most, or where it is coming from?
ReplyDeleteJust to answer the question, I personally believe you can learn a lot from a comedy show. The most important things you learn in comedy shows are about different cultures and races. Most comedians crack jokes on their own kind, but to be diverse with the comedy they do have to learn a little about everyone's culture to see what is acceptable and not acceptable. Even though some people may get offended, it is important what you can and cannot say to someone else when cracking a joke. At many comedy shows I've been to there were plenty of times when the comedian cracked a joke about one particulr race and many people could not laugh because they can't relate. Some of the language used by comedians aren't universal to others and this may cause confusion for some or many may not find it funny because it isn't language they may use in their cultural. I think everything on televsion can be educational and factual as long as you interpret the context fittingly to your personal life.
ReplyDelete