Ethnocentrism and the media
February 19th, 2006. Filed under: Essays
Yeah I’m running out of content so I’m posting more of my homework. This is a one-page essay I had to do for Human Communication class.
How does culture affect the content of the media in society? Do you recognize any influence of ethnocentrism of a particular culture in the media? How does it affect everyday communication among individuals?
The average person may be ignorant or sheltered from the many dark sides of the media. One such description is the issue of varying, or rather contrasting cultures portrayed through the media, commonly through television. With the emergence of media stereotypes over the years, traces of ethnocentrism can be detected if looked carefully. The dominance of certain races of others seeps into the media usually through fabricated fiction intended for entertainment.
In typical movies and television shows, white Caucasians (normally males) tend to undertake the dominating role. In these productions of American origin, other ethnicities such as Afro-Americans and Latinos seem to end up being displayed the ‘lesser’ people of society. If not the antagonists, those of different races are attached with stereotyped imperfections similar to real life even if exaggerated. The tendency of this occurrence can be tied to the fact that the producers are generally Caucasians, the majority of the U.S.
The recent release of the film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ sees 50 Cent, rapper, as a man who turns from the life of crime to pursue his passion: rap music. Conflict begins when the promotional posters display 50 Cent with a pistol tucked in his pants. The British Advertising Standards Authority had removed it under the basis that it could give an impression that success could be achieved with violence. It is ironic, as movies commonly have white people flashing guns but when a black man does, panic surfaces. This situation reflects the ethnocentrism of the white Caucasian community and negative regard towards the African American people of the U.S.
Some of these occurrences of cultural divide that had made international news reach the general audience. Recent common coffee table talk might include the riots over the considered blasphemous depiction of Prophet Muhammad in a Danish cartoon. News reports of the continuing riots and demonstrations might taint the image of Muslims and looked upon by others as foolish.
The implications of ethnocentrism displayed on the media, even if unintentional, cannot be avoided or overlooked. Cultural differences in the real world are, to a certain extent, mirrored by the media hence creating a stereotyped perception of it as far as the influence of television and film goes. This stereotype can affect how some people relate to others if taken seriously, an aftereffect that should be steered clear from.
Dont ever be ethnocentric… What?!
Ethnocentric… Well ladies and gents, this word is one of the basic reasons behind every war and conflict in human history! It briefly means that one sees the world only from ones own culturally point of view and believe others should do the same.
Other people in the world does not view on issues as you do my friend… no they see it differently. And so the best way of solving any kind of disagreement, is by first trying to understand how the other part sees upon the issue, and why he or she does not agree with you, and obviously ask them to do the same. After this is done, it is so much easier uniting and reaching to wise conclusions.
But nooo, I am right, I have principals, this is not discusable, I do what I think is right…. I am ethnocentric! Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about striving for justice, but do understand that other people who are going in the opposite direction are many times doing what they truthfully believe is right as well.
Just to name an example; I am christian and with this comes certain values in my life. Then there are people who truly are Muslim believers (who knows, they might be stronger in their faith than me!) and they have a different set of values. Now if I tell them: Man, you are just dead wrong! They will tell me exactly the same thing!… leading to nothing but more frustration and the mere obsession of winning the argument. However would I choose to see/understand it from their point of view… maybe it would change from a discussion to a conversation and later on to a fika.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
The greatest anthropologist of all time was probably Jesus himself, He became man, grew a beard, had to eat, couldn’t just fly around, got a favorite colour, had to use sandals and became generally vulnerable and limited and went through so many human-culturally things that he actually can tell you like:
‘ey dude, I know what its like!… so peace out bro’
Bob vde
September 25th, 2008 at 2:48 amHi bob, thanks for your input. At this point I probably would have taken the time to say something in response, but the thing is I wrote this paper only for class. If I actually wrote it only because I believed in it, then I would have a better caliber to defend my article.
Well, I admit that I may have misconceived the meaning of ethnocentrism. Also, I was merely a 19-year-old cocooned boy at the time of writing. Thanks for speaking out anyway. Peace.
Justin Wong
September 26th, 2008 at 9:50 amLeave a Reply
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