Power in numbers

After our discussion in class about politics and reading Grasberg’s article “Debates over Media Effects” and “Media and Politics” I found many interesting aspects concerning how the media affects our society. Violence and nudity are looked down upon in today’s time yet it makes up a majority of what is produced.  In the media politics article Melvin Mencher a reporter argues that the worthiness of news and other media texts needs to consist of a high level of impact, timeliness, prominence, proximity, bizarreness, conflict and currency.  This can highly be relatable to the show Criminal minds where FBI agents track down and interrogate serial killers while showing clips of their horrendous crime usually involving scenes of rape torture along with murder.  What drives us to have interest in such media outlets is a debatable.     Violence and pornography does have some historical context with Al Capone and Wild West style films had conflict along with drama as well.  I feel today there is more conflict concerning individualistic desires and less drama involving others.   The impact of the media on our behavior is also a debatable issue many argue that there is little impact.  I believe that a lot of that issue deals with age groups and how the material is presented.  How individuals grow up often shapes how they behave however I believe the how well a child is parented, the media has the 2^nd biggest influence.