Media Confirms and Challenges Beliefs

Media has the power to reinforce my existing views, while also expanding and challenging my current views. One way it reinforces my existing views is by my own confirmation bias. I tend to watch the shows and channels that already agree with my beliefs. For example, for the news I tend to watch the Daily Show or Rachael Maddow, because as commentators I tend to agree with the things they say. I also tend to avoid watching programs that don’t agree with my beliefs, such as fox news. This way I usually just tend to hear the views and perspectives that are already in line with my own. But these programs can also expand and challenge my current views because they often bring guests on that discuss ideas that are different from my own. John Stewart does a lot of debates with right ring politicians that are very challenging and give the politician an opportunity to argue his case for the beliefs he has. 

Bias in the news

Bias in the news is the concept that news stories are selected to appeal to the largest audience as well as to keep us tuned in. Examples of this are clips of Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin on CNN, which has tremendous bias against the vice-presidential candidate. News agencies also play to gender biases, as men report the news more than women, and to cultural biases, such as age and fear. One current example of bias in the news is the exemption of presidential candidate Ron Paul from any of the news reports. Even though he has been one of the top contenders for the republican nomination since the beginning, news stories systematically over look him and pass him off as a fringe candidate in favor of candidates who have less popularity in the poles. This is an example of how powerful the news agencies can be in controlling what is news and what isn’t. Often bias in the news is for the purpose of ratings and making money, not for finding the most credible or worthy news items. 

advertising this week

One type of Marketing I saw this week was the product placement of a Starbucks coffee cup on an episode of Law and Order. Product placement is the placement of a brand product in the setting of a tv show or movie. It was really conspicuous because they drink coffee a lot on that show and it’s usually in a plain white cup so this just really stuck out to me. One of the effects this had on me is it pulled me out of the fiction of the show, almost more than a regular commercial. Another type of advertising I saw this week was endorsement by celebrities, which is really the fallacy of an appeal to inappropriate authority. An example I saw this week was a commercial with the rapper Tyga  where he talked about his endless drive for success. The only mention of the product is the last shot in the ad which is a picture of his Reebok’s. This is not only appeal to inappropriate authority, but also has snob appeal, by associating reebok with success and motivation.  I almost always find product placement to be the most effective because I can relate in some way to the character in the show, so it feels like a much more personal recommendation to me. It also stands out in my memory more, because it is something I am on the lookout for, instead of something that is just expected and routine. 

product placement

Product placement is pretty interesting to me. Product placement is using the advertiser’s product as part of the act of the show. An example is the Audi that James Bond drives in the last James Bond Movie. I think it is really a good way to advertise because Audi basically gets James Bond as their spokesperson; how awesome is that? The other good thing about it for consumers is that it doesn’t cut into the show like standard commercial breaks do. I think that a lot of shows now are using product placement than before, and it is becoming more conspicuous. One thing that I’ve noticed is that as more and more companies use product placement, the movies that don’t are the ones whose products stick out. For example Quentin Tarantino is well known for making up brand names for cigarettes in his movies. I think this is a pretty creative way for him to stick out from the rest of the directors because it makes the set more of a fictional place, where product placement puts the scene more in line with the reality of our daily lives.

ufo's

In the essay “Perspectives on evaluating evidence for the existence of unidentified flying objects” Condon presents the argument that the study of ufo’s is fruitless and should not be encouraged or be the target of public or private financing. He suggests that individuals with strong scientific backgrounds should not be discouraged from studying the subject on their own terms, but it is not a fit subject for school children or public funds. This is based on the lack of evidence on their existence at all. Hynek believes that ufo’s should be studied and that the only reason it is not more widely accepted discipline is because of the present lack of study in the field. He suggests that the first viable step toward understanding of the subject is data gathering and data processing. I feel that Hynek presents the strongest argument because to date the only real study of the subject has been on a case by case. To really study ufo’s we should study all that is known and look at it through the big picture. 

group pressure and conformity

Group pressure and conformity is a pretty powerful force and it is something that is tough to deal with. The book gives a couple of examples such as the Stanford prison experiment, where the students who are assigned as guards become abusive to the prisoner students. Another one is the standard line test, where six people are asked to tell which line is the same length as the standard one. The five control subjects intentionally give the wrong answer, while 75% of the time the test subject just goes along with what those five say say, even though it is clearly wrong. This is tough to deal with because of how important it is to be a part of the group, especially in a work environment. It is also critical to follow your bosses’ orders and work the way he wants things done. Very often I’ve found that this means doing something different than I would normally do because I see the truth differently in certain situations. 

wisdom

I was always taught that wisdom is the application of knowledge. So in order to be wise, one must have adequate knowledge, and I think that acquiring knowledge is an act of wisdom. I think in college we acquire both knowledge and wisdom. We obviously acquire knowledge because we have to learn the material. I think we also acquire wisdom when we write about the things we learn. I think the majority of students act in a way that shows they apply the knowledge they receive. I think you can see this when you look at students that act wiser and more mature in their later years of college and after they graduate. I think the information age has made us wiser because we are forced to rely less on old-wives tales and more on scientific studies and general consensus that is more accurately true. I think if we use this correctly it is certainly capable of giving us the power to live more fulfilling and rewarding lives, and possibly even become wiser.