Influence of Entertainment Media
Entertainment media has had a profound effect on the way American culture has evolved. It has at times brought people together and equally torn them apart. Music, television, and film provide an incomparable outlet for expression. They allow individuals (and groups) to inform, to share what is important to them, to be creative and innovative. With all of the different types of entertainment media in America, society is exposed to so much more than would have been possible without these mediums.
Music in America has changed and grown over the years to accommodate a changing culture. Not only does music provide an emotional outlet for the musician but also for their audience. It gives the listener a creative outlet in the form of dance as well as bringing like-minded people together. With the emergence of film, however, Americans had an exciting new form of visual entertainment. “Because they showed silent films that transcended language barriers, nickelodeons flourished during the great European immigration at the turn of the twentieth century” (Campbell, Martin & Fabos, 2012, p. 192). Film provided (and continues to provide) an “anything is possible” attitude. Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it” and that idea pushes people to think about what else might be out there. It has made society want to learn more, do more, and be more. Television changed everything, in that Americans did not have to leave their homes to have access to visual media. Whereas film showed fantasy and fictional events, television provided a window into real life with local, national, and eventually global news. Families gathered around their televisions at night, just as they used to do with radio. “It was the TV that exposed us to Civil Rights violations in the South, to the shared pain and healing rituals after the Kennedy and King assassinations in the 1960s, and to the political turmoil of Watergate in the 1970s” (Campbell, Martin & Fabos,
Music in America has changed and grown over the years to accommodate a changing culture. Not only does music provide an emotional outlet for the musician but also for their audience. It gives the listener a creative outlet in the form of dance as well as bringing like-minded people together. With the emergence of film, however, Americans had an exciting new form of visual entertainment. “Because they showed silent films that transcended language barriers, nickelodeons flourished during the great European immigration at the turn of the twentieth century” (Campbell, Martin & Fabos, 2012, p. 192). Film provided (and continues to provide) an “anything is possible” attitude. Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it” and that idea pushes people to think about what else might be out there. It has made society want to learn more, do more, and be more. Television changed everything, in that Americans did not have to leave their homes to have access to visual media. Whereas film showed fantasy and fictional events, television provided a window into real life with local, national, and eventually global news. Families gathered around their televisions at night, just as they used to do with radio. “It was the TV that exposed us to Civil Rights violations in the South, to the shared pain and healing rituals after the Kennedy and King assassinations in the 1960s, and to the political turmoil of Watergate in the 1970s” (Campbell, Martin & Fabos,
References: Campbell, R., Martin, C.R., & Fabos, B. (2012). Media and Culture (8th ed.). Retrieved From the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.