Media Argument Synthesis

Media Argument Synthesis A man stumbles out of a bar and digs through the junk in his pocket to find his keys. He scratches the door of his car while trying to unlock it. He proceeds to get in his car and drive home. Five days later, here he sits…in a cemetery. He didn’t know when enough was enough and a bad decision was made based on his lack of knowing when to stop. Does experiencing too much negative media, such as violence and drug use impact people by subliminally interesting them in such things? Will watching a gang in a movie sell crack cocaine on a corner, then stuff wads of cash into their pockets make an easily influenced teenager want to become a drug dealer? It’s a possibility. Parents need to get more involved in the shows they …show more content…
Although media can easily influence people, Steven Johnson, the author of “Watching TV Makes You Smarter”, believes that its okay to watch certain television shows that practice violence because some of them cause viewers to become more intelligent by making them use their brains` to follow difficult plots and numerous characters. His exact words are, “Instead of a show’s violent or tawdry content, instead of wardrobe malfunctions or the F-word, the true test should be whether a given show engages or sedates the mind.” (229). Basically Johnson is saying that all the violence and brutality on the show 24 is okay because he assumes that all audiences watching this hit show will automatically look past the violence and ethnic stereotypes as they …show more content…
She does not think that watching television makes you smarter. However, she does not think it makes you dumber either. She believes that there are certain shows acceptable for children and some that are not. She believes that children, being young and vulnerable to the advertising industry, should be directed in the right path of choosing which television shows to watch and which not to watch. Children are susceptible when it comes to media. They almost act as a sponge; soaking up everything they see and hear and repeating it later on. Therefore, I cannot help but to agree with Stevens on that aspect of media except she then takes it too far when she asks , “Shouldn’t grown men and women be trusted to judge their own dosages, just as they would decide on the number of drinks they can handle at the bar?” (234). I disagree because I can see how some might react to this by saying that sometimes people don’t know their limit and can’t stop. This is 100% accurate when it comes to most things such as drugs, alcohol, and media. People might read that and think that media shouldn’t be placed into such a category, but all three of these things can start as small doses and turn into addiction within the blink of an eye. Parents who watch a lot of television as a child will most likely end up watching more and more television as they get older. If parents are not too concerned