Deviance in Society

Culture Influences through Mass Media Our culture is highly influenced by mass media by promoting celebrities and ordinary people who do astonishing things into a stereotype that we base our lives on. Society as a whole is represented in the mass media and impacts our culture and how we relate on a daily basis. As much as we would like to believe that we have control over our own lives, the mass media impacts the way we see gender roles, use symbols, distinguish between high and popular culture, and between real and ideal culture.
From the m0ment a child is born they are born into a family that have set cultural norms that shape their behavior and the events they will encounter in life. Gender, the meanings that society associates with being male or female, in the media helps guide how society interacts with each other which in turn will develop cultural norms. In advertisements women are still portrayed to be cleaning the home, or modeling clothes where as men are portrayed in high paying positions, or overshadow women in car ads. As a society women are viewed as unintelligent, emotional and dependant. In contrast men are viewed as intelligent, competitive and independent. Therefore early on children learn from culture that female and males are different because gender bias shapes our thoughts and actions throughout life.
The Sapir-Whorf theory stated that each language has its own distinct symbols that serve as the building blocks of reality. Society creates symbols to assign meaning and expressions to form a common language so that individuals and groups can make sense of their daily life and express their values. In other words, through the mass media society assigns meaning to a TV show or article which in turn submits different expressions that we associate with cultural norms. The mass media has affected our culture from the time we are born with set cultural norms in our own families that shape our behavior and events in life.
Our society has developed a ranking of culture with high culture at the top and popular culture at the bottom. High culture is associated with the "higher class" of society such as the wealthy. Quite the opposite is the popular culture which is typically associated with the "general masses" of society. The mass media circulates cultural influences to the general population through advertisements, news and television. Mass media tends to undermine high culture by limiting exposure of higher forms of culture like ballet, symphony and classical pieces of art to be seen by the majority of the population. Therefore the mass media with their influence, whether through advertisements, news or even television has prevented the public from experiencing real art.
Through celebrities and different advertisements there has been some confusion between real and ideal culture. Most people's goal in society today would be happiness, which we place in means of obtaining money to become happy and any means in which to acquire money is the ultimate goal. Mass media produces reality shows and advertisements that present individuals who will do anything to achieve money. Society has lost the concept that happiness isn't about money but about rewards that are beneficial such as compassion and non-materialistic things.
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries society has become more and more influenced by mass media through adverting and propaganda which is designed to mold people's ideas regarding popular culture. Although methods have changed the media's message and its affect on society remains the same. People are influenced by what they hear and read, often times without making a clear judgment for themselves as to whether or not the information is valid or false, but believing what they hear or read is the norm in today's culture.