Fear and the Media

Does the media play on our fears or create new messages? Why/why not? Use specific examples from the films we have viewed in class to support your answer. There are many things in the world that humans are conditioned to believe are good for them.. As individuals, humans tend to look at each other and immediately find differences instead of exploring the similarities. For example, in the U.S. alone, the total number of coffee drinkers is 100 million. Sixty-eight percent of coffee drinkers have a cup within the first hour of waking up. People are told that coffee is something that is good to consume. They probably have it with their breakfast, if they aren’t running late. And all the while they’re enjoying their breakfast, they’re probably watching their local news channel which is also something normal to do in the morning. These are all things that the people of the world have in common and the people behind it all are taking advantage of that. They have the ability to control the way we feel and the way we think. That local news channel is most likely broadcasting a story on a global crisis, robbery, murder, suicide, everyday uses, food, and/or many other things that easily can cause people to become stressed. Stress is a form of fear and going through long periods without being relaxed can actually harm a person’s health. The media plays on the fears of the people of the world and creates new messages for them to believe to be true. In the everyday lives of children, teens, and adults, a new fear is learned. For example, a child will become afraid of what is in their attic because they watched Beetlejuice for the first time. The hallway in which the entrance to the attic is certainly cannot be dark if something is up there. The solution for this would be to buy a night light and plug it in near the attic. A teenager will be afraid of being who they really are because in order to fit in with their friends at school they have to stick to the status quo.