Literature Effect On Society Essay
To what extent does literature shape society?
Human rights activist and Nation of Islam leader Malcom X once said “The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses (Malcom X 1963). This claim invokes me to think about the extraordinary effect literature has had on shaping our society. I find it especially intriguing that entire countries can be ruled by the media, such as North Korea. In the communism-spread country, the media brainwashed society into thinking Kim Jong-un is a supernatural figure. Perhaps literature bridges the gap between law and morality, since it can be used to dictate what one can …show more content…
and can’t do. For example, gay marriage has only recently become legal in the United States. It was prohibited because the media imposed certain taboos in society such as the standard colour of blue for boys and pink for girls. This leads me to ask: to what extent does literature shape society?
Watching Andy Wachowski’s The Matrix, it is evident that the media plays a huge role in shaping the society. However, the media in the science fiction film is not the same as our world. In The Matrix, the media is controlled by the Agents, whereas on our world it is controlled by corporations. The role of the Agents in the fictional universe is to establish a binary world; free of thought and choice. This is done in order to protect the Matrix from being revealed as a false reality. To support this, when Neo asks Morpheus about the truth, Morpheus answers “That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind” (Wachowski, 1999). It is interesting that Wachowski opted to use the phrase ‘Like everyone else you were born into bondage’. Specifically, the word ‘bondage’ suggests that one is chained to something. This relates to the current situation today where we are born into stereotypes created by the media. Children are constantly chained to the media’s representation of gender identity. If boys want to play with dolls, they are ridiculed by society. Likewise, if girls want to play with trucks they too are ridiculed.
Perhaps the media is shaped by society’s values, as Morpheus says “To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human” (Wachowski, 1999). Precisely, Wachowski uses the word ‘impulses’ which refers to a natural instinct. Perhaps it is our impulse that leads us to believe boys cannot play dolls and girls cannot play with trucks and not the because of the media. After all, the media too, is run by humans who also have impulses. However, to what extent are the people in charge of running the media necessarily humane? Being humane means to have sympathy and compassion for other human beings.
In Michael Moore’s documentary Bowling for Columbine, he explores possible reasons for the Columbine High school Massacre.
According to Moore, the shooting was effectively due to the media’s victimization of black males. Because of the victimization of black males, the media dramatically sparked fear into the American public, causing people to purchase guns for their safety. In this case, the media inhumanely singled out a group of people and exploited them for their best interests. This victimization is best described by Barry Glassner in a conversation with Moore when he says “If you turn on the TV, look at the news, what are you going to hear about? Dangerous black guys, right? Unnamed black guy who is accused of some crime. You’re going to see black guys doing bad things, or hear stories about black guys doing bad things. And we’ve heard this our whole lives” (Moore 2002). Interestingly, Glassner chose to use the word ‘unnamed’ in the context of a black male being accused of a crime. This implies that he believes the media is forging incidents to fill a political agenda. The political agenda, in this case, is helping the corporation Lockheed Martin gain support in their pro-gun campaign. Therefore, the people running the media are not humane because they don’t have sympathy for others; they victimize a group of people to fulfill their political
agenda.
Human rights activist and Nation of Islam leader Malcom X once said “The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses (Malcom X 1963). This claim invokes me to think about the extraordinary effect literature has had on shaping our society. I find it especially intriguing that entire countries can be ruled by the media, such as North Korea. In the communism-spread country, the media brainwashed society into thinking Kim Jong-un is a supernatural figure. Perhaps literature bridges the gap between law and morality, since it can be used to dictate what one can …show more content…
and can’t do. For example, gay marriage has only recently become legal in the United States. It was prohibited because the media imposed certain taboos in society such as the standard colour of blue for boys and pink for girls. This leads me to ask: to what extent does literature shape society?
Watching Andy Wachowski’s The Matrix, it is evident that the media plays a huge role in shaping the society. However, the media in the science fiction film is not the same as our world. In The Matrix, the media is controlled by the Agents, whereas on our world it is controlled by corporations. The role of the Agents in the fictional universe is to establish a binary world; free of thought and choice. This is done in order to protect the Matrix from being revealed as a false reality. To support this, when Neo asks Morpheus about the truth, Morpheus answers “That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind” (Wachowski, 1999). It is interesting that Wachowski opted to use the phrase ‘Like everyone else you were born into bondage’. Specifically, the word ‘bondage’ suggests that one is chained to something. This relates to the current situation today where we are born into stereotypes created by the media. Children are constantly chained to the media’s representation of gender identity. If boys want to play with dolls, they are ridiculed by society. Likewise, if girls want to play with trucks they too are ridiculed.
Perhaps the media is shaped by society’s values, as Morpheus says “To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human” (Wachowski, 1999). Precisely, Wachowski uses the word ‘impulses’ which refers to a natural instinct. Perhaps it is our impulse that leads us to believe boys cannot play dolls and girls cannot play with trucks and not the because of the media. After all, the media too, is run by humans who also have impulses. However, to what extent are the people in charge of running the media necessarily humane? Being humane means to have sympathy and compassion for other human beings.
In Michael Moore’s documentary Bowling for Columbine, he explores possible reasons for the Columbine High school Massacre.
According to Moore, the shooting was effectively due to the media’s victimization of black males. Because of the victimization of black males, the media dramatically sparked fear into the American public, causing people to purchase guns for their safety. In this case, the media inhumanely singled out a group of people and exploited them for their best interests. This victimization is best described by Barry Glassner in a conversation with Moore when he says “If you turn on the TV, look at the news, what are you going to hear about? Dangerous black guys, right? Unnamed black guy who is accused of some crime. You’re going to see black guys doing bad things, or hear stories about black guys doing bad things. And we’ve heard this our whole lives” (Moore 2002). Interestingly, Glassner chose to use the word ‘unnamed’ in the context of a black male being accused of a crime. This implies that he believes the media is forging incidents to fill a political agenda. The political agenda, in this case, is helping the corporation Lockheed Martin gain support in their pro-gun campaign. Therefore, the people running the media are not humane because they don’t have sympathy for others; they victimize a group of people to fulfill their political
agenda.