What Impact Does the Mass Media Have on the Perception of Dance on Society?
Dance is portrayed by the media in different forms such as on television, in newspapers, magazines, movies, and on the internet. Dancing can be seen as something positive, but may also have a negative effect on people who view dancing through the media.
From a very young age, children experience dance through television and on DVD’s. Children watch shows such as, “The Wiggles” and “Hi 5.” These shows represent music, song and dance together in a positive way. They expose children to enriching music experiences including song and dance. These experiences are designed so that children are easily able to sing and dance and enjoy the whole experience. This is great for kids, because it gets them active and teaches basic techniques and coordination. Because their experience is so positive, this may lead to some to choose to continue with dance in the form of more formal lessons as they get older. Dancing teaches them to express their feeling in an innocent and fun way, and also makes them feel more confident to dance, if they do go to dance school because they will have some of the basic dance skills already.
However, there are other shows on television that are screened during the daytime, meaning even younger children may be exposed to them, which may not be represented in such a positive way. An example is “Video Hits” shown at 8:30 in the morning till 12:00 o’clock in the afternoon (Channel Ten Television Guide n.d.). “Video Hits” show the latest music and the top songs of the week, as well as band specials. Although it is starts early and has a rating of M, kids are up at this time and don’t understand the concepts of ratings. So they watch these video clips of artists, which have inappropriate dancing and clothing worn by the dancer in it, kids see this and think it is normal. It is not suitable for younger children. This send them a negative view of dancing because they don’t see how hard you have to work for technique and to master complex moves,
From a very young age, children experience dance through television and on DVD’s. Children watch shows such as, “The Wiggles” and “Hi 5.” These shows represent music, song and dance together in a positive way. They expose children to enriching music experiences including song and dance. These experiences are designed so that children are easily able to sing and dance and enjoy the whole experience. This is great for kids, because it gets them active and teaches basic techniques and coordination. Because their experience is so positive, this may lead to some to choose to continue with dance in the form of more formal lessons as they get older. Dancing teaches them to express their feeling in an innocent and fun way, and also makes them feel more confident to dance, if they do go to dance school because they will have some of the basic dance skills already.
However, there are other shows on television that are screened during the daytime, meaning even younger children may be exposed to them, which may not be represented in such a positive way. An example is “Video Hits” shown at 8:30 in the morning till 12:00 o’clock in the afternoon (Channel Ten Television Guide n.d.). “Video Hits” show the latest music and the top songs of the week, as well as band specials. Although it is starts early and has a rating of M, kids are up at this time and don’t understand the concepts of ratings. So they watch these video clips of artists, which have inappropriate dancing and clothing worn by the dancer in it, kids see this and think it is normal. It is not suitable for younger children. This send them a negative view of dancing because they don’t see how hard you have to work for technique and to master complex moves,
Bibliography: 2004 Dance Statistics n.d. (Online) Avaliable: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/C45687A471BC2969CA2571E000056696?opendocument (Accessed 12 February 2009) Chanel Ten Television Guide n.d. (Online) Available: http://ten.com.au/tvguide_search.html (Accessed 12 February 2009) So You Think You can Dance Statistics n.d. (Online) Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_You_Think_You_Can_Dance_Australia (Accessed 12 February 2009)