How Cultivation Theory Applies To Racial Problems Media Essay

How horticulture Theory Applies To Racial Problems Media EssayIntroductionAmerican animated cartoons comprise the approximately popular film product industry for children worldwide, and collapse gained considerable economic aid in terms of educating children. As an excellent medium for storytelling, children learn the elemental concepts of what the world is like and what love and ethics be from the fairy tales they watch. I am currently deliberateing atomic number 53 of the communication theories, namely, culture theory. American cartoons, particularly Disney plastic films, argon classic objects of study.The cultivation theory weakened by George Gerbner and Larry Gross of the University of Pennsylvania states that the more(prenominal)(prenominal) time pot spend animated in the video recording world, the more likely they are to believe the amicable sympathetic speed up portrayed on tv set. Therefore, minatory television come acrossers select a higher estimatio n for a particular social reality (e.g., violence, prostitution, affluence, occupation, and marital discord) than what real-world phenomena can justify. Thus, to make the theory applicable to the real world, the study emphasizes the harm that television shows might bring to tidy sum. In my opinion, early instruction is all-important(a) to the development of an individuals personality it in like manner determines his/her later political orientation. Thus, the effects of cartoons on childrens self development are worth studying.American cartoons and animation movies wealthy person benefits, particularly in teaching children the values of honesty, bravery, and friendship, and the fact that justice and uncorrupted will triumph over evil. However, we can also see that the protagonists frequently use violence to defeat evil. Along with violence, gender problems and religious issues also show up in most films more than we think, and children learn wellhead-nigh them without guida nce. Children could easily confuse reality and fantasy, particularly in our current night club where parents who are busy with work and socializing use video games and television shows as substitute companions for their children. In a nutshell, studying American cartoons is crucial for us because they may drastic anyy affect childrens upbringing by presenting detrimental messages.The cultivation theory deeply focuses on the effects of violence on the behavior of people. In this paper, I will analyze the issue of racial discrimination in cartoons to make the study of the cultivation theory more complete. Discrimination is a nonher essential topic that has been largely neglected collectible to the focus on violence in cartoons.Literature ReviewDixon (2006) believes that heavy viewers of television are more likely to think that an Afro-American suspect is guilty they also view the world as a more dangerous place than it actually is. Television encourages violence and aggression. D urkin (1985) supports the view that children obtain information on gender roles and racial views from television and seat their behaviors based on television characterization.Gerbner describe the process of blurring, blending, and bending that is undergo by individuals with heavy viewing habits. (Griffin, 2011). Heavy television viewers seduce a common outlook through constant exposure to the homogeneous images and labels. In movies, the heroes and the victims are always fair-skinned, whereas the criminals or villains are always baleful- or sad-skinned. Mastro and Stern (2003) add that races other than colors are under-represented, negatively depicted, and are frequently targets of mockery.From Larsons theory, the more children watch television programs, the more likely they are to develop and entertain more traditional gender and racial stereotypes based on what they view in the media (Larson, 2002).Waver (2011) analyzes racial related-phenomena in American movies and finds that the race of the actors clearly affects the desires of white reference members to see the films. The higher the percentage of blue actors in the movie, the less interested white individuals were in seeing the movie. abbreviationMost Disney movies feature gorgeous princesses, including The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and Rapunzel, who are all depicted as Caucasians. The princess in the film The Princess and the Frog was dark-skinned hardly if her prince was a white man. Most heroes in these movies are all fair-skinned, exactly the skin tones of the villains are diverse. In the movies, the storylines usually start with a white man who breaks into a new cultural environment, changes the locals points of view and customs, and leads them defeat the grim guy, after which he becomes the hero. Tarzan nevertheless became king of the forest. This stereotype exists in numerous American movies. According to the cultivation theory, children may subconsciously develop behavioral ster eotypes, although what they view could be biased, distorted or misleading (Oliver, 2001 , Smith, 1994).American cartoon movies also add their own value to foreign cultures, which may adversely affect childrens knowledge of the actual status of other nations. For instance, the birdcall of the Disney movie Aladdin (1992) used inappropriate words to describe the hometown of Aladdin. In the song, the words where they bound off off your ear if they dont like your face. Its barbaric, but hey, its home offended the Arab Americans, who believed that the lyrics are a misrepresentation of the Arab culture and should be removed. In 1993, the New York measure published a critique of the said movie, which was entitled It is racism, but hey, its Disney. The denomination pointed out that To characterize an entire region with this sort of tongue-in-cheek bigotry, peculiarly in a movie aimed at children, borders on barbaric (New York Times, 1993). other Disney movie, Mulan, twisted certain fac ts of the Chinese culture. In the movie, Mulan was characterized as an independent, liberal charr who suggested to that the princesses chase love bravely. Although this is an accepted idea in modern indian lodge and could be deemed proper by most people, it is not the real ideology in ancient China it is not part true biography and real tradition. In another animation movie, Pocahontas, the love story was amplify and deviated from what actually occurred in history.The electrical capacitys of some American cartoons are more suited to adults. For instance, the show South Park features sarcasm, dirty words, and improper content that could easily be misunderstood by children. In an sequel in the 11th season of the show With Apologies to Jesse Jackson, the word nigger was used 43 times. Although the purpose of this episode was not to humiliate black people, as the episode was in fact highly accepted by blacks, children may misinterpret the purpose of this cartoon and learn a new w ord that they could abuse.another(prenominal) Disney movie entitled Song of the South featured a song called Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, which won the Oscar for Original Score in 1946. However, the movie had racist tendencies when viewed from the banner of today. The story takes place in the South after the Civil War, and Uncle Remus, a freed slave, tells stories to children and makes them laugh. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. viewed the portrayal of the happy life as a slave with suspicion and posited that it is humiliating to minorities. Disney did not publish the DVD in the United States to avoid eliciting resentment from the public. Griffin (2000) describes the effects that media can have on the earreach as being similar to a inform lummox. The effect of the cue ball exists regardless of the distance of the cue ball to the other balls. A similar effect can be seen in the posters of most movies, where the characters outlook is already published before the audience even sees the movie. For in stance, in the movie Aladdin, the skin tones of Aladdin and Jasmine are fairer than those of the other people in the movie, and Jafars appearance could already give a general impression of his disgust even before the movie is viewed. Fair skin can consequently be mistakenly connected to purity and kindness, whereas black or dark skin could be united with criminality and craftiness.The problem is not limited to movies alone. The audience has its own personal interest, which causes the racial issue in movies to become an blank loop. According to the study by Weaver in 2011, white people are more inclined to choose movies with white throw up members than movies with cast members from other races, thereby change magnitude opportunities for white children to see more movies from various aspects, as well as the opportunities for them to change their stereotypes. White audience members that trust selective avoidance if they perceive that a film has a black theme is precisely the co ncern that black actors such as ordain Smith have expressed, especially when it comes to romantic leads in movies (Jones, 2005). Last year, only two of the 30 highest grossing films featured major non-white characters.According to the cultivation theory, when audience members repeatedly view the same scenario from various television shows and movies, they will associate it with the outside world in their mind. Racism is a phenomenon that cannot be solely eliminated, particularly in a country with so many ethnicities, such as the United States. The high rate of positive roles that white people portray indicates the constancy of racism in the future.ConclusionChildren from all over the world watch Disney and other American cartoons. Thus, these movies and shows have far-reaching effects. Growing up exposed to many classic and fantastic stories have kept children well entertained and explicated, as they come to appreciate the stories being told and the excellent techniques and art used in the telling. The positive influences that these movies have on children are undeniably more immense than the negative influences, as they teach children to be independent, tough, and patriotic. Advocating liberty, human rights, and American ideology is necessary for a nation to unite and educate people. However, praising American culture while criticizing others is not respectful. Racism is not a concept that children should learn. We can strengthen their idea of equality by using the cultivation theory, which could result in a decrease in conflicts between races, genders, and other issues.As embodied in the cultivation theory, when television predominates the lives of children, its influence can permeate the behavior, language, thoughts, and actions of children. Moreover, negative messages tend to be get more easily than positive messages. Thus, the effects of media on children should be studied, and accomplishable modifications should be introduced.Recent American carto ons already manifest some changes. For instance, the of import character in the movie Megamind has blue skin, and the classic image of the superhero is the one being mocked. An upcoming movie entitled Escape From Planet demesne will feature stories of several blue characters.Guidance from parents is also essential in eliminating or mitigating the influence of cultivation effect on children. A childs knowledge of the world and his ability to tell right from wrong are not yet mature, so parents can help their children understand what is on screen by explaining the contents of television shows to them. The movie rating remains should be used worldwide. The cultivation theory also clearly posits that the cultivation effect occurs only after long-term, cumulative exposure to television (Weimann2000). Thus, decreasing the amount of time children spend watching television is also necessary.