Hello Class,

It is time to post your answers to all discussion questions for the Module 2 Discussion.

Please number the questions. Do NOT write the questions out. I just want to see your answers. Be sure to post your word count. It must be 600 or more words. Peer posts must be at least 100 words. Again, be sure to post your word count for both postings.

Discussion Questions:

1. Years ago, gathering around the radio to listen to a program was a family activity. Even in the early days of television, families often gathered on a particular night to watch a show. These kinds of activities encouraged family cohesion, so in a sense the mass media contributed to the stability of the family. How has this function of the mass media changed over the past 20 years? Do you sit down with your family to watch T.V.? What shows do you watch?
2. Mass media decision makers are overwhelmingly white, male, and wealthy. It comes as no surprise that the media tends to ignore the lives and ambitions of subordinate groups. Who, then, should decide what news to print? Should the government have more control?
3. Which television shows that you have watched reaffirm proper behavior by depicting how society deals with behaviors that are deemed inappropriate, delinquent, or criminal. Discuss the role of mass media as an enforcer of social norms.
4. Discuss how media reporting in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks helped to confer status on police officers and firefighters within the United States. Give examples to support your answer.
5. Please watch the short Dove: Evolution video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U on the topic of beauty. How does the media distort images of men and women? How is this harmful to us?
6. After reading the chapter on Deviant Behavior and Social Control, please complete the following. Identify behaviors that are defined as deviant in one part of US society but not in another. Observe people celebrating a holiday or attending various types of events such as mud wrestling, football games, beer blasts, fraternity/sorority parties etc.
7. 1. What activity did you observe?
   2. Why would the behavior be considered deviant in some parts of the US?
   3. Why was the behavior not considered deviant by the group participating in it?
   4. Is the behavior deviant behavior only, or is it deviant and criminal?
   5. What social control was involved here? (Formal/Informal) Explain.

8. Since the United States is such a rich country compared to others, why do we have so many people living in poverty?

9. What are some of the causes of poverty and how can people get out of poverty?

AFTER COMPLETING THE INITIAL POST, PLEASE ALSO RESPOND WITH A MINIMUM OF 100 WORDS EACH TO THE FOLLOWING TWO STUDENTS REGARDING THE SAME TOPIC!

STUDENT ONE:

1. I remember sitting down about five years ago with my mum, and we would always watch survivor and the amazing race together. But as the years have passed, we have slowly stopped doing that. We may once a month get together to watch a show. Since becoming an adult, the shows like we used to watch when I was younger aren’t in the media today. When I was younger, we didn’t have Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+ we used to rent a movie to watch together once every two weeks or so from blockbuster. The media has grown so much over the past 20 years. There is so much now just as our fingertips, so families do not put time aside for it now.

2. We should have more diversity among the mass media makers. With everything that just happened with Kobe Bryant and the media, I think our news outlets and media sources need to hold back on putting out stories until they know all the facts. I do not think the government should have more control since we are a free country with the government not having complete control over our new sources. I do not think they need control anymore or they may begin to abuse their power.

3.The first show the comes to mind when thinking about how society depicts behaviors that are deemed inappropriate, delinquent, or criminal is the show 911. This show followers a firehouse, a cop, and a 911 call center worker. They get calls from someone robbing to killing someone. This shows how the system deals with that type of behavior. The mass media shows how they enforce the social norms by writing or showing news stories on different events that have happened.

4. After 9/11 Police officers and firefighters had earned praise and elevation of status in the community. You did not need the media to know the sacrifice many of the men and women made that day. Many police officers and firefights died that day, and many more have passed from sickness caused by inhaling the smoke. The media just showed us in a better view of how every man and woman can lay down their lives for others.

5. The media has begun to overuse photoshop causing unrealistic ads for a beauty product to clothing. Seeing the images all over social media of these over photoshopped ads gives people a false standard of beauty. It brought shame to having natural body shapes, starch marks, cellulite, scars. Many ads still photoshop out all the imperfection leaving behind an unrealistic airbrush image to sell the items. This is harmful to woman and men, and it puts into their minds that if they have any scars, stretch marks, etc. they are not the ideal beauty standard, and people will not like them. The effects of the media cause many women and men to have insecurities about themselves over those things.

6/7. Since the Superbowl is coming up, that’s an event I decided to write about. I know a few people are upset over who is in the Superbowl, and they hopped it was another team. And since the tension is high during the game, people’s aggression begins to come out, and if you add drinking, that may cause things to get heated. Well, many people are drinking and watching the game, so that makes me think they do not think it is deviant. The behavior they are showing during the Superbowl is just Deviant behavior. The social control that was invoked was Informal control.

8. There are many reasons for why people are living in poverty. Some are veterans who have returned from overseas. Now may have PTSD who have ended up living in poverty since the system has to fault them, and they are unable to keep a job. People not using their money wisely and just blowing through it till they have none left, causing them to live in poverty. There are so many reasons why people are leaving in poverty it can be from gender discrimination to natural disaster and so many in between.

9. Like I said above, the system has failed our veterans who have returned from fighting overseas. Another is the use of narcotics, alcohol, and lack of support. Racial and gender discrimination are other factors for why someone could be living in poverty. Someone may pay a person less just cause of the color of their skin or their race, and that could cause them to fall into poverty. I am thinking if giving the people with substance or alcohol abuse and people with no support the support they may need we can help to get them out of poverty. If they require a place to sleep, they can go to a local shelter. These baby steps will hopefully lead them out of poverty.

word count: 810

STUDENT TWO:

1. When I was younger I can clearly remember Sunday nights at 7 pm my entire family would gather to watch Extreme Home Makeover. This was required in my house, we watched it after dinner every Sunday which meant no one was allowed to stay at a friend’s house, and all homework must be done in time. It allowed for a weekly family dinner and quality time together. Now my siblings are grown and we barely have time to see each other in passing, the one time a year we all sit down together is for Christmas eve dinner which follows with the movie Elf every year.

2. The government shouldn’t be involved in mass media at all because most government leaders are also white, male, and rich. It shouldn’t have to involve the government to get diversity in the mass media, the world just needs better humans to run these organizations.

3. Although the super bowl is not a television show I do believe it is a great representation of how society deals with “inappropriate behavior”. The half time show from the super bowl last weekend is a hot topic right now because people believe it was inappropriate and went against what is considered the norm for the half time show. The upset is because they were doing provocative dances and wearing revealing outfits. My biggest issue with this is because NFL cheerleaders dance like this all the time and it is a normality in NFL cheerleading for the girls to wear little to nothing. For example, look up the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders uniform 2019.

4. After 9/11 the mass media showed every man and woman that died including all 412 emergency responders. The media reported on how many total lives were lost and then specifically how many first responders in comparison to how many people were in both buildings. This emphasized the great sacrifice these first responders made in order to save so many people

5. The media has been editing and distorting model images for years. There have even been cases where a model poses for a cover and it looks nothing like them when they see it. Zendaya, Priyanka, Chrissy Teigen all are examples of models who have spoken out against companies editing their bodies to appear thinner on magazine covers without their consent. This is an issue for the younger generations especially with how much exposure they have to social media on a daily basis.

6/7. Sorority and fraternity parties are a great example. There are many people who consider Greek life, in general, to be a bad part of society because of the image it portrays and some aspects such as hazing. The people involved are immersed in the Greek life culture as soon as they attend university whether or not they choose to participate is up to them. Some aspects of Greek life are just deviant behavior such as the parties and events put together, but there are also times when these fraternities break the law especially during rush season when they haze the new members for months. This hazing usually involves drinking which is illegal for members under 21.

8. Poverty is a large issue in America because the government cannot keep up with inflation and job availability. Minimum wage jobs cannot support a single person let alone a family with basic human rights such as shelter and food in most American cities. Therefore, even if people are trying to work and support themselves, unfortunately, it will be a never-ending cycle of living paycheck to paycheck. A great book that dives deep into this subject is “nickel and dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich.

9. Unfortunately for most people in poverty, there is no way out, a few do get lucky but most are stuck in a never-ending cycle of living paycheck to paycheck or eventually falling into drug habits. I’d say the best way to grow out of poverty as a child is to go to school even if that means going into debt, and over qualify yourself in your field of study and then join the workforce. It is competitive many people have the same degree and if you want to make it you have to stand out.

word count: 706