Are we all prejudiced?

Media influences what individuals think. I can't argue that. My question is how much do I let it influence me. I create concepts of people, places, and things in my head from what the world teaches me about them. However, I have no idea if it is right or wrong unless I see it for myself. Therefore, I have accepted that I, at some point or another, have given birth to stereotypes. Gorham, in Gender, Race, and Media, seemed to calm my anxiety of the stereotype of the negative connotations I have created about being a creator of stereotypes. In a study by Devine (1989), it was concluded that "low-prejudiced people used some type of controlled cognitive processing to suppress the automatically activated stereotype". Even though I may form stereotypes, I may not endorse them. I may have biased knowlege of a group of people, but hopefully I also have the potential ability to surpress biased judgement as well.

Related research by Devine

Stereotypes

I feel that a stereotype is an idea that an individual holds or has created about another group from the information he or she has gathered from the environment that has been experienced. A stereotype could be negative or positive towards a group, but most often the negative is brought to light. Stereotypes can go so far as to create an idea that has no factual basis at all. For example, in Lippman (ch. 10), the idea of distance of the German army being 5,000 miles away. Lippman also says, "In putting together public opinion, not only do we have to picture more space than we can see with our eyes, and more time than we can feel, but we have to describe and judge more people, more actions, more things than we can ever count, or vividly imagine." The media has informed me that Colorado has a big city, Denver, with ski slopes, a college or two, and rolling hills after that. I imagine many people driving SUV's and Jeep's to handle the rough terrain of the state (most likely a schema I have developed from car commercials). However, Lippman instructs that when I form a idea of Colorado, I have to thirst for more information and question what my sources tell me. For all I know Colorado could be a desert if the terrain on the car commericals showed me so. It is easy for a gatekeeper to mold an individual's stereotype on about anything. Lippman explains that if an individual thinks something is true and can find one instance of it, then I, as a consumer of media, could be molded.

Synergy is priming our minds

Making money means selling as much of the product as you can with spending as least as possible to produce it. Synergy is a great money saving tool if you are coupon clipping or money hungry. It seems that any information I seek out through media is tainted by gatekeepers. Therefore, I like to keep my inquisition more to the less objective sources of media and analyze what I see for myself. Movies are produced by numerous companies, and with limited space, I picked a favorite, The Sleeping Dictionary. The company behind this medium is Time Warner. Time Warner is one of the bigger corporations that control the media we view. Because the control books, magazines, music, cable, etc., the corporation has the ability to use one medium to advertise another. For example, previews tell the view of other movies coming out but the viewer doesn't realize by seeing that movie as well, Time Warner is ultimately making more money. By buying Time magazine, we are supporting the same corporation that might have advertisements for the same movie. A cable station, Time Warner is the nation's second largest provider, may have a commercial to again introduce that movie. A article in Lind, by Gorham, introduces a psychological term called priming. Because we see this movie so many times throughout different mediums in the media, there is a good chance that when we go to the theater we may choose the Time Warner movie. This is because the use of synergy has primed our mind and influence our schema of what we look for in a movie, and that their movie looks like a good pick.

Do I create a biased reality for myself?

In this time and age media it self is the gate keeper of the world beyond New Wilmington. An individual can live in the reality that they get from personal experience and interpersonal communication but his or her reality would only exist in the radius of travel limited to the strength of the feet. Reality is much like faith in that it extends further than the eye can see. If falling in to much worn path of media consumption, reality only extends to the specific path you choose. However, critical thought is beneficial in almost every aspect of knowledge. I think learning and knowledge must, on some level, be experienced rather that just lectured on. Mills expresses that media has the power to control what is being communicated and to what extent. To assume the knowledge of reality without analyzing what you interpret from the mass communication available to those who seek it out. This is where understanding media literacy is important. It is where the robot that is created turns on its master as Marshall McLuhan warns that as we create the world of mass communication, mass communication in turn, creates our reality. Our text, according to Hanson, communicates that the big 6 corporations control our media. Most likely an individual wouldn’t listen to just 6 people when deciding to ban tobacco, so why would he or she take as fact what any one form of media has to say?

http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/reviews/problemofmedia/problemofmedia.html

Refection question

I think my favorite form of media would be movies. Even though I don't often have time to use this media, I would miss it if it was gone. Both the theater and DVD rental would be missed. The theater is a generic form of entertainment to have something to do with friends as well as renting a movie. It is cheaper than buying a movie that I would only watch once anyway and if I really like it I will buy it afterwards. I don't like to buy movies in case it is a bad one and I have a tendency to pick the bad ones some times. Movies are a good way to de-stress because you can withdraw from what you are stressing about. They can also make you think which I think is good because it starts good conversations with others as well. In a busy schedule, it also is less time consuming than a book would be and if there were no movies, I would be reading a book. Often, books have a better story and are well work their time, but I just don't have the time these days to finish one. I think the advertising of the two lean me towards movies as well because I know what movies are about from previews. I don't really see advertisments for new books coming out. You can not share a book as easily with a friend either.

media checklist questions

1) I use the cell phone at least once a day, mostly to make "business" calls rather than to chat with friends. I probably call my mom and roomie the most.
2) The last time was probably Mid-Eastern Psych Conference last spring in Chicago. I went to support the WC majors presenting and visit the city.
3) I IM ususally everyday while classes are in session and very rarely the rest of the year. I talk the most to Lindz and Matt.
4) I email at least three times a day.
5) The last time was my first concert last year.
6) The most recent thing was Along Came a Spider because I thought my roomie was missing out because she had never seen it before.
7) I use to record ER in high school.
8) I watch Stomp the Yard in the theater and Desent on DVD.
9) The last radio station I listened to was easy listening/pop today in a van on the way home from a trip to Columbus. It made the most people happy.
10) I don't really have time to read for fun anymore.
11) I don't often read a newspaper, but a friend showed me an article in the local newspaper about three arrests made of three people who robbed her and her neighbors.
12) I don't think I have ever bought a magazine before.
13) I last time I sent a letter was probably in a card I sent to my mom last fall.
14) I visit mapquest.com often because I don't know where any place is in PA. The last time I visited it was last Thursday when apartment shopping.
15) I have a facebook account because my friends make me.

i think i need to catch up with technology

I think I'm still old fashioned and talk to people in person.