Blog Post #4: The Affect of Governmet Regulation of the Radio Industry

     When control of radio waves was returned to public power after the end of World War One, there was what can only be described as frequency chaos. There were too many stations attempting to transmit on limited frequencies. The government attempted to rectify this situation with the Radio Act of 1927.
     The Federal Radio Commission was created from the act. It became their job to bring order to the
airwaves. Standards were set for the burgeoning radio industry, and frequencies became organized, and programming was limited at certain times of day. These regulations did rectify the problem of interference, but it largely ignored the monopolies that had been bred from the loose regulations after the war and made it more difficult for smaller companies to find airtime.
      AT&T had quickly rose to domination of the radio since they were able to use their already established telephone lines to link several stations. The government made them choose between their monopolies, and they stayed with telephones, effectively passing the radio monopoly to RCA (which set up NBC). The only real challenge to NBC was CBS, and both conglomerates quickly had their own station and affiliated stations. The new federal regulations didn't account for this, but both companies allowed for the rapid rise and growth of the radio industry that was seen in the 1920s.


Here is a link to an interesting article detailing the history of AT&T and NBC in the early days of radio.

Blog Post #3: Cultivation Theory

,   The media influences how viewers think. Cultivation theory suggests that after viewing television with large amounts of violence, people will overestimate the chance that that violence will be reciprocated onto themselves.
   People often take what is shown in the media, and apply it to their current reality. When images of violence are consistently shown, a person may then feel that this is more likely to happen to them. Despite the fact that this person lives in a neighborhood which is relatively free of violent crime, the media has taught them to expect that danger is lurking around every corner; this causes them to be far more concerned than their situation calls for. In essence, media has constructed their world view and their fears. However, when the interaction of one's world fits the violent schema designed by the media then they become content. A subset of cultivation, mainstreaming explains why violence may be seen as a norm, instead of shocking. With the repeated message from the media that violence is expected it would be commonplace for one to see it on the streets and not have a reaction to it.
   For example, take the Law and Order franchise. If someone frequently watched Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, they might begin to believe that they cannot leave their home without being raped--even though they do not live in New York City, and rape is relatively rare in their community. Whereas, if it was a common crime in their community, they would be more likely to be a bystander in the event of the act being committed because the media has taught them that it's normal. Cultivation theory defines the two extremes that media can force on viewers, violence is everywhere and should be feared as such, or violence is everywhere and therefore is commonplace. Depending on ones current situation, either of these views could permeate their existing beliefs, and influence their future thoughts and actions.

Blog Post #2: Hegemony

Females in the male dominated media: a look at the consequences of hegemony


     Females are weak: at least that is what media would lead one to believe. In an industry which is dominated by males, women are still confined to cliched roles which do not reflect the equality they have so rightly fought for in society. The hegemonic control males exhibit over female identity in film and television is abhorrent.
     Quick, name a director, screenwriter, actor. I guarantee all three names you picked were male, even though all titles are not gender specific. When men are the majority, one would expect that they would be writing decent roles for both genders, since they are essentially controlling [both gender's] their image within media. However all too often a woman's role is pushed to the extreme sides of the feminine spectrum: overtly feminine, or dangerously masculine. There is no consistent representation of a strong woman who can function well in society. The reason that this harsh reality goes largely unnoticed and unchecked, is due to the fact that this meek representation of women has become so ingrained into our society that when we see anything other, THAT is what we find eccentric.
    For example, take any strong female lead in a Joss Whedon piece: Buffy, Serenity, Firefly, Dollhouse. It's still considered odd that a man can conceive such characters, and he is continually asked "Why do you create strong female characters?" During his speech given at a 2006 Equality Now event, discussing the repetitive nature of the question, he challenged "Why don't you ask 100 other guys why they don't write strong women characters?"
     No one asks that question because it's the norm to write in women characters like those in the 2009 film, Up in the Air. The female leads are, like I stated earlier, pushed to either end of the spectrum. The younger woman, played by Anna Kendrick, appears passionate and business minded, but is quickly put in her place by Clooney's more experienced male character who makes her realize that she just isn't cut out for the job. Oh, and she only took said job in the first place so she could be close to her (then) boyfriend. Clooney's love interest in the film, portrayed by Vera Farmiga, is equally career minded as Clooney, perhaps more; however, she's nothing more than a cheating woman who can't deal with the reality of life with her husband and young children. This was a critically acclaimed film which drew six nominations at the academy awards. Oh right, and the characters were created by males.
     So far, the message is clear: males who write women characters who fall in line with the status quo are praised, and those who write strong women are questioned for their distension.This appalling standard will continue as long as it is encouraged, and the practice of questioning anything other than such is the norm. To continue Whedon's quote "Equality is not a concept, it's not something we should be striving for, it's a necessity...the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. We need equality."