| The Media |
| This section could well be up for debate, so feel free to email with any comments or disagreements, I will copy and paste them on to the end so that it gives a wider opinion! The media pretty much controls a large portion of our lives, every day we are bombarded with TV images, newspapers clippings, radio shows, a lot of what we learn in life comes from this. Why are we so obsessed with it? I am generalising of course, there are people who do not watch television, listen to the radio or read any newspapers, but for the majority of the population we all come into contact with some form of media. Some of us want to grow up and be part of it, either by working for a company, or actually being in the public “eye” so to speak. How important is it to give across the right image? There is much controversy about what we should show, as so many things lie on borderlines. Every person has rights to freedom of speech and of thought, so who can judge what we want to see on out television screens, or listen to on our radios? Surely it should be okay to broadcast images of paedophilia? Because if you ban these types of things, you are not allowing people who are interested in the kind of thing, watch something they would find enjoyable. Just because it is not considered “morally right,” no one has the right to discriminate against people who do “morally wrong,” things. When people hear about the fashion industry being associated with the increase in numbers of people suffering from eating disorders, it is assumed that it is the models who portray such images that people should look up to. It is true in a way, but there are other aspects that are also an important part, such as the actual clothes themselves. When I go into a clothes store, most of the sizes only cater for certain people, it is only recently that some stores have been putting up separate departments for the “larger sized” people. Then these stores receive credit for doing this, as it is not discriminating against them. However, why should this even be an issue in the first place? Who would really like to be in the “Size XX and above” area in the corner of the store? Why can they not just shop like every other normal person, in the same sections? Why do larger people have to be separated from the others, and put into a completely different area? Why make the difference in the first place? It is only highlighting the fact that they need larger sized clothes. By treating them differently, you are only making them more insecure about buying clothes in a store that provides their sizes. If you look at American History, you can see that coloured people are treated exactly the same as larger people are today. Coloured people had to use separate drinking fountains, benches, schools etc. People say that today’s society is much more accepting, but is it really? A coloured person may be able to walk down the street now, without being pointed at and ridiculed, but take a large person and the story is completely different. So what has this all got to do with the media? Surely it is society that is the problem! How far do you think the media controls the population? Your initial response would probably be similar to mine when I was asked that, “It doesn’t control me at all, I have my own thoughts and opinions, the media just gives some entertainment and keeps me in touch with what’s going on in the world.” In general, the fashion, film and music industry only use the “cream,” the elite of society. How many celebrities do you know that have acne for example? Or a big nose! Or skin complexions that are other than perfect? Who is your role model? Mine happens to be Angelina Jolie because I just love her attitude. She doesn’t care what people say, she just does what she wants to do, and is not afraid to express herself. However, if I wanted my role model to be someone who isn’t aesthetically pleasing, more… shall we say, normal? There isn’t many to choose from that are in the media, only the people that are considered physically attractive. Okay… so there are only one type of person that is seen to be good enough for the media… that doesn’t mean people go and develop poor body image or eating disorders! No you are right, the media isn’t the cause of poor self-esteem, there are other contributing factors such as home life, family problems and peer groups. I do not personally believe that the media itself causes the problems, I believe that they unnecessarily create persona’s to which people should abide be in order to be successful. “Look like me and you will be happy for the rest of your life…” “Lose xxx amount of weight, and be successful in your work AND your love life.” Isn’t that the message that it brings across? Of course not all aspects of the media cover this, but a great part of it does. You cannot open a newspaper without finding some new weight loss product that has given Mrs J. Smith a new lease of life! (For the record, weight loss products inc. pills and supplements do NOT work). You see before and after pictures, and in all of them, the person looks ever so much happier after losing the weight. So all the time, the media is saying that weight loss = great! And weight gain = bad! Okay so here is a situation for you… a young male, about fifteen years old, comes home from school one day after breaking up with his girlfriend. She wanted to go out with his best friend, so she dumped him. Lets call this guy… Joe. He gets in through the front door, and feels hurt and betrayed… he wants to talk to someone about it, but fears that his friends will laugh at him for being upset. His best friend is now his worst enemy, and his parents are not home from work. He heads for the food cupboards, because the chocolate bars are in there, and he needs something to take his mind of school. So he grabs a couple of bars and goes to sit in the living room to watch some TV. He finishes the chocolate bars… he has nothing to focus on, there’s nothing on television. Just a couple more bars can’t hurt can it? So he goes back in the kitchen, sees a packet of crisps next to the chocolate bars, so he grabs them and goes back… ten minutes later, he’s eaten the crisps and choc bars, but still feels really upset. So he watches some television, the commercials are on, first for a washing powder… then a weight loss product. Joe’s mind studies this, “If I focus on that… it’ll be a distraction for a while, just until this stuff blows over.” But then he remembers what he had just eaten… how can he lose weight if he’s just eaten all of that? Exercise! So he does some exercise, for an hour. I think you can tell where this is going, eventually he is so obsessed with losing weight, the whole process of it, he starts to skip meals… he loses weight… etc. Weight, in general is such an insignificant thing unless it is causing you health problems. So why did Joe start becoming obsessed with it? Yeah the commercial he saw wasn’t the cause, it was the problems with his friends. So where does that link in with anything? He was looking for a distraction, and chose to choose weight loss. It is so publicised that no wonder so many people go down that route. But you can’t blame the media for that; it was Joe’s choice to choose a distraction… it just happened that a weight loss commercial was on at that time. I am not blaming the media, that wasn’t the point of my example. Only a small percentage of people are actually seriously overweight, and need to lose weight for health reasons. Some people of course, just want to lose a bit to be fitter, so that they can run for the bus or walk up the stairs without losing their breath. But weight loss doesn’t always give that, you can be thin and unfit, or overweight and fit. But usually this is due to muscles, which weigh more than fat. So why don’t commercials offer ways to be fitter? I know there are some, but most of them link to weight loss. So weight loss is always associated with being “better.” So when Joe sees this advert, he sees that if he loses weight, then things will be better, things will be okay. He doesn’t even need to think about it that much, because it is already imprinted into his mind. “You look great! Have you lost weight?” “You look great! Have you gained weight?” Which one is most likely to be taken as a compliment? Why do you think that is? Shouldn’t we be spending more money on improving your body image, rather than your removing fat from your thighs? If we spend our entire lives with the desire to be the most popular, thin, attractive person in the world, then your life is a waste. I won’t start all the “Live your life to the full,” because to be honest quotes like that just annoy me. But just think about it, why go along with the crowd? Why not be yourself, because people respect you more for that. The role of the media in respect to eating disorders has often been a debated issue. Many people believe the "Thin is in" image creates the idealistic body shape that people (mostly women) must follow in order to be liked, respected and admired. Self worth is placed on whether or not you can fit into the smallest sized clothes. Is that right? Like I said at the beginning, if you wish to contact me with any opinions or comments you have regarding the media, or what I have written, then do not hesitate to do so! My email address is at the top, and I will add whatever you write, to the bottom of this page, so that it can be a page with lots of peoples views on this very controversial. Please bear in mind that what I have written is my personal opinion, so please respect that. |
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