Do we get the media we want, or want the media we get?

This week’s blog entry definitely made me think, but after repeating the question for the 23^rd time, I believe we get the media we want. The media has to know what the audience (us) likes. On page 37 of the textbook, O’Shaughnessy and Stadler  (2012) stated, “if people do not like a product, they will look elsewhere for one, so the media must satisfy their popular audience”. The media has to listen to our ideas, know our likes and dislikes, and what is popular in our society so that the media knows what to show. If the media showed something that people had little interest in, people would ignore it. An example is the “vampire” fad. It all started when the “Twilight” series became popular. After the movie was a hit, the “Vampire Diaries” series became very popular as well, and someone decided to make this series into a television show. Smart move, because whoever created the show knew what people wanted, and now the show has become very popular (amongst female pre-teens and young female adults). However, it’s not just vampires, it’s mystical creatures in general. Television shows such as “Teen Wolf” have become very popular as well because of the character Jacob from “Twilight”. I am not a fan of this whole vampire and werewolves phase, but many people are, thus the media picks up from that and creates the stuff we want.

If we want to know how a society is/was, we use the media to help us. For example, if we wanted to know how people back in the 70’s dressed like, we look at pictures, films, and etc. “…The media reflect the realities, values, and norms of a society (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, p.42). In my opinion, if society did not have these things, the media would have no idea what to create and to show to their audience. The media gets our ideas, our taste in style, our beliefs, and our actions in order to create something because why would they waste their time and create something that no one had interest in? The media only grab things that are popular, and present the stuff that WE want.

- Jen

References:

O’Shaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media and Society. 5th ed. Australia: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.