Monday, April 26, 2010

Militainment, Inc. - News or Entertainment? Final Blog! Woo-hoo!

THESIS:

Our culture has become not only obsessed, but numb to fact that we no longer view war as a terrible last resort event, but as an entertainment.




FACTS:


-War is staged for our consumption in the media.

-The Pentagon has funded music videos that demonstrate “patriotism”.

-The idea of war as a spectacle has become so natural to our culture.

-The news has dehumanized war, we aren’t seeing the innocent people that are dying.

-George H.W. Bush banned press access of caskets of soldiers.

-In 2006, 85% of US soldiers thought they were in Iraq in direct response to 9/11.

TRIUNE BRAIN:


Neocortex: We need to criticize and be aware that we are always being bombarded with the war in Iraq, yet the way it is broadcasted to us isn’t being questioned.

Limbic: The war is being viewed with a backdrop of a sunset, war is being romanticized.



Reptilian: Seeing bombs off in the distance exploding.

EIGHT TRENDS:


-Epistemological Shift:
Images dominate our view on war, but are they the images that we need to see in order to really understand war? No.

-Aesthetic Shift:
News and the war has become entertainment to our culture. We have military ads that are projecting the same thing as reality TV shows about being in the military.

-Political Shift:
We only know what our government wants us to know. There are people who are being killed for a cause that the US is supporting, when the US people don’t even know what they are behind.




SEVEN PRINCIPLES:


-What “reality” does this film create?
This film seems to create an actual reality, rather than the romanticized and dehumanized war that we are subject to everyday in media.

-What do you observe about this media upon reflection?
Yes, this film may be biased, but it does a great job reflecting what our news, TV programs, movies, and just about all other forms of media does with the idea of war in order to make it easier to swallow.

-What emotions does this media tap?
This film made me angry that our government is able to warp the war so much that our society really is brainwashed when it comes to what war really is.

-What kinds of value messages does this media promote?
We should be skeptical about where we get our information, especially on war.

PERSUASION:


-Group Dynamics:
Using “We” instead of “Military”.

-Big Lie
Fabricating and embellishing the Jessica Lynch story.

-Fear/Defensive Nationalism
“We” need to fight terror.
There are weapons of mass destruction.
Making Hussein seem to be the worst enemy.

-Humor
Faux news reporters such as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert create humor while criticizing the war and politics.

-Symbols
Country music stars boosting soldier morale with music about supporting the war, and being allowed to shoot music videos on bases.



-Rhetorical Question
Fox news reporter asking, “Doesn’t TV run the world?” Sadly, it does for many.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Rachel,

    EXCELLENT final examination analysis of MILITAINMENT, INC.

    You are particularly strong on the persuasive techniques. Well done.

    I will be posting final grades by this week-end - enjoy your summer, and thanks for your participation in our course!

    Keep meditating on your media,

    Dr. W

    ReplyDelete