Culture and Visual Entertainment Media

Generally speaking, visual media has shaped American culture and its values in many ways due to the fact an average American spends most of their free time watching television. In the aspect when television first came out they avoided controversial issues because it was considered taboo to speak about them. Therefore, they made shows geared towards families living the good life with a mom at home and dad at work. This era instilled values of respect and self worth with little controversy. However, as time passed technology evolved and so did visual media. Visual entertainment began to develop into more controversial issues that changed the way we viewed the world. For instance, entertainment media began to talk about racism and mistreatment towards others; this lead Americans into the civil rights movement and equal treatment for everyone regardless of their skin color. This became the foundation that allowed other shows to step outside the box and begin to broadcast more controversial issues. Shows began to reflect life as a single parent and women entering the work force; therefore changing the value of what people considered to be a normal family. In this era divorce rates went up and many women began working towards establishing careers outside the home. As years passed, so did visual media. Cable television began to dominate the airwaves and became a popular way for people to receive media entrainment. This form of entertainment had no problem broadcasting issues such as sex, drugs, violence, and politics. Cable also made it easy for viewers to watch adult content and violent films at any moment of the day; therefore changing the way we view ourselves, others, and the world around us. I personally believe most social influences are mainly negative because people enjoy the controversy of sex, drugs, and violence. Advertisement, movies, and music compete for your attention; therefore most of them are geared towards body image and violence. Not to mention, some celebrities can openly express their opinion to children on what is considered to be acceptable behavior and what is not