Blog 2

I think the two theories in Chapter two that are most helpful in understanding the affects of media in our daily lives are cultivation theory and agenda setting theory.
Cultivation theory states that the media will shape and distort how people view the world. Media are backed by large sums of money and therefore are able to create sophistocated strategies for attracting certain demographics. They put a lot of energy into creating advertisements and content that will appeal to very specific groups of people. Therefore, we as viewers are -- sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly -- drawn to consume certain media. In this way, we lose some control over what media we choose to consume and therefore inadvertantly limit our view of the world. Thus, cultivation theory shows us that media will shape and distort how we view the world.
Agenda setting theory states that the mass media influence what you think about and your perception of what is important. Media are put in place for the same purpose as any other business is put in place: profit. Magazines, television shows, movies, radio programs, are all businesses trying to make money. That is their agenda. Sometimes, those in control also have a political or social agenda to run. As stated earlier, mass media are backed by large sums of money and therefore have a lot of control over who they are marketing toward, and they often use emotional appeals as a marketing strategy. Maybeline, for example, is a large cosmetics company that sponsors many television programs. They want to sell their products in order to be profitable. In order for this to happen, viewers must believe that looking good is important. Maybeline's marketing team, then, might bombard viewers with images of beautiful people living wonderful lives. As a result of that, viewers begin to internalize on a deep level that looks are important. This lays the foundation for Maybeline to pitch their product as an important purchase. In this way, agenda setting theory shows us that mass media influence what we think about and our perception of what is important, and allows us to make a more educated decision about what media to consume.