The Chapter focuses on the overall contribution Mass Media plays in a individuals life. All efforts were made to help improve/grow the average individual through the mass media. As the Chapter mentioned, children are often “brainwashed “ by mass media.Do you think the idea of children wanting/getting more interferes with the performance in school?
The idea of an “idealistic” role model was also a good idea for children. Do you think television networks (including NBC) in most recent days, have followed the idea of an heroic figure who shaped children through law and order, good morals, etc.?
The text provides numerous studies to prove the effects on the youth, during that time period. One study that stood out to me was the Payne Studies. Under the leadership of W.W Charters, director of the Bureau of Educational Research at Ohio State University, the study concluded movies had a negative impact on children. In addition to the symptoms mentioned in the book, I feel there are other factors in a child’s life that would affect their sleep habits, emotional feelings, and social attitude. For example, interactions amongst classmates can influence a child’s social interaction. According to Charlotte Hill’s article, Teach Mom to Read and the Kids Will Follow, NIH study finds “that when children are young, the “most critical factor” to their academic success is not income level, ethnicity, or even school demographics. It’s their mothers’ reading level.”Therefore, movie attendance may have been a small factor in the results of student’s grades, misbehavior, and juvenile delinquency. Also, if students attend movies when they are suppose to study for classes that would be another reason for failure.
William Hays recognized similarities between the educators and movie producers. He felt the overall message from any movie code was a depiction of educational and moral value. He was against the “wrong-doings” of movie acts because he believed individuals would be influenced by it. However, from the past till present, humans have their own minds and actions. So if a problem such as cyber bullying or any face to face issues occur, the student would find a resolution, whether good or bad, with the least bit of comparison to a villain in movies. Without the visual affect of motion pictures, evil still exist. Do you think the emphasis on positive moral values in movies should exist, does it help “shape” society? In today day and age, do you feel movie production has a huge impact on students in society, which leads to their actions in the classroom setting?
Another important idea in the text was the preparation of study guides for high school students. As the text states, half a million copies of the studies were made available as text materials in schools. In addition, exhibits relevant to the movie were available in the school, library, and museum. In my high school years, I often watched films and mini videos related to the class discussions. This is important because some students learn better from visual, physical, interactions, including text. Many of my fellow classmates took advantage of certain text having movies. However, they fail to realize, reading the text will give you the full experience.
