Friday, September 08, 2006
Normalization
So I was watching some hack journalism show the other night (20/20 or Primetime, i can't remember), and the whole show was designated to "Outsiders"--people who live outside the bounds of the normal, every day folk. They have been doing this special on "Outsiders" for about a month and they have covered several different groups of people such as the Amish community, people who belong to the Children of God (a sexual cult), people who live with wild animals. In each of these shows these different groups have truly been seen as outsiders. This last week they featured moms who strip for a leaving, and couples who swing. Now i don't know if it is because my ears go to attention when these types of moral/ immoral topics are discussed, but i found each feature normalizing. It was made to appear that this things were no big deal. The interviewers asked the common questions, but there were no hard hitting questions or even the same intensity used as in the other interviews. Maybe it was just me, i don't know. Whatever the case, these moral questions are being discussed in the media marketplace and there is only one side being voiced--those who are participating in the immoral behavior. What say you?
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1 comment:
When I was in school people who wanted to pursue a career in journalism were motivated by "wanting to make a difference". It seems that much of the difference many in journalism and media wants to make is to normalize extreme behaviors and lifestyles. The more people are exposed to such "news" as entertaiment the more sensitivity and innocense we all loose and that is ulimately how culture is shaped.
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