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Dbq Essay Examples

Decent Essays

The invention of the television has changed the world and especially the US tremendously. What once was just a dream became a reality; people could be together watching the same event in real time, something that could never be achieved before. Although this invention of the television had many great aspects and improvements in the lives of the American people, it also changed the political landscape negatively, making image over substance important in Presidential elections, creating an intimacy with leaders and celebrities like never before, as well as giving rise to the credibility of influential media. One major impact of television on the political landscape was the shift of focus from political issues to the image and appearance of the candidate. As seen in Source C, the Kennedy-Nixon debates, one of the first debates shown on television, clearly was influenced by TV and the images created by its invention. When polled, …show more content…

This caused candidate Bill Clinton to reveal what underwear he wore to the American Public during an interview with MTV (Source B). This arbitrary fact was based on the principle that people wanted— and needed— to know more about the President and influential people because of television and the rise of media. Through the television, people believed that they know the person closely and feel a connection, but that is not the case. They are only aware of the persona the person attempts to portray to society. A president must be strong and not break to the demands of the media and the people solely due to concerns about appearance and image. He/she knows information that the public does not, and must be able to make rational decisions for the country regardless of his/her image. Television causes leaders to be more concerned about their image and persona more so than the betterment of the

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