The four aspects in sociology and their view on the media
The media comes in many different formats ranging from the internet (new media) to newspapers (old media, which has been around for many years). The term ‘mass media’ refers to the technology, organisations and producers involved in one-way communication with large audiences without any face-to-face or personal contact. The media is mostly owned by trans-national companies (TNC). This essay explores the views of several aspects of sociology: Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism and Post-Modernism along with their views on the media, those who own it, and ultimately the role that the media plays in society.
Functionalism is a structuralist, macro, systematic theory based on the role of
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By doing so the media compliments other institutions in the socialisation process, for example the family, by further integrating the individual into society. Due to its role as a social institution, functionalists say that the media reflects and reinforces the value consensus by teaching the already established norms, values and the general agreement held by the masses. The ideology portrayed in the mass media is said to reflect society, as such acting like a mirror and ideologically neutral. This sociological theory finds no issue with TNCs controlling the media. Functionalists believe that the society in which we live is a meritocracy and that TNCs work within a fair and open market, for example any person in this society could start producing their own media on for example on Youtube or by publishing their own newspaper.
In opposition to the functionalist view is Marxism based on conflict, another macro, structuralist theory. Marxist sociologists are concerned by social class, based on one’s occupations and the power and wealth which comes with being placed in that social strata. This sociological perspective is interested in the exploitive relationship of proletariats by the bourgeoisie, which justifies the social advantage of the wealth compared to the disadvantage to the ones who are not. The bourgeoisie have the power over the proletariat, the labour force creating the wealth for the ruling class. Marxist sociologists say that the media
These functionalist sociologist views are criticised by the Marxist perspective, they believe that the family benefits the ruling class in a
In the story “Caviar”, both husband Nathaniel and wife Marie suffer a loss of innocence. It is Nathaniel, however, that goes through the greatest degree of loss. He may have caused his wife's loss of innocence by having an affair with their surrogate, Wendy, but he lost so much himself. Marie though having lost a husband, got the child she had so desperately wanted. Nathaniel was left with nothing as he lost his wife, his mistress, and his new born son.
Van Gogh got excited over the look of these trees and painted them. Some of his paintings of the trees represented life, others represented how he felt about Christ in Gethsemane, and others represented a combination of both of these things. An example of an art piece that had a lot to do with religion was Olive Trees with Alpilles in the Background (Fig. 6). This piece was painted with Christ in Gethsemane in mind. He wanted to create a piece that used a more purer and serence sense of nature without using religious imagery. With this piece “he wanted to show it was possible to paint the meaning of Christ in the Garden of Olives, the garden of Gethsemane where Christ prayed the night before his crucifixion, without aiming straight for the historical Garden of Gethsemane.” Vincent had done religious paintings before, he actually painted Christ in the arden of Olives twice before, but both times he decided not to paint the images of Christ since, as he said in a letter to his brother Theo, he did not want to “do figures of such importance without a model.” Van Gogh actually had begun to avoid doing religious work around this time for both aesthetic and moral reasons. Van Gogh had rejected what he believed to be his parents’ narrow religionious views and went for a much different view, one where life itself almost didn’t seem to matter of have purpose, something close to Nihilism. Vincent instead tried to find meaning in the cycles of nature and how they related to the
“The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception” by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer is a pivotal article in history that changed the way in which many communications scholars viewed media. Both authors were members of the Frankfurt School, a school of thought which looked further into Karl Marx’s theories about capitalism and the issues of mass production. Published in 1944, Adorno and Horkheimer revealed their beliefs that the media, much like the economy, is becoming mass produced, and is therefore turning people in society into media-consuming robots. Industrialization created work lives for people in which they would work on only one part of a larger machine. As a result, they felt less involved in the completion of the project as a whole, and therefore felt less pride in their jobs and their lives in general. Instead, these people turned to media and pop culture so that they would feel more fulfillment within their lives. Adorno and Horkheimer believed that these people had a reduced capacity for original thought because media is now force feeding them the ideas of what they can think and feel. This essay will prove that although Adorno and Horkeimer’s points were justified through the eyes of authors George Lipsitz, Lev Manovich, and Susan J. Douglas, there are still exceptions to their theories that they do not account for.
This essay will compare and contrast and contrast two leading sociological theories: Marxism and Functionalism. Marxists predominantly believe that within society inequality and prejudice are rife, whereas Functionalists live under the impression that society operates in a state of social equilibrium wherein class and social status are necessities which we allow to transpire. This essay will explore the different viewpoints each theories take on subjects such as religion, community, family and education.
In this essay I am going to compare and contrast Functionalism and Marxism. They are both sociological perspectives which have theories about society and the people that live within it. They attempt to explain how society influences people, and similarly how people influence society. However, the two perspectives are clearly different.
AQA AS/A SOCIOLOGY ESSAY: CRITICALLY EXAMINE MARXIST PERSPECTIVES ON TODAY’S SOCIETY Classical Marxism is a conflict structural theory which argues that, rather than society being based on value consensus as functionalists would contend, there is a conflict of interest between different groups (social classes) because of the unequal distribution of power and wealth. Marxists are also interested in the way in which social change can occur, particularly in sudden and revolutionary ways. However, there are differences between Marxists especially over the way which social change can come about. For example, humanistic Marxists like Gramsci give a greater role to the conscious decisions and actions of human beings than do structural Marxists
What is fear? fear to us is something or someone that is scary, but fear is just in our head letting our imagination taking over. In the fall of the house of usher a lot of mysterious and unexplainable events take place. This story has a lot of creepy settings, unknown events, but only one unknown character. This story also has unexplainable setting that seem supernatural and unknown sounds.
The mass media has become a big part of our society and its counterparts. In a time span of 50 years this medium has influenced society to an extent where it has created wonders. This immaculate tool can control almost every action we perform, from speaking to the actions that every human being performs in society. The mass media has brought upon a new era of idea's and changes in the world we live in. As we analysis media in depth we will find many aspects of media which overlap and some of the smallest factors and aspects of media, which create the biggest impact on society.
Mass media plays an important role in the society by providing entertainment, information and acting as the government’s overseer. Several scholars have developed philosophies that help people understand how mass media fulfills its roles in the society. For example, Horkheimer and Adorno have constructed theories that explain the functions and impacts of mass media in the society across the globe (Mosco, 2008). The central theme in all mass communication models entails the meaning of media contents, which include the images and texts and their influence on the target audience. The perception of the target audience concerning the text and images in the media are what form the basis of these theories. This essay discusses two hypothetical frameworks: the political economy and cultural studies theories, including their similarities and differences, and how they help in understanding the relationship between the media and society.
Economism, or vulgar Marxism, is a key feature in explaining the media’s role according to Marx. This is also referred to as the base/superstructure model. In economism, “the economic base of society is seen as determining everything else in the superstructure, including social, political, and intellectual consciousness.” (Marxist Media Theory 1) This maintains that the media is used as the base of society. Society is referred to as the superstructure. Clearly, media shapes society even today. Since consumers rely on the media for information and entertainment, (ex. Television and radio new, magazines, newspapers, Internet), they are shaped by whatever forms of media they chose to be an audience to. The media manipulates everything from popular fashion to the food people consume.
Functionalist and Marxist are macro sociological theories that give a better understanding of the society. Functionalist theory is referred to as the consensus whilst the Marxist theory is known as the conflict theory. Key features of both theories are going to be identified and discussed.
The media influences how people experience social life. Media such as newspaper, television and film, are important sources of information, education and entertainment. It can be used to learn more about the world and the people in it. In this regard it can be said that the media represent, interpret and endorse aspects of social experience (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, 2005). The media are also implicated in social regulation, or in other terms, the government of society. The media are implicated in government and politics in an obvious way because modern systems of democracy are conducted through the media. But the media have a bigger role to play in government by structuring how society is controlled and maintained.
The mass media refers to means of communicating with large numbers of people without direct personal contract. The mass media is a major source of information and ideas. Theses can shape people’s attitudes and so some degree directs their behaviour. Mass media in this modern time industrial society is a powerful instrument of social control.
It is without a doubt that the Globalisation of the media has increased our access to information about people and events around the world. However, during the process it has also shifted issues on what should or should not be in the public domain due to media ownership led by Western media corporations. The media shape is reconstructing itself, forming a singular global body playing an essential part in our democracy socially, politically, economically and culturally. Due to this, the effects of globalisation towards Journalism have become very debatable to whether it is benefiting the practice of journalism or hindering it. During the course of this essay, it will explore the affect globalisation has on the media (especially journalism), the affect of media ownership and how new technologies have influenced journalism.