My Media Profile

1. The Importance of Media to Me

     Media is exceptionally important to me, depending on the type and topic of the media.  I couldn’t care less about most of the popular culture these days (Katy Perry, social networking and Glee for example) as it represents a part of society that I find mostly uninteresting.  However, there are many types of media that I use every day.  Movies, video games, books and the Internet are valuable sources of information and entertainment for me.  Whether it is using books for school projects, Googling information, listening to music, playing video games or being entertained by movies, manga, anime and novels, the media provides vital information to be used in all aspects of life.

2. My Top Three Kinds of Media

The three forms of media that are most important to me are:

1. Books/Manga

     Books to me are like air to other people.  I’ve been obsessed with reading since I first learned how to read on my own.  Even before I could read, as a baby my father would read books to me, the first being The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.  This is my absolute favourite kind of media because books can transport you to a different world; while you read you can forget about real life concerns and be somewhere else entirely.  When I discovered manga, I also found even greater worlds based on an entirely different culture from our own.  With examples like the Harry Potter books, Hunger Games trilogy, Inheritance Cycle and Fullmetal Alchemist series, who couldn’t say that books are the greatest type of media ever created?

2. Anime

Death Note talks about difficult issues such as
the morality of the death sentence and whether
 the world would be better if all criminals were killed.

     Japanese cartoons, also known as anime, are an amazing creation.  Nowhere else can you find cartoons specifically directed towards teenagers instead of little kids.  Anime has become a huge cultural phenomena in North America , with conventions popping up everywhere and more shows becoming available both on the internet and in stores.  Anime combines beautiful artwork with compelling and unique storylines to create something truly worth watching.  One may think that cartoons have to be simply amusing, as the majority of American shows are but this is wrong.  A good example of this is Death Note (original story by Tsugumi Ohba).  The morals that most media today question and explore are examined in a unique way in this series.  Ever since I was introduced to anime, I’ve been astonished by the wonderful quality and interest of this type of media.

3. Music

Even if I don’t enjoy popular music (Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Drake to name a few), music plays a big role in my life.  Artists like John Williams (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Jurassic Park , etc.), Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings), Koji Kondo (Legend of Zelda) and Patrick Doyle (Goblet of Fire) are all influential composers.  Their music is inspirational (even if there aren’t any words) and I listen to it all the time, whether I’m doing homework or drawing.

3. Pop Culture

     In my opinion, most of today’s pop culture is negatively affecting the world.  Social networking, film/television, and music are all forms of media that are contributing to this.  By being able to contact people so quickly (Facebook and texting for example), humans are relying more on this than actual talking.  I’ve seen many teenagers texting their friends from across the room, or worse, sitting next to each other.  Even when speaking, people rely on acronyms (LOL, JK, etc.) in conversation as if they were texting.  Furthermore, when it was discovered I didn’t have Facebook, I was asked how I talked with others!  It was incomprehensible that I could talk to them in person or on the phone.  Humans are losing their ability to connect with each other without the aid of technology.  Film and television are also a factor in today’s problems.  Actors and actresses have become increasingly thin and send messages to the public that they must be just as thin and beautiful as the people on screen.  In many movies, immoral creeds are expressed as okay.  This is shown in media such as “Rock of Ages”, “Project X” and “ Jersey Shore ” where sex and substances are sensationalized.  Morals are being discarded in pop culture to provide entertainment that is viewed by and seen as acceptable.  Last, many popular musicians sing about inappropriate topics and their songs are available to kids of all ages.  Ke$ha is a perfect example of this.  In her songs, she highlights drinking, drugs and wild parties as acceptable and “cool” habits.  It’s because of artists like her that young teens are encouraged to do bad things.  Overall, not all media is bad, but most of modern pop culture is negative.

This is just one example of many on the Internet of little kids singing Ke$ha’s songs.  Girls as young as three (not even in school yet) are being exposed to this indecent behaviour.

     Although a lot of pop culture is, in my opinion, inappropriate, I do enjoy using media both for entertainment and information.  Books, movies, television, music and video games are a part of nearly everyone’s lives to some degree nowadays, myself included.  Reading and playing video games form the basis of my past times.  Along with amusement, media also provides information for school and general knowledge.  While finding sources at the library is good, the Internet has greatly accelerated this process to the point where you can get school projects done in half the time.  Google has positively increased the capacity of knowledge that modern people have.  While media as entertainment is fun, I believe informative media is the most important kind and helps to educate the present world.

4. How I feel about the way teenagers are portrayed in the media.

     For years, the media has depicted teenagers as immature, irresponsible and ill-mannered.  Three perfect examples of this are Grease, Degrassi and Wildefire.  Grease is not a recent movie and yet it follows today’s image of teen behaviour.  The film is filled with smoking, pregnancy scares and swearing.  Not one teenager was portrayed as a kind, mature person except for Sandy and even she changed at the end.  The message of Grease explains that teenagers only accept skimpily-clad, “bad” girls like the Pink Ladies.  Degrassi is another example of immature teens.  The characters on this show make every single bad decision they can.  Upset about a boyfriend? Ruin his car.  Want to get off the hockey team?  Jump off a railing to break your arm.  Get kissed by your boss?  Tell nobody!  These kids make extremely stupid mistakes all the time and never learn from them; not one of them is a responsible, wise person who can make good choices.  Third, there is the book Wildefire, by Karsten Knight.  This recent fictional novel does not even consider the characters as bad or inappropriate, it is a normal circumstance for them to swear constantly, skip class and trick their way into clubs to drink.  The main character is a frequent drinker and her behaviour is displayed as “cool”.  Her and her friends are the good guys in this book; this is something the heroes of the story are doing.  Behaviour like this is becoming increasingly visible in pop culture and it just isn’t true for a lot of teenagers.

The shocking transformation Sandy was forced to make to fit in with the other teens.