Magazines/television and the Identity Crisis

12/04/06

Mrs. Ramachandran

MCMA 204 SEC 001

Final paper

Magazines/Television and the identity crisis

In America the only thing that can give us a clue on what to wear and how to act is watching television or looking in a magazine. America is so blind to the fact that we as Americans are an image-based culture. We see things or products as keys to help us live better and be better. We look at clothes as if its skin to our bodies; because the clothes we wear are who we are. We look at each other and never satisfied about what we already have. But the question is where have all the original people gone?

In the article "Image-based culture: Advertising and popular culture" written by Sut Jhally, in the article the main point that is address is that as Americans, "advertising doesn't always mirror how people are acting but how they're dreaming"(Jhally, image-based culture 252). This means that Americans think what they want is what they really need, products that you see on television or in a magazine, but they are what you are wishing you had to make your status better between you and your peers more satisfying.

Jhally talks about how influence of image is influence first in gender identity. Jhally gives an example by using a researchers point of view, "heavily upon the domain of gender display not behave but the ways in which we think men and women behave"(Jhally, image-based culture 253). When people think of women the first thing they think of is a woman's body, and that it is prefect with every curve or shape correctly in position, with all the features that a women need to attract a male. When people think of a man, the first thing that comes to mind it that they have big muscle and they have a body out of this world, more like a model, one might think of sports as well. The reason why one made think of this is in America; is because we are so use to the image of women and men that the media portray.

Sexuality is a prime example of how the media have influences on the people of America. Advertisers know that sexuality gets attention and communicate instantly. This means that sexuality is a way to get people to look at an ad in a magazine or look at a commercial on television. But when advertisers tell you have to handle your sexuality there is a problem because it only shows the general point of that sexuality, or the stereotypes of that sexuality. Jhally tell us that the danger of this is, "as the world encourages us to accept the autonomy of images, the given facts that appear imply that substance is unimportant, not worth pursuing" (Jhally, image-based culture 256). Meaning that we will just accept what we see and never try to find any meaning behind what we see, but bring ourselves to that requirement of what they tell you who you are.

In the article, "Advertising and the political economy of lesbian/gay identity" written by Fred Fejes, this article give us a prime example of what an image-based culture is and how this affects a group of people identified by their sexuality. If anything this is a prime example of what is alternative, these people sexuality is alternative, and it is not a mainstream sexuality. The article illustrates how in 1969 when there was a gay liberation movement, and advertisers took this opportunity to advertise to the gay communities. Alternative magazine began to form and to show what gay males were supposed to act like.

Even thought advertisers took along time