EFFECTS OF MASS MEDIA

Effects of Mass Media on International Communications

Effects of Mass Media on International Communications

Introduction

A medium is a means of communication. The term media , which is the plural of medium , refers to the entire body of mass communications, including newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio, movies, and the Internet. The media bring news, popular entertainment, and advertising to vast numbers of people, especially in developed nations. Many sociologists have examined the relationship between the media and their audiences. Do media actively shape public opinions and values, or are they simply mirrors that reflect the views and values of the society around them? The truth seems to lie somewhere in between. The media both influence public opinion and are influenced by it. (Adorno, 1975)

Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno co-authored Dialectic of Enlightenment, in which they expressed the belief that a humane culture cannot prosper without reasoned thought. Therefore, they believed that centralized planning and the authoritarian state should be the foci of critical philosophy. This paper discusses how mass media affects international communications.

Discussion

According to Adorno, the use of various art and communication forms (such as radio, motion pictures, modern advertising, and so forth) creates the preplanned, mass-produced social and cultural outlooks he called “mass culture.” Such conditions overwhelm individual initiative and result in the “administered society,” characterized by a “technological veil” behind which those in control hide facts and use them to dominate. The result is that people cannot think for themselves. Adorno distrusted the old Marxist notion of the “spontaneous power of the proletariat in the historical process,” for he held that spontaneity is inadequate in the face of the domination that exists. Although he developed no single meaning for critical theory, in Negative Dialectics Adorno advocated dialectical thinking; that is, the thinker must try to envision the negation of things in order to create new alternatives. (Horkheimer, 1972)

Language is one of the major elements of culture that underlie cultural variations. It is also an important component of cultural capital. Pierre Bourdieu used the term cultural capital to describe noneconomic assets, such as family background and past educational investments, which are reflected in a person's knowledge of language and the arts.

Today, when text, sound, and video can be transmitted around the world instantaneously, some aspects of culture transcend national borders. The German philosopher Theodor Adorno and others have spoken of the worldwide culture industry that standardizes the goods and services demanded by consumers. Adorno contends that globally, the primary effect of popular culture is to limit people's choices. Yet others have shown that the culture industry's influence does not always permeate international borders. Sometimes the culture industry is embraced; at other times, soundly rejected. (Hornik, 2010)

People today live in a world saturated with media images and mass communications. Obviously, this intense exposure to the media has some effect on audiences. However, it is very difficult to say just what the effects are--or even to prove that they ...