Media Image vs. Reality

The media offers us many images every day. How realistic are they? For example, look at the headlines from many different newspapers. Are most of the stories about war, terror, murder and crime? If you read these papers every day what kind of image do you get about the world?

Look at advertisements. How do the people look? What are they doing? What kind of personalities do you imagine they have? Seeing these kinds of people every day, what kind of image about youself do you get?

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Please answer one of these questions:

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1. What are the top stories in the news today?

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2. What are women characters usually like on Japanese TV dramas?

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3. What are men usually like in Japanese advertising?

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Media Imperialism

What is Media Imperialism?
Media imperialism is a theory that smaller countries are losing their identity due to the force-feeding of media from larger nations. Many think that media imperialism has led to biased information and inaccuracy within news stories.

The United States is often accused of committing media imperialism through its Hollywood films. People think that Hollywood forces American culture onto other nations and makes it difficult for native filmmakers to be successful. (adapted from here)

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Think about these questions and leave a comment (sign in as "anonymous" but write your name in the comment)

1. Do you think Hollywood movies have too much influence in your country?

2. Do you see more American or more Japanese films?

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Book Banning

CENSORSHIP: when a person or group (usually government) control what others say or write. Often they try to control the press and literature, but recently social networks too.

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Please check the statistics about banned books on the American Library Association's website HERE. Next class be prepared to discuss one interesting thing you found in the statistics.

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Also, please think about: What books are banned in your country? Why do you think they are banned?

Social Networks #2

Click HERE and watch this funny video about social networks!

Social Networks

Click HERE to watch a short video about social networks. The think about the following questions:

What do you know about these social networks?: MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Second Life, Tagged...

What social networks are popular in Japan?

Do you use a social network?

What are some of the advantages/disadvantages of having a social network?

Current Events

Please choose a current event from one of these websites below and one current event from anywhere else of your choice (TV, newspaper, magazine, etc).

C-Span

Link TV

Radio Netherlands

Wired

Media Bias

What is "bias"?It is a prejudice that is sometimes admitted, sometimes hidden, or sometimes unconscious that distorts the way things are seen/reported. Although "objectivity" is an ideal for journalists, most news reports and reporters' photographs enforce one point of view. Newspapers try to separate reporting from opinions by having a special "opinion" section.
In the USA, The Christian Science Monitor and C-SPAN are considered the least biased news sources. FOX News (conservative) and MSNBC (liberal) are thought to be the most biased news sources. The graph above shows that most Americans think CNN has a liberal bias.


Think about the Japanese media and ask your friends and family these questions:
What kind of bias do you see in Japan's newspapers, TV programs, magazines and radio?
Which Japanese media sources are the most reliable? Which are the least reliable?