Pragmatic Analysis

Pragmatic analysis could simply be classified as just another branch of philosophy - most concerned with the truth and depth of practicality and the cause and effect. Pragmatics believe the truth is depended upon the way problems are solved; a pragmatic is most concerned with the result and outcome of various aspects in general and in society for common good. Practical reason, regulation, truth and understanding is what pragmatist's view what media should embody and showcase to society. It is hard to please everyone, but with logical reason and regulation, from a realistic point of view, pragmatics view media as somewhat essential for the benefit of common good.

From Pragmatism Approach, there are two concepts that influence the overall analysis: consequences and contingencies  Consequences first off refers to the effects of a given regulation or policy on general society at large. Pragmatics believe the consequences must be beneficially for society if the regulation is considered to be good. While Contingence on the other hand deals with the factors of a regulation to be addressed as the final context and situation. Furthermore, social norms such as technological uses form contingent factors influence the types of regulations. The first set of regular contingencies is the tension between free speech and public interest. The second set of regular contingencies is the give and take relationship between government regulation and media self regulation. If it is one thing that the media strives to attain is the interest of a wide set audience. From a pragmatic perspective, the main thing pragmatics are interested in are the answers and deeper context in their choices of content and overall message. Subject to chance, regulations associated with media must benefit the common good overall and what ultimately interests the greater target audiences.

Media & Violence.

If it is one thing we see throughout media, especially in those action packed video games such as the infamous Grand Theft Auto is violence. Violence plays a major role in the overall aspect of content. It's engaging, it keeps you at the edge of your seat, it keeps you wanting more. Violence is engaging to some, terrifying to others, while others may feel indifferent to the acts of violence in general. Throughout our last lecture in class, the content of what is shown worldwide was a main topic. The idea that freedom of speech while protecting the minds of those viewing certain programs has become a debate on just how much or how little we feed into the ways of the content we view.

Media violence can influence a term called victim effect in which people develop and experience fearfulness of violence. There are various theories suggesting the different ways in which media violence influences/affects different persons in different way. Realistic Violence generates mostly an emotional commotion and approach due to pureness of its content. While Aggressor effect on the other hand suggests that exposure to media violence brings about pleasure and encourages confrontational behavior. The theory of disinhibition suggests that media violence softens the social norms against violence that people would usually abide by. The theory of enculturation is the on going exposure to media violence, thus inspiring the idea of violence as a norm, encouraging aggressive behaviour. The theory of imitation maintains that audiences will copy the aggressive behaviour they see on media programs, especially targeted towards those who do not fully understand violent displays and the extents of it.

One thing that media corporations want to allow is a little bit of everything to interest a wide majority of viewers - which of course keeps everyone coming back for more. But the problem arises when individuals either take too literally to what they view or take it with a grain of salt. Television Content Rating systems have been established to separate the types of content targeted towards different age groups and audiences. This has allowed for both freedom of speech and expression as well as discretion. As they always say, a little discretion goes a long way.

Image source: Google Images.

Organizational Analysis.

How are our goals achieved? Usually with some type of system or with a plan on how to achieve what it is we want with ultimate success. Well, the same thing applies with media and life in general. Organizational Analysis is that one theory that shows us all the things that we cannot always see. The typical media critic who takes on an organizational perspective is invested the process of an organization and the processes it undertakes. Most organizations have documents such as codes of conduct to symbolize the right and wrong way of doing things within that position given. Organizational Analysis is used to understand why media produces the type of content that they do.

The dimensions of organization range from structure and process. Both correspond with how the job will get done within an organization. The way the show is ran starts with the use of a higher level in hierarchy, differentiation and specialization, the professional and formalization where practices are conformed to accept conventions. The way media produces the matter that it does called process, reflects on the framework and what it has been built upon. As Organizational culture is the set of norms, values and customs, this culture is built on the effectiveness of: performance, narrative, textual, management and technology. Performance to express significance, narrative to influence performance in position, textual documents to enforce and support norms such as handbooks, policy manuals, management to assist in success and productivity and lastly technology to perform the skills required for jobs. All factors that contribute to the true value of the foundation built on progress. 

                                                           Image source: Google Images.

Media & Marxist Point of View.

In my previous post, as I talked about false consciousness and the media's connection to it surrounding us, a Marxist would deal with the concept of media. A Marxist is most concerned with what is the economic system behind media, who owns and controls the media. What a Marxist focuses on how the ideas are spread or neglected by the media.Why? Because mass media has influenced our minds consistently over the years. A Marxism's job is to analyze these factors and the extent of the reaction they cause from a social and political perspective.

As Marxism is both a theory and also a social and political movement, the movement has stemmed from the minds of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles, specifically in their writings in "The German Ideology" established in 1845. As learned in last week's lecture, Marxist belief stems in "the mode of production that society determines the social relations of productions or class structure".  The idea that the material world impacts human thought immensely could only end up with media having a hand in determining our conscience.

The base/superstructure represents Karl Marx's perspective of the material conditions of society:

It has been said that the modes of production within any society is characterized by two aspects: "forces of production" which falls into matters such as land, natural resources and technology which are required for material production. While the second aspect is"relations of production" which is labor practices or ownership of property and/or the ways goods are distributed. The way mass media impacts society from a Marxist perspective analysis is the same foundation of what we are built on as a society. We require religion, impact from the media, education to expand our means to living. While the base of it all lays within the political economy platform, we thrive off of the material aspect of what the world has to offer, which just so happens to be where media plays a big role.

Mass Media and False Consciousness

The ways media tries to sell us various ideas that shape and influence our beliefs to reach the main goal of selling a message has been a controversial topic for years.While often times we are rarely aware that we ourselves to some degree, embody the notion of false consciousness, we too give into the messages of media from time to time. An example of false consciousness would be knowing that a product the media is trying to persuade us into buying is evidently useless, but going along and buying it anyway. Now the simple question is, why? The mass media do their job by distracting people from the realities of society and of creating false consciousness. Giving you a reason to believe that what media has to offer will improve your life even when you already can note a few reasons why it simply wouldn't change anything. But as they always say, keep an open mind. And this is where media makes it appeal.

False consciousness is any belief or view that prevents a person from being able to understand the true nature of a situation. Now, one emotion we feel as humans often times is stress. The media appeals to these everyday situations by presenting us with something that makes us feel as though we can find an outlet through them. Why else would people use Twitter for example? Well,  the media presents the idea that it can be used as an outlet to rant about different thoughts and complaints. Let us not forget about the Apple commercial made in 1984, which was also discussed in class, where the use of women and technology come into play. The imagery of women being liberated and acting as a personification of a computer, sends out a message to escape the mess we are in, resulting in following another trend to "liberate" us.


In all, as it has been said, the media industry's "main business isn't to sell product, it is to expand and train our consciousness in order to exploit it."

                                                                       Source: YouTube

Why study media?

Well, why not? Media has become one of the most influential factors of our time. The concept of media surrounds us on a daily basis. How do you think most of our knowledge of what goes on in the world is accumulated? In the news - hearing about that shooting that took place last week at that place, in that area; and all the tabloids broadcasting over the crazy lives of various celebrities? Rest assured that without the impact of media, half of the matters that take place around our world would surely go unnoticed.

Have you noticed that once the news talks about a certain matter, we are all aware? And once the news disregards of the once "breaking news" worthy reports, we forget about it? As professor Petit talked about in our first lecture, "Most of what we know comes from media apart from in body life experiences." As media becomes our reality, as it revolves around our daily lives, the ability to be aware of what is real and what simply is not about our world becomes clouded by the illusion that media tries to sell to us.

To be able to study just exactly how media continues to prevail around the world, the great extents that media goes through just to get a message across, the more we have a chance of combating the effect of what media is capable of pulling us into if we are not careful. Like Marshall McLuhan stated, "We make our tools and our tools make us."

Image source: Google Images.