For those of you who’ve seen Fight Club, in my opinion, the greatest movie of all time would have actually seen Brad Pitt in his prime. The rugged dressing Tyler Durden with such suave hairdo and uncanny but stunning dress sense ate into poor him. The movie was first screened in 1999 and it possessed a hypodermic needle sting so potent that influenced his view of the perfect looking man till this very day.
Tyler Durden in Fight ClubWhat am I trying to say? That hairdo and patch of grass (although too thick) under his chin tells me of the roots of his influence. After much persuasion by me to understand his inner thoughts, I realized the truth about his insensible influence and ideal persona.
“He reminds me of a gangster, at least in the way he speaks” was the remark i got when I asked for someone’s opinion on him recently. Well, I’m not surprised as the classic four letter word has been deep-rooted in almost every sentence that shoots out from his mouth. I can attribute that to the lists of crude and violent Hollywood films that occupy his movie rack from young.
Hitmen John Travolta and Samuel L jackson in Pulp Fiction.A movie buff, he has seen movies from Pulp Fiction to Reservoir Dogs to Trainspotting, films that have crude language in almost every dialogue.(Pulp fiction holds the current record for the amount of profanities it has)
Quentin tarantino's second classic - Reservoir DogsI’ll like to blame Quentin Tarantino or Irvine Welsh for this, but it doesn’t help when one from a young age allows such a deep cut to his tongue by that very needle.
Before I go, I’ll like to share with you how the recent rise in race car movies has influenced this man so deeply that I almost lost my life sitting in his car. Remember Gone in sixty seconds and 2 fast 2 furious - Tokyo Drift? I literally had that experience on the PIE some time back; only difference was that the medium for speed was a Ford Mondeo meandering and drifting from left to right and such a maniacal speed. Seems like the needle stung his brains and sense. Kindly observe the meter below.
This is what it looks like at that speedI'd like to think that you've seen this someone around no?
Like it or not, the media influences us in one way or the other. How we dress, wear our hair or even speak. It affects our perspectives and beliefs in life. In my opinion, it makes us another person then who we originally will be if not for media. Media makes us who we are and who we’re not. One way or the other, we are victims of the Powerful effects theory; consciously or unconsciously.
I wonder what would happen if everything on this planet became Ground Zero one day
Do you?
8 comments:
I think that media does have a massive impact on a person and it definitely has one on you.For example, Nike makes people feel that they are like one of the football players. My personal experience. I think I am as good as BPL players when I am actually not.It makes you feel good.
The media does play an important role in glamorizing some aspects of our culture, but it is not the sole agent of influence. In fact, it goes both ways. The media influences us, yet at the same time, it is also being influenced by us. After all, creators in the media industry are also constantly getting their ideas from the things that they see around them.
Great thoughts on the "Hypodermic Needle Theory".
Yes, it does "IMPLY that mass media has direct, immediate and powerful effect on an audience." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodermic_needle_model)
Media brings us "first class, updated" news. For example, in the current economic situation, the media plays an immense role in the perception of viewers round the world. These perceptions are shaped around what is heard and seen by an audience.
The media has this ability to have a great social impact. The media is able to broadcast to a wide variety of peoples from all over the world. What we see on ChannelNewsAsia is similiar to other broadcast news channels like the BBC or CNN. However, the FOCUS of each station is obviously different. The views posed are different. As such, we have THIS perception of the west and the west have THAT perception of us. Whatever 'this' or 'that' is, is moulded by the media that the audience in respective countries are being exposed to.
The media also has a huge cultural impact on audiences. For example, in Singapore, we can see on television, advertisments, radio and other forms of media that integrates racial harmony. It is indeed deep in our veins that racial harmony is integral in a Singaporean society. It is also pivotal to maintain "peace, prosperity and progress" in our island.
Hollywood and Bollywood amongst others bring a totally different feel to things around us. And as Terence has pointed out the variety of ways in which he has been influenced, we can see that this impact is exponential- something that is not within the sphere of control of (perhaps) any society.
Brilliant thoughts Terence. :) Again, its been an absolute pleasure to be a reader of your blog!
The media is just a medium, it isnt all powerful. Ultimately, we, each and every one of us, choose what to consume from the media ourselves and that's why we are somewhat different from others who similarly open themselves to the media. I do not deny that the media can influence us but my point here is, even with the effects of the media, we can still find and be our true self.
The media indeed has an impact on an individual. This impact can be in a positive way or negative as well. To a certain extent, we are shaped by the media's portrayal of things. Some examples as mentioned would be, the "perfect" body, "perfect" look, the way we dress or even the way we speak. Good points brought up terence.
My personal experience would be related to the movie Constantine. Notice how in almost every scene, our lead never failed to have a stick of Marlboro Reds in his hands. If you were observant, he held them in a softpack. Unsurprisingly, a number of my friends who smoked had switched to Marlboro Reds from whatever else they were smoking and guess what...? Softpack...
We also have to constantly remind ourselves that not everything we see or hear in the movies, or even the news is fact.
Ultimately, we do make the decisions in our lives. But who doesn't wanna dress or look like a Bradd Pitt or Angelina Jolie? First thing that comes up with those names mentioned? "The perfect couple" or "Most Beautiful Couple". Thats the power of the Media.
The all so powerful media. The exposure. The Influence. etc etc..
Endless discussions, debates on the consequences of media, in this case movies .
Ultimately, it boils down to individuals and choices. It was his choice that pointed the way to who he has become. For every movie like Fight Club, there's a movie like Dead Poets Society.
It was his choice to watch and be influenced by movies like resevoir dogs and pulp fiction. [ point to note : All these movies are top-notch ]
I have watched all the mentioned movies he has. Did i end up like him ? It is up to the person himself to determine the extent of media's influence on his own life.
CHoices , my fren .. Choices !!
and pls also take note : Speeding KIlls
The media, or specifically the entertainment industry in this case, do have a big impact on people.
I remember the time Tokyo Drift was showing. All my fellow drivers in NS were playing that god damn movie sound track on their mobile phones! It nearly drove me crazy.
If you were to ask me, I think they were trying to emulate those characters in the movie. Therefore, the entertainment industry does shape our perceptions on what we imagine ourselves to be.
The media is definitely not the sole influence in our lives and it is true that we are given choices to follw (As what Mr dead Poet) has brought up.
However, we sometimes feel that "this" is our true selves when,in my opinion, we will never find our genuine self unless we live in a world that has no television, magazines, newspapers or internet. It'll be unrealistic but only without the medium then we can truly say we are our own selves. Choices aside, how we like it, we are in a ways so trival such as the way you speak,view life and respond to situations.
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