Mediation

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Molding our Lives in the Image of Movies

After reading the assigned readings; that is, Social Media’s Broken Promise, Art Form for the Digital Age, The importance of Deep Reading, The Numbing of the American Mind: Culture as Anesthetic and Molding our Lives in the Image of Movies, I started to view things in a different perspective. Also, the reading has enabled me to determine how social media is important in our lives. These readings portrayed mediation as well as showing it in various ways in the readings. The main idea that I obtained from these readings is that they explain how audience they are influenced differently by various social media, such as television shows or films. There are television shows that have positive influence to people, and other has negative influence as well. For instance, an encouraging television show might have a positive influence on an individual's life, while violent television shows such as violent movies might have a negative influence on an individual's life as well. I read "Molding our lives in the image of movies." This is an article that was written by Neal Gabler. This article explains how people try to base their lives on what they see on television because they believe that what they see on the television is the right way. Gabler stated that some people do things just for esthetics. "So devout an esthete is Ms. Stewart that she has even issued instructions on how to shovel the snow from your sidewalk. Always leave an inch of the snow, so it looks nice and white (Gabler, 584).” Esthetics are very important in snow removal. In this case, people try to copy how television shows shovel snow along the sidewalk. This essay explores a television show known as the Modern Family. By analyzing this television show, an individual will be able to determine gender roles in the family and the roles of social institutions like education and government.

When I view this television show, I can see that there can be a connection between the television show and the assigned reading. This is because the show explains the responsibilities that are assigned to every person in the family (Gabler, 584). For instance, the father is the head of the family, and he is supposed to protect the family as well as providing for the basic needs. On the other hand, the mother is supposed to take care of the children, and the children, on the other hand, are supposed to help parents doing various forms of duties. Therefore, by watching this television show, an individual will determine his or her role in the family. This television show offers a glimpse into what this comedy is all about. "Modern Family" reflects how American families look in the modern days. This television show was first aired in 2009, and it was exploring the relationship between different types of households that were in the United States. This show follows a story of an extended family. Mitchell and Cameron were a homosexual couple, and their adopted Vietnamese daughter Phil and Claire. This show focused on how this family interacted with each other rather than the relationship with other people. This show covers other themes that help an individual understand the modern American culture, including their way of life and determining the role of every person in the family in modern American society. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: What happens, what is said, what is done in the show to demonstrate that this is way this is "supposed" to be, according to the show? Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: you need to give a example from the show to prove your point in here. accounding the show in what way will help us to determine the role in the family?. besically you need to connect your idea and the Modern familiy show together.

The Modern Family is just an example of television shows that people can use to mold their lives. According to Albert Bandura in his social learning theory, people learn behavior through modeling, observation, and imitating. In this case, when an individual watches this television show, he or she can learn a lot of things that he or she can implement in his or her life (Gabler, 582). For instance, the main characters of this television show are gay. It is well known that the United States is among the countries that have legalized same-sex marriages. After the Supreme Court of the United States legalized same-sex marriage in 2014, the number of same-sex households increased by almost 60%, and many films and movies supporting same-sex marriage were aired. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: Please include this reference in work cited page Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: What happens, what is said, what is done in the show to demonstrate that this is way this is "supposed" to be, according to the show? Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: What does the viewer learn/take away from these characters? Can you offer specific examples of the scenes, language, etc. to show what viewers are seeing/hearing and how that might influence their thoughts and feelings? Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: I'm curious about the relationship between legalization and these movie portrayals. Do you think the movie portrayals followed the legalization? Or do you think it was already in motion but changed somehow? 

Neal Gabler, in his article, stated that some people do things just for esthetics "So devout an esthete is Ms. Stewart that she has even issued instructions on how to shovel the snow from your sidewalk. Always leave an inch of the snow, so it looks nice and white. Esthetics are very important in snow removal” (Gabler, 584). This quote means that Ms. Stewart was copying what other people were doing, maybe in a television show or real life, and therefore she started practicing what they were doing. In this television show, the viewer might learn the different roles each family member is supposed to play. For instance, despite that the main characters were gay, Mitchell was the head of the family, and his role was to provide for the family's basic needs. On the other hand, Cameron was performing the role of the mother in the family, and his role was to take care of their adopted Phil and Claire. Children, on the other hand, were doing home duties that they were assigned. In this case, the viewer of this television shoe will be able to learn the roles of every family member. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: Can you explain in more detail what this looks like on the show (especiall for readers like me who have never watched Modern Family)?

Three to five decades ago, social media was not a common thing today; therefore, it didn't have much influence on people's lives as today because there were no television shows or films. Mostly, televisions were used for watching the news in those days, but currently, televisions are used to play video games and for watching movies. This has molded our lives positively or negatively; for instance, exposing young children to violent movies can lead them to adopt violent behaviors, thus creating a chance for them to become criminals in the future. Films such as "Money Heist" can influence an individual to commit a crime. This is because the person will see how crime is rewarding, thus influenced to commit a crime. On the other hand, people can learn how to be law-abiding citizens through social media. For instance, a person can watch films about how criminals are being punished harshly. This will deter people who had the mentality of committing crimes, thus making them change their minds and decide not to commit crimes. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: This is a very different argument from the type of influence Modern Family might have on our conceptions of family/gender roles. Do you think you need to add those other example and this question of violence in this essay? Especially since you immediately return to that other example, it seems more useful to maintain that focus and simply add more detail, analysis, and explanation. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: you cannot use two film to evaluate , so remove money heist and just say your point.

Also, this television show has emphasized education among children. In this film, Phil and Claire decided not to go to school on a particular day because the car that they were using to go to school has broken down. Phil and Claire were told by Cameron to use public vehicles to go to school, but they refused. For three consecutive days, they didn't go to school. When they went to school, they were asked why they were absent, and they had no genuine reason. This led them to be subjected to punishment. Punishing them was like deterring them because they didn’t miss school again. From this scenario, the viewer can learn that children are not supposed to miss school without a genuine reason. According to international laws, every child is entitled to the right to education, and once he or she is denied this right, parents can be subjected to legal prosecution. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: Could you also use this example to think about the parenting approach, gender roles, etc. in the family? Does this reinforce some traditional values? Does this fit the mother role that you said Cameron plays in the family? Is it possible that having a male mother figure acting in this way makes this nontraditional family more familiar to traditional families and creates connections/breaks down stereotypes?  These are just a few ideas, but if you wanted to analyze the scene in this way, you might even quote directly the language Cameron uses and compare that to what viewers might be used to, the relationship/dynamics between the characters, etc. Detail will really push your analysis and help you make a clearer point!

Lastly, watching this television show, the viewer will be able to understand various arms of government and their roles. The government consists of various arms such as the criminal justices system and the executive, among others. In this show, there are two groups of criminal gangs that were committing crimes in urban areas. One day they kidnapped Claire, and the gang was demanding $100,000 to release the child. Mitchell and Cameron informed the law enforcement officers, and they initiated an investigation; after three days, they were able to arrest the gang and rescue the child. The gang was later prosecuted in a court of law, whereby they were subjected to ten years in prison. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: It is important to note that this kind of teaching is probably not the primary goal of a show like this, but pointing out that regardless of that fact, the show does model values and judgements about this system allows you to point to the importance of realizing that even our entertainment is an important part of shaping our thinking and values.  Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: Analysis is important here. So, is this outcome realistic? How does it compare with what might really happen when a child is kidnapped? Does the show, then, paint the criminal justice system in a positive or negative light? And how might that influence viewers' thinking on the subject?

Conclusion

Social media is one of the most discussed topics due to its impact on our daily lives. This is the interaction between people through media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, among other platforms. Social media has molded our lives because people are able to watch how other people do their things and imitate them. For instance, Ms. Stewart learned how to shovel snow from a television show. Social media has molded our lives either positively or negatively; for instance, people are able to learn about other people's cultures. On the other hand, people can learn criminal behaviors from films. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: Here, too, I think you are steering away from the focus on Modern Family that would give you a clear argument and allow you to develop deep analysis. I would suggest maintaining that focus rather than switching gears to discuss social media. Comment by Fernando, Attanayaka Hiru Maliksha Sular - SDSU Student: you have to change the conclusion. your thesis about evaluating modern family as an individual will be able to determine gender roles in the family and the roles of social institutions like education and government. why you suddenly talk about social media in the conclusion. please change

Work cited

Gabler Neal, “Modeling Our Lives in the Image of Movies,” Reading Popular Culture: An Anthropology for Writers edited by The Norman Lear Center Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2015, pp. 581-585