The Ethics of TV

Ethics in today's television shows are almost completely absent. Characters, and even real life people in reality shows, that are absolutely horrible people are glamorized for the sake of "entertainment". For example, the entire cast of "Jersey Shore" do nothing good with their lives, but are idolized and are paid unreal amounts of money to continue their terrible lifestyle. The producers of the show make their life look fun even though they are doing immoral and bad things, just to make people watch the show and choose that lifestyle. There are not many shows I would take off the air, because I know that there are people who watch them and can possibly have some merit, but this one, as well as any other related shows, and shows like it, I would have removed if I could.

Another example is a show that I watch: "Dexter". The show has graphic violence, vulgar language, sex and sometimes drug use. There are very few limits to what is shown, and it is a show that actually makes you sympathize with the main character who is a serial killer, ad you don't want him to get caught. I admit that I share this same feeling, and I have no problems with the shows content, or subject matter.

This shows that society is completely changed from what it used to be, and now violence and behaviour like this isn't even frowned upon. People have become so caught up in content like this that they no longer distinguish between fiction and reality, and what is proper behaviour. When there is a serial killer on the news that is caught, a lot of people are fascinated, and amazed instead of disgusted by what that person has done. In your Law class, people look forward to serial killer Friday because they want to learn about the killer and what they have done because they find it interesting.That's right, the taking of lives is found interesting by a bunch of young students. This is just one of the effects that the new wave of television has had on society. It has desensitized us to anything that was once considered bad.

While the goal may once have been to educate the audience, I fail to see any programming other than children's shows that have that goal any more. The only goals that the television companies have in mind now is to "entertain", and to make money.

Effects of TV

TV has many effects on today's society, some positive, and some negative.

TV is a huge source of entertainment for many people, and it is often the largest source as well.It has also been known to be a way that families spend more time together. More importantly though, it helps communicate information to a vast audience by means of news broadcasts. It is probably the highest viewed method of information communication in the media only topped by the internet.

While there are many positive effects there are also problems that are created by TV. One of the negative effects is that it is known to be one of the leading causes of inactivity in both children and adults. Many children prefer staying home and watching TV to going outside or even staying inside and being physically active. This quickly leads to obesity, which is the now the largest cause of Heart Disease. Also, TV has also been thought to affect children morally, because of all of the violence and "inappropriate" material they see. There are many people that argue that this has desensitized children to violence and is making angrier people, and that people are doing more dangerous things because of it.

Personally, TV is one of the main reasons why I am not physically active. I have always preferred spending time at home, and often watching TV, to going outside, or playing with friends. However, not only has it always been, but watching TV is now what allows me to spend the most time with my family. Watching a show that we all like, spending time together. While it may be something I just imagine, I believe I have learned a lot from various television shows. From funny things that make you laugh only because they are true, to actual scientific facts.

I may be biased because I really like TV, but don't think the negatives are proven enough to outweigh any positives.

Negative Example

Positive Example

After the Premier's Visit

Premier Alward was exactly the way I expected him to be judging by the research I did. He was very polite and answered all questions that were asked to him in detail, even if they were broad topics. Right before he left, a student made a remark to him about the hockey team that he liked, to which he responded jokingly that the student’s favorite team would never win the Stanley Cup. Politicians are often viewed as uptight, serious people who need to be treated differently than anyone else, and exchanges like these work to boost their public image. In my opinion, that is what I think allowed Barack Obama to win the presidential election; because he seemed like a normal person.

From what I’d seen about shale gas and the protests, he acted the same way when a question about it was asked as when he was questioned about it. He appeared confident about the project and gave information pertaining to both sides of the argument.

The only problem I had with him is the possibility that he was simply putting on a show. As a politician, he is supposed to appear confident about everything that the party is doing and planning. Because of this, I’m not entirely sure that he was telling the truth about everything. I don’t think that he was lying about anything, but I can’t tell for certain.

Blog #2

I believe the title of Wag the Dog is a very original and effective one. Not only is it visually interesting and makes a person want to see what the movie is about, but unlike many movie titles that simply use one word that describes the film, this one gives the viewer something to think about.

The expression means that something less powerful is controlling something that is more powerful, that should, and normally does, have control. This relates to the film because in the movie, the media is controlling the government and CIA; two things that should always have control over the media.

As part of the expression, the characters that are in control are portrayed as very smart people. In one scene, De Niro’s character completely discredits a senior CIA agent by outsmarting him and turning everything he says against him. The media was in complete control of the outcome of the presidential election in the film. This is clear because every time that the producer and spin doctor stop faking information, the president loses favourability. All it took to change the minds of people from turning against the president was the spin doctor talking about a B3 bomber that he made up in a matter of seconds. The biggest example however remains the fact that these few people created a fake war that millions of people believed and the government couldn’t do anything about it. These reasons are why this film is the perfect example of the expression.

Blog #1

A blog is a website where people create posts about various topics. There are many different varieties of blogs, some are interactive with several different options such as commenting and messaging, some have other media such as videos and images; however, many are simply text based.

There are several different types of blogs and different uses for them as well. Many are personal blogs that are run individually and act similarly to a journal, except made public. Personal blogs are often about a certain topic and consist mainly of posts and media about that one specialty. There are also corporate blogs, which are run by companies, so that they can share information between employees, but they can also be used as marketing and advertising tools that potential customers can visit. On top of the traditional blogs, there are also vlogs, which are video logs, where a person posts a video on a constant basis and speaks what they would have posted instead of writing it.

Personally, I don’t enjoy reading blogs very much; however, there are some that I wouldn’t mind reading. One thing I really do enjoy is playing video games, so any blogs about video games containing reviews or even casual opinions are sometimes interesting to read. I also like to read movie reviews, and before and after I go to a movie or watch one, I usually check the reviews to see other people’s opinions about it.

http://insultswordfighting.blogspot.com/ - video game review blog

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/ - video game review blog

http://www.filmsy.com/ - movie review blog

David Alward Public and Personal Opinion

Mr. Alward and the Conservative government of New Brunswick have had a good term so far, having few very controversial topics. Alward himself is portrayed positively in almost all areas of the media except when the topic is fracking and shale gas. The news reports themselves don’t portray him negatively; however, there are several personal websites, blogs, and videos that are very hostile to him and everything that his government does. Even with the shale gas controversies, Alward and the conservatives still have a huge approval rating lead over the second place liberals as of December according to the Corporate Research Associates, which is impressive considering the huge attention and opposition the shale gas plan received. When speaking with protesters, he is very polite and takes the time to listen to them and answer their questions, no matter how hostile those questions are.

One thing that his government did that I really liked and agreed with was combining school districts. It will save money and take away many of the complexities of the school system by having fewer people making the decisions.

Personally, I think Mr. Alward is doing a good job as Premier, I just hope he can do more good things like combining districts before others won’t allow him to do anything to or for the province.