THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT

Media Monkies will like to give a special THANK YOU to all of those who have wit hus from the start and who have been following us over the past few months. It has been a tough road but we learned from it and will continue to strive for the best in whatever we do........until next time GOD BLESS and have a safe holiday!!!!!!!!!!!

CONTENT IN THE MEDIA

What is the media? The media refers to channels of mass communications such as the radio, newspapers, television and the internet. What is the role of the media? The fourth estate, the media is there to inform and in some cases entertain. What is sexual content or sexual material? In order to know what sexual content is you first have to define “sex.” As simple a question as it may appear the reality is that the answer you get defer depending on who it is directed to. For example, Sex is a way of distinguishing male and female members of a species usually by referencing their reproductive function. Sex refers to the genitals but predominantly you’ll hear sex is the physical intercourse between two persons.

The argument being presented is whether or not sexual content in the media is positive or negative. I believe that it is in fact positive because it promotes awareness, it informs persons who are for whatever reasons deprived of information, it helps in delivering certain messages, it allows for understanding of the opposite sex and it aids in socializing skills.

Sexual material in the media is considered a taboo in many societies mainly because of the fear that it may have negative effects on the younger generation. According to World book Encyclopaedia, surveys show that many parents, psychologists, and teachers favour some kind of sex education in schools however opponents of such programmes argue that children should learn about sexuality only from their parents. In a time where having a day care service or being a babysitter is one of the most profitable business simply because parents are so busy doing any and everything, a time where families don’t event sit and have lunch or dinner together, a time where so many young girls and boys are being abused and exploited by these said parents or a time where some parents simply don’t talk to them about it because they are uncomfortable, why would we want to leave the responsibility up to them. Yes there are some parents that do their part but there is also a higher percentage that don’t and there is where the media comes in to fulfill its purpose of informing. And regardless of who informs these teenagers are curious and want to have sex. Sorry to break it to you, folks, but this is the way real life works–Teenagers are curious about sex, they wonder what it is like and yes, they’re going to have sex and it’s most likely going to be after you told them not to.

Sexual content in the media is not only positive because it saves some parents from having “the talk” with their teenage child but because it truly informs. I would like you think about America’s Next Top Model Cycle Ten contestant Fatima Siad who is a Muslim from Somalia, she also had the most severe form of circumcision done to her t the tender age of seven. Her story brought a lot of comments from persons who didn’t even know that such an act existed, while many posted the question “Is this an appropriate topic for America’s Next Top Model?” My question is why not? Why have her on a just as informative documentary that may have ten thousand viewers than have her on a show that we know have millions of viewers.

Through this persons learn that FGM is practiced in over twenty eight 28 different countries and as a result hundreds of young girls die every year. Because of Fatima’s story people banned together and formed anti FGM groups and many others have started to speak out against it.
As stated earlier on the role of the media is not only to inform but also to entertain. Women are the main focus in many different genres of music today. They are in many cases viewed as sex symbols. To some this come across as disrespectful, however a woman’s body is considered one of God’s most beautiful creations. Why should a woman be ashamed of her body or of showing it off?

As for sex scenes in movies or shows, is the sex scene the moral of the story or is it just part of the story line used to help you understand and get the bigger picture. Sex in the city for example, it’s about the lifestyle of four successful women and sex just happens to be a part of it. Sex is an extremely profitable business and it is proven that it is to be one of the best and most natural stress relievers.

Sexual content in the media is positive and should be considered a positive thing instead of being the center of blame for a number of issues that are affecting our society. At the end of the day the fact remains that the media does make an attempt in censoring the material by rating movies appropriately, labelling material as having explicit lyrics, or by telling the public that the material is for a mature audience only. Most importantly though I would like to close in saying that the media boom began in 1990 and the internet in 2000, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases existed when? The first case of HIV was in the Belgian Congo in 1959.

Teenage pregnancy is not something new/strange to societies as in the earlier days young girls had children from time of puberty, and in those days television didn’t even exist. Blaming sexual content in the media for these issues is like “Blaming the government for crime!” People need to be more responsible for themselves; parents take more interest in their children’s lives and let the media do its job of informing and entertaining its public's.

SEXISIM IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

You know what they say: “Girl it’s hard being a female in this industry.” Well is it? It certainly is, well at least at times. We all are aware that Trinidad and Tobago is a very small place where everyone practically knows one another, or knows of someone who knows someone. Get what I’m saying yet? Well to put it more simply, trying to get through with what you want to achieve in life in this country can be a b$#@h sometimes.
For as long as the Golden Ages women have been having to put up with the subjection from men and even other women in society. If you think that this may not be happening, believe me, it definitely is. Every single day a woman is rejected just by the mere fact that she is a woman. And to be in the media industry it is even worse. Constantly women either locally or internationally who are in the industry have to always prove themselves, to show that they are of good quality because there always seem to be a ‘fight down’ from the opposite sex. When this occurs, we have to think to ourselves sometimes “Is it because they feel threatened by our intelligence?”

Well, whether or not that is the case we must continue to strive for what we want no matter what. For the past few years that I’ve been exposed to the media industry I’ve heard my share of stories that are really hard to believe, but recently I came upon one that was upon ridiculous.

A friend of mine had to go to a job interview at one of the top radio stations in Trinidad. She seemed to be really excited when she got the call because she really wanted to experience the radio world of media. Little did she know what she was about to get herself into. As any job interview she prepped herself with all of the usual do’s and don’ts and went in with confidence, but the mood of the interview took a turn for the worst when the head of the radio station (who was the interviewer by the way) told her that she was too pretty for the job. WHAT!!!..............right, that was my thoughts as well.

Apparently the boss had a problem with hiring females in the past. His reason, you ask, well he explained to my friend that he ran into problems in the past with former employees having relationships with the male members of staff. I mean, how could you as an authoritative figure, who has over twenty years under your belt in the business, say something like that, especially in an interview. But the reality was that he did in fact say it. She told me he said, she was everything they were looking for, she was young and had the ability to reach out to the station’s target audience, but the only problem was that she was too pretty and she was a female. In his mind he had a fear that she might do something that would portray the image of the radio station in a bad light. I say why not have a very serious conversation with the male employees about their conduct, whenever a new female is hired.

Obviously he is taking sides and is supporting the wrong doing of his male employee’s. It is like when an animal see’s prey, its first instinct would be to prowl and it looks like to me in this situation that, this is what the workers of this industry are frequently doing to the females, but what we have to do is put our guard up and stop the nonsense that is taking place. If we don’t take a stance for what is right situations such as this one it will continue to occur and there may never be a stop to it.

HOW MEDIA CAUSES REAL LIFE VIOLENCE

Researchers are studying the combination of violent behavior and sexuality in film and video. They're asking whether it's creating a climate in which sexual violence is more acceptable in real life. For years, society has been alarmed about the portrayal of sex and sexuality in popular media. Pornography has been barred and society's principles of what is and is not suitable have repeatedly changed. In more recent years there has been added worry about the increasing dilemma of media violence, particularly after television's home screen began to show scenes of murder and turmoil that few families would ever see in actual life.

More than 1000 scientific studies and evaluations conclude that considerable exposure to media violence adds to the danger of violent conduct in certain children and adolescents, numbs them to violence, and makes them think that the world is a "meaner and scarier" place than it actually is. Violence comes in a variety of media entertainment, such as movies, video games, and television news. Research has revealed that news reports of bombings, natural disasters, murders, and other violent crimes have the potential to traumatize young children.

Six major medical factions (American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Psychiatric Association) caution of these effects of media violence on children:

• Children will increase anti-social and aggressive behavior.
• Children may become less sensitive to violence and those who suffer from violence.
• Children may view the world as violent and mean, becoming more fearful of being a victim of violence.
• Children will desire to see more violence in entertainment and real life.
• Children will view violence as an acceptable way to settle conflicts. (Congressional Public Health Summit, 2000)

61% of children’s television programs include violence and only 4% have an anti-violence theme. In shows with violence only 16% showed long-term consequences, 45% of the wrongdoers went without punishment, 71% of criminals demonstrated no regret, 42% of the brutality was linked with wit, and fatal violence was shown in 54% of shows. (Browne, 2005). Exposure to media violence is definitely linked to consequent antagonistic behavior, violent ideas, arousal, and rage, and a pessimistic outcome on helping behavior. Children, ages 8 to 18, spend more time (44.5 hours per week- 61/2 hours daily) in front of computers, television, and game screens than any other activity in their lives except sleeping (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005).

Ex-army psychologist Dave Grossman, a top American activist, points the finger at movies and video games. He argues that Hollywood films have desensitized kids to the consequences of violence, and video games have taught them how to handle a gun.