Influence of Entertainment Media on American Culture

There are many countless ways that entertainment media has shaped American culture. One way of various forms of entertainment media that shaped American culture and its values is that the media has brought about creativity in all people making them realize what the culture is all about. The media has also educated many people on how to take care of themselves like in health and lifestyle. Celebrities influence our society every day. In this society celebrities have a large impact on people life. Celebrities even have this weight loss thing going on, as if it’s not ok to be overweight. With the development of new technologies and media, like mass reproduction and the widespread use of computers, artists have increasingly engaged with the fabric of daily American life. The industry has also brought about many talents in America, ones that have boosted people’s lifestyles.

In the late 19th century, Americans who enjoyed the arts usually lived in big cities or had the money to attend live performances. People who were poor or distant from cultural centers settled for second-rate productions mounted by local theater troupes or touring groups. New technologies, such as the motion-picture camera and the phonograph, revolutionized the arts by making them available to the masses. The movies, the phonograph, and, somewhat later, the radio made entertainment available daily and allowed Americans to experience elaborately produced dramas and all types of music. While mass media made entertainment available to more people, it also began to homogenize tastes, styles, and points of view among different groups in the United States. Class and ethnic distinctions in American culture began to fade as mass media transmitted movies and music to people throughout the United States. Some people criticized the growing uniformity of mass culture for lowering the general standard of taste, since mass media sought to please the largest number of people by appealing to simpler rather than more complex tastes. However, culture became more democratic as modern technology and mass media allowed it to reach more people.

During the 20th century, mass entertainment extended the reach of American culture, reversing the direction of influence as Europe and the world became consumers of American popular culture. America became the dominant cultural source for entertainment and popular fashion, from the jeans and T-shirts young people wear to the music groups and rock stars they listen to and the movies they see. People all over the world view American television programs, often years after the program’s popularity has declined in the United States. American television has become such an international fixture that American news broadcasts help define what people in other countries know about current events and politics.

American entertainment is probably one of the strongest means by which American culture influences the world, although some countries, such as France, resist this influence because they see it as a threat to their unique national culture. Our life will remain incomplete without the media. The radio, television, newspaper and internet are some forms through which we get information. The media has brought the people all over the world very closer. We have to take the positive aspects and use it for good purpose. The media and public should help to drive away the negative effects of the media. There are many positive effects of media. One is that the common man gets the latest news within a fraction of seconds. The distance is not at all a barrier now. The news they get through media help them in their daily life a lot. The media helps common people to exchange information and it acts as a common platform. The public get knowledge and awake to raise questions, on seeing the news in newspaper and TV.

Media also has some negative effects. Some bogus news given in the newspaper may raise blood pressure and create negative feelings in the mind. Over exposure to media may cause health problems also. The advertisements shown in TV and newspaper have got both positive and negative impact. The children learn violence by seeing movies and TV programs. They imitate super heroes they see in the screen which may cause danger to their life. The over exposure to media make them behave more aggressively, which spoils their future also.