The media and the consequence of their distortions
by Dr Gon Freecs
The media plays a huge role in each and every one of our lives in this modern technological era. We receive entertainment, learn about issues relating to our country and even get to know about our natural world through it. However, how much of what we know through the media are actually plain 100% true facts? Is our country really winning the war? Or is that what they want us to think? Likewise, are animals that appear in the movies really what they are? Or are they just plainly being misunderstood by us?
A survey was conducted by yours truly and I have personally found out that an astonishing 64% of the public formulate their opinions of animals through the movies that they have watched, compared to only 12% who get their information from watching documentaries. When these people have a certain opinion of these animals, they spread it to their friends and more people misunderstand these animals. This also shows that Hollywood has a very great impact on people as people will tend to believe what is screened in the movies/television which may not necessarily be true.
Take the example of the wolf. When you think of wolves, many people associate them with the werewolves shown in movies which are ferocious man-eating animals. However, to this day, there is no proof of a wolf killing a person out in the wild. In fact, they are usually shy creatures and when coming into contact with humans, try to avoid you in the wild if possible. They are also very caring creatures who care for their packs like we care for our family.
Common distortions of animals like the wolf lead to dire consequences for them. As people’s perceptions of wolves are so indelibly engraved in our minds through the media, humans nearly brought the wolves to the brink of extinction in a past not too long ago. Their future is bleak.
Through the example of the wolves, we can see the power of the media at work. The media is very capable of distorting the truth of animals and when people take what they see and hear to be the truth without a second doubt, they tend to kill these animals for fear that the latter might harm the former and in worse case scenario, drive them to extinction without even realizing that these animals have been wrongfully portrayed.
by Dr Gon Freecs
The media plays a huge role in each and every one of our lives in this modern technological era. We receive entertainment, learn about issues relating to our country and even get to know about our natural world through it. However, how much of what we know through the media are actually plain 100% true facts? Is our country really winning the war? Or is that what they want us to think? Likewise, are animals that appear in the movies really what they are? Or are they just plainly being misunderstood by us?
A survey was conducted by yours truly and I have personally found out that an astonishing 64% of the public formulate their opinions of animals through the movies that they have watched, compared to only 12% who get their information from watching documentaries. When these people have a certain opinion of these animals, they spread it to their friends and more people misunderstand these animals. This also shows that Hollywood has a very great impact on people as people will tend to believe what is screened in the movies/television which may not necessarily be true.
Take the example of the wolf. When you think of wolves, many people associate them with the werewolves shown in movies which are ferocious man-eating animals. However, to this day, there is no proof of a wolf killing a person out in the wild. In fact, they are usually shy creatures and when coming into contact with humans, try to avoid you in the wild if possible. They are also very caring creatures who care for their packs like we care for our family.
Common distortions of animals like the wolf lead to dire consequences for them. As people’s perceptions of wolves are so indelibly engraved in our minds through the media, humans nearly brought the wolves to the brink of extinction in a past not too long ago. Their future is bleak.
Through the example of the wolves, we can see the power of the media at work. The media is very capable of distorting the truth of animals and when people take what they see and hear to be the truth without a second doubt, they tend to kill these animals for fear that the latter might harm the former and in worse case scenario, drive them to extinction without even realizing that these animals have been wrongfully portrayed.
reference: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/wolvesworld/
written by janice
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