The
same thing affects different people differently. If we took 5 'regular'
American (people born and raised here in America, who would be classified by
society as normal (generic) Americans) and presented them with a certain ad,
take the Victoria's Secret's Bra ad that I used earlier.
They
would all have different takes on it (just like how my friends and I have
different takes on it). Despite how 'normal', how regular a person may seem,
they're still different, they're still individuals. Just so people from
different cultures also have different takes on things from the media. Being as
someone from a different culture would not be accustomed to the same things
that someone from that culture would already be accustomed it makes sense that
they'd have a different reaction to the piece of media.
I don't know about you but I love examples, so here's one. We (my family
and I) have Dish Network and a DVR system. As a result, we record a lot of
(truth be told we record most of) the shows that we watch. Now my parents
record the shows they watch, my brothers record the shows they watch, and I
record the shows that I watch. Now my mom would often go through shows that my
brothers and I record, usually when she's bored, and check out what we watch.
Often times she enjoys shows that I watch and would watch them herself. My
parents are multilingual and speak many languages including English. However,
English isn't their primary language, it's isn't their second or third language
either. As a result they often have to focus and think about what they're
hearing and lets be honest, if you have to translate your favorite soap
(opera), it probably won't be your favorite for long. So most of the shows they
watch are Bengali or Indian shows.
My parents were born and raised in Bangladesh unlike my brothers I. My
baby brother (7) was born here but my other brother (15) and I (18) we not born
in America but we grew up here. As a result, my brothers and I have views on
things that go against what my parents think and believe. Bangladesh is
predominantly Muslim, and my parents were raised in strict Islamic households.
My brothers and I? Not so much. We grew up in a 'liberal' Islamic household
that put more emphasis on the lessons that one is expected to take from Islam
than the actual teachings themselves.
So back to the television shows. So my mom would often watch shows that
I watch (she has a somewhat better grasp at the English language, I mean after
being here for about 17 years she's picked up on a few things). Now during one
of the shows, there was a commercial that was directed at people who know a gay
person. The commercial talked about how it's okay to be gay, some of the
generic 'symptoms' were, and that you should be supportive of that person. Just
like how many people grew up during the movement for women's rights, I'd argue
that we're growing up in the movement for gay equality. Compared to earlier
generations, my generation seems to be more at ease with homosexuality. Often
times we'll talk about how it's unfair for homosexuals to be unable to do the
same things as heterosexuals. That they're shunned. That they're ostracized.
For what? Because the (gay) guys like dick and the (lesbians) girls like pussy?
So? If it's not something we're interested in or doing why do we care? Take
prayers from various religions as an example. If I stopped somewhere (on the
streets, in a class, etc) to pray people would talk but no one would really say
anything to me about it? Why because what I’m doing isn't bothering them. What
I'm doing is my belief. No one will try to keep me from pray. So why do we try
to stop homosexuals from being homosexual? Why do we try to oppose their
beliefs?
When my mom saw the commercial she was shocked, for many reasons. First
of all, she wasn't used to seeing commercials, seeing ads like that. In
Bangladesh, homosexuality is taboo. I'd argue that it's (shunned) even more so
there than here (in America). Here we will talk about it and take actions
either for or against it but in Bangladesh and other Islamic influenced
countries homosexuality is something that for the most part isn't even hinted
at. But when it is, it's opposed. Islamic countries I would say are suppressed
more so than other countries because there is no clear division of religion and
state. Homosexuality is considered a disease, a wrongness, and as a result it's
considered to be a vile, shameful thing.
My
brother (15) and my cousin (16) were born 2 months apart from each other.
Initially, when my cousin moved to Buffalo, he didn't know anyone here and
seeing as how he lives like 5 blocks away, he'd always be over at my house. He
and my brother would be just about everything together (my cousin moved here
when he was like 13). They'd go to the movies, play games, eat, listen to
music, etc. Thing is they were just best friends. They are not attracted to
each other, and neither of them are gay. However, after seeing that commercial,
my mom put 2 and 2 together and came to the conclusion (well it's more of an
assumption) that my brother and cousin were gay. I came home one day from
school and heard her lecturing my brother and cousin (who were both sitting on
opposite side of the room on different couches). Suffice to say that was one of
the most awkward talks/situation I've been in. My mom's all about openly
talking about matters once they get bad enough (usually she decides when that
is) so that they don't get any worse. During the lecture/rant she told them
that if they were gay they can go be gay elsewhere, that she told my cousin's
mom and she doesn't want a gay in her house either. That both my mom and aunt
would kick them out of the house, and disown them if they were. Pretty extreme
things for a 13/14 year old to hear. Scratch that, that's pretty extreme for
anyone. My mom was breaking down. I felt the need to butt in and did so. I
explained to her (with the help of my brother and cousin) that weren't gay
although it took a while. For a while after the conversation, she kept checking
up on my brother and cousin until she came to the conclusion that she came to
the wrong conclusion that day.
The catalyst for all that was the commercial that she saw. Now I didn't
realize what had sparked all that pent up frustration from her until later that
day when I was watching my shows. When I saw the commercial, I was like, I'm
glad there's an ad telling friends and family of homosexuals that it's okay for
people to be gay and they aren't any different from the person they were. Then
I had a little epiphany and asked my mom if it was that commercial that sparked
her outburst. She replied that it was, and we talked about it. Thing is,
(according to my mom) homosexuality is something that is considered only taboo
but also something to be feared and ashamed of. I told her that although it's
something that considered taboo in many (most) places in the world (including
America and Bangladesh) it really isn't that big of a deal. I don't think it's
something to be feared or ashamed of. If someone's gay who are we to tell that
person that they're wrong? What if they told us that we're wrong? I mean if you
think about it homosexuality would not exist without heterosexuality. Normal
would not exist without abnormal. It's like yin-yang; one cannot exist without
the other. (Needless to say, at that point my mom thought I was gay for a
little while).
From her outburst I was able to realize that homosexuality is something
that's taboo (like) in most places in the world. That the lack of homosexuality
in the media is something that is (partially) responsible for the opinions of
people in relationship to homosexuals. If there were more gay related media in
the world then maybe, just maybe homosexuality would not be met with the
animosity it is met with now. We fear the unknown and we don't know much about
homosexuality. The lack of homosexual-related items in the media is a
representative of the extent to which homosexuality is understood and accepted.
There isn't much in the media about it and so it is not something that's
acknowledged or accepted. It's human nature to fear what we don't know or
understand. If we don't acknowledge homosexuality, we'll never learn or
understand it. The first step to conquering a fear is to acknowledge it and
then make an effort to understand it. Our refusal, our hesitance to act will do
nothing but hurt us in the end.
The
media has varying affects on its audience. Different people have different
perspectives, just like how my mom and I took the pro gay commercial different
ways. I saw the commercial in a positive manner. My mom said that she felt as
thought the commercial sounded condescending and that it was making a jab at
people who knew a gay (a potential) gay person. Which if you think about it is
weird because the ad seems to be contradicting itself. Capitalism allows ads to
contradict itself. That not only confuses people but also makes it difficult
for members of the audience to be critical viewers of the media. Ads in
relationship to homosexuality are met with varying degrees of responses (some
positive others not so much), and the things that we experienced growing up
influence our responses. It's important to note that we're constantly growing
(older if nothing else) and as a result we are constantly being influenced (by
the media, by society, etc).
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