Media + Audience = Distortion

In today's society, people have been influenced the media in many ways.  While the media can credited for various accomplishments, like spreading awareness for illnesses, the media also can be blamed for how people view themselves in society.

Many movies and television shows use the motto "Sex sells" to reach the audience.  These images distort the human mind making some think that they should look like the actors on-screen.  But none of what's shown is real.  Most men don't have massive biceps and most women are not tall, thin as a rail, and blonde; it creates a false image.

The same can be said for a character on a show that smokes and drinks.  While it might not be the greatest influence on a person's mind, it can make someone believe that it's a social norm (whether the person is a kid or an adult).  It's the same concept as a kid going through middle or high school.  I can't say that I haven't been influenced by the media in some way.  I'm a big guy so looking at other images of men I end up believing that I need to look something that to be at least somewhat impressive to the general public.  It may be one the reasons why I've been working out and watching my calorie intake.  I feel I would be happier if I looked like some of the guys in the media but even I realize that these portrayals aren't real.

If I had the choice to emulate what we see in the media in real life, I would reject it.  If we all looked and acted like the people we see in the media, then there wouldn't be any unique people left.  I thought about it over the weekend and really, no one is any better than anyone else.  No one is perfect so how can anything portrayed in movies, television shows, and magazines be perfect?  We're all equal in that we all have some flaws, but it's those flaws that make us who we are.  Is anything in the media real?  Of course.  Not everything is fake but as a society we need to look past what's fake and not accept it as the truth.