Blog #3

Personally, after reading and analyzing the quote from George Gerbner, I truly believe that George Gerbner is accurate with his argument and backs his opinion up with valid points. It is a given that when almost anyone sees any "brutality" or "cruelty" on TV, one is going to feel depressed and vulnerable to the dangers of society, establishing numerous fears and doubts. The media constantly displays these dangers repeatedly, thus people will become more paranoid and will feel that anywhere they go is dangerous. This also leads to more and more people buying weapons and other tools for protection as all of this is stated by Gerbner. The media constantly brainwashes their viewers with repetitive segments of violence and danger, thus it is bound to impact people's happiness and our criminal justice department, and legislation make decisions. If society is constantly exposed to these dangers that are made much bigger than they actually are, then people will become less tolerant of mistakes, our legal system will eventually become much more strict, and it will affect the point of view that everybody has of certain situations of crime. Gordimer's "Once Upon a Time" clearly relates to the words of George Gerbner. Americans are over informed with news that is distinctly blown up which makes society want to make sure that they are safe and well-protected from the "dangers of reality". Eventually however, society will become too caught up in trying to protect themselves from this "danger" and will become less secure. This is exactly like Gordimer's short story because the family becomes so caught up in securing themselves from the "others" that they become less secure and the little boy in the family ends up being killed by the barbed wire "protecting" the house. Overall, fear haunts over the whole realm of society and we believe that by blocking out the evil realities, we will be safe nd protected, however it is exactly the opposite.