Category: Media

The image and portrayal of Muslims through the media and the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, has dramatically affected the Muslim community. Subsequent to the terrorist attack of September 11th, the Muslim community became victimized by the media and portrayed as terrorists. As a result, Muslims are victims of bullying in schools, hate crimes, and prejudice in the everyday world. The negative image that the media paints of Muslims have led to a dramatic increase in the fear and stereotypes of Muslims, also known as Islamophobia.

On September 11, 2001, a horrific terrorist attack that left the entire country of the United States in complete despair occurred. People needed a way to make sense of the tragedy they had just bore witness to. The media immediately started reporting that the attack was performed by Muslim terrorists. Due to the way the terrorists appeared many concluded that all people with a similar appearance must also be terrorists. This appearance described most of the Muslim community: which included their black hair, beards, brown skin, and the similar clothing that Muslims choose to wear. The quick connection that people made between those men who committed the attack of terrorism and the entire Muslim community was rash and unjust. However, many are unaware that the term Muslim refers to anyone who practices the religion of Islam. Meanwhile, the term Arab refers to the people who speak Arabic and ironically there are even Christian Arabs. The fact of the matter is not every Arab is Muslim, and not every Muslim is Arab. An Arab or Muslim doesn’t even have to be from the Middle East! Muslims can be anywhere and look like anything because it’s only the religion that defines them. People with the prejudiced mindset see Arabs and Muslims as being the same. They also used the term “Arab” as a reference to anyone who looks like a “terrorist”. This view on Muslims is a threat to society and leads to acts of hate and a life full of violence.

Muslims are suffering while living in turmoil. According to Benjamin Shearer, “between 2001 and 2002 there were 525 backlash incidents involving Muslims. The previous year there were 366 incidents, a forty-three percent increase in just a year.” (Shearer) Muslims have not been safe in the workforce either. Shearer states that “the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported 706 discrimination cases in the workplace between September 11, 2001 and September 10, 2002.” (Shearer) That was more than double the previous year in which there were only 323 reported. These acts of discrimination range from being wrongfully discharged to being denied work because of religion or customs. While also including harassment in the workplace. Some are denied prayer breaks, called racial slurs, victims of physical abuse, or in some severe cases having meat or blood thrown at them. Even though the EEOC set a law that you cannot deny someone a job because of religious customs, such as wearing a hijab, it still gets violated. Although even if this law is followed, they can still be harassed by coworkers causing violence in the workplace that can lead to the person leaving the job willingly.

Not only is the Muslim community facing prejudice in the workforce, but kids are also facing harassment in school and college. Schools everywhere are making it harder for Muslim kids to follow their religion in a safe space. For Example according to Laura Finley, “some schools in the United Kingdom have forced kids to pray outside rather than allowing them to meet and pray in peace in the confiding of a private room, despite schools having an obligation to allow students to observe all religious practices, they choose to ignore it.” (Finley) In recent history France has passed a law banning Muslim students to wear a hijab in public schools. Not only does this bullying come from peers in the classroom, but from their own teachers. (Finley) Since the tragedy of September 11th, more anti-Muslim speeches are being given on college campuses and an increase in harassment of Muslim students have taken place. “ In 2003, a hate crime against Muslims was committed at the UCLA medical center, prayer rugs at the chapel were soaked in pork blood.”(Finley) Bullying and harassment are prominent in schools and colleges around the world, caused by kids and adults just the same.

Donald Trump running for election and ultimately becoming the President of the United States was another event that negatively affected the Muslim community. Prejudice attacks against Muslims skyrocketed and reached an all-time high since 2001. At some points throughout the presidential election, Trump seemed to be competing against Muslims rather than the Democratic party. Trump stated during his campaign that if he became president he would seriously consider shutting down mosques throughout the country. He also had an idea to register all Muslims in a nationwide database. The attacks only continued to rise once Trump was elected President of the United States. Each year more and more hate crimes against Muslims are carried out. In 2016 CAIR stated that “Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose by more than 40% when being compared to 2015.” (Al Jazeera America) As the leader of the United States Trump passed a travel ban that included five countries in which the population is mostly Muslim. Trump’s travel ban has been criticized and thought to be unconstitutional because it discriminates against Muslims. Many consider the travel ban to actually be a “Muslim ban”.

The religion of Islam and its followers are severely scrutinized, unlike any other religion. There are many acts of terrorism that claim to be acting in accordance with their religion. One example is Robert Dear, the one who carried out a Planned Parenthood shooting was Christian and was characterized as a Christian terrorist. Robert Dear entered the site with an automatic rifle and killed three people and injured another nine. The Ku Klux Klan is another example of terrorist that had strong ties to Christianity. The burning of the cross was meant to symbolize the light of Christ, the white robes to symbolize purity, and Bible scriptures were picked out to preach white supremacy. In fact, many members of the Ku Klux Klan were preachers and churchgoers. Many Protestant churches in the South supported white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan. Some propaganda that was used to help spread the Klan’s message and grow in popularity included an image of a Klan member in uniform standing in a church. The teachings of Christianity were never questioned and Christians have not been harassed or labeled as terrorists or white supremacist. Why are Muslims getting all of the blame for being terrorists when in reality a terrorist could be anybody coming from any background.

The Muslim community since September 11th has struggled with its portrayal that the media has continuously painted them with. Muslims are wrongfully treated and viewed by many as a terrorist because of the actions of a few extremists. The religion of Islam and its followers are criticized unlike any other. Donald Trump has publically displayed prejudice toward Muslims during his presidential campaign and as current President. Since Trump became president hate crimes have drastically increased. People with the prejudiced mindset now feel more empowered to act knowing that the President shares similar views. Are all Muslims radical extremist? No. There are extremists in every branch of religion yet Muslims are the only ones who get stereotyped and judged to the point where the entire religion is in question.

The ‘cinematic experience’ is so much more than just watching a film. It is a wonderful opportunity to detach yourself from the constant concerns in the world today. It is your chance to become fully immersed in a world where the only barrier is the screen. Where you get to experience emotions of wonder, suspense, drama, or love; escaping from the repetitive cycle of day-to-day life and connecting with those you care about. People all across the world used to crave this remarkable cinematic experience. How would you feel if you never had another opportunity to experience something like this? Now, as we approach the light at the end of the dark pandemic tunnel, an old-fashioned cinema service for films can no longer be designed to serve a modern digital audience. Or so we are told.

Cinemas are barely surviving the pandemic. It has been more than two years since thousands of cinemas were forced to close, with no plans to reopen anytime soon. Tyneside Cinema, for instance, managed to raise £73,000 to prevent them from closing down permanently during the pandemic. At a time when jobs were being culled and a steady income was most desired, fundraising became a grueling task. It was impossible to convince people to invest in something they couldn’t access. People are now waking up from the pandemic’s slumber only to see the devastation caused by streaming services. Haven’t cinemas suffered enough? Releasing films to streaming platforms such as Netflix or Disney after only a few months in cinemas has led to a dramatic decrease in the profits made at the box office. The Financial Times published an article showing that “In their second week, box office revenues for simultaneous release films fell by a median of 57 percent”. Essentially, the profits gained from films released simultaneously in cinemas and streaming were 57% lower than the profits made from films that stayed devoted exclusively to a cinema release. This will have drastic repercussions on the cast and crew behind those films, especially on the jobs of those working in the cinemas. Our lives would not be the same without movies, and those who produce them have a duty and responsibility to provide us with them. Surely, we owe them the right to a secure, well-paid job, that won’t be affected by the ever-expanding streaming services.

These days, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between films produced straight to streaming services and films headed to the cinema. It’s as if the cinematic experience has finally grown up and left home. The cinemas, where films grew up, are left empty. Naturally, you might believe that streaming services are an ideal replacement for cinemas. They have absolutely no drawbacks. The comfort of your own home and the swift access all provide a great experience. Right? If you believe this, then I am sorry to inform you that you are one of many who have fallen victim to the grand illusion of the streaming empire. The Guardian reported last year that 60% of households had access to a streaming service during the first lockdown, up from 49% the year before. On average, the public watched video content for five hours and forty minutes a day, an increase of almost an hour compared to pre-pandemic levels. From this, Brits spent three-quarters of their waking hours watching TV or online videos in 2020. Needless to say, these statistics show that streaming services have entrapped you and everyone you know into a zombified form of entertainment. In an age of streaming, it is easy to buy into the facade of a magical wonderland plugged into your television, luring you to fall prey to its charm. However, pulling back the curtain reveals that it is merely a marketing ploy to withdraw money from your bank account and place it in the hands of these voracious corporations. Streaming services have deceived you into an unhealthy binge-watching addiction only to profit from their global money-making scheme, which has tragically caused the cinema industry to collapse.

Streaming services like Disney and Netflix are taking over, but they cannot match the incredibly beautiful, elaborate, and immersive experience offered by cinemas. After you step into the world of cinema, no matter who you are or where you’re from, everything you’ve ever known gets left at the door. This is where the popularity of cinemas grew and a yearning for freedom and escapism was created. Video games provide a similar experience – stepping into a world that isn’t your own and becoming someone who doesn’t share the negative weights that burden you. Many parents expressed concern when video games first began to rise about the danger they can cause to children who are constantly exposed to violence and gore. Despite the danger of video games, parents overlook the violence and extensive screen time of streaming services that children can access. A recent Metro article shares that according to the new study, only a quarter of children under two, and one in three aged two to five, are meeting international recommendations for screen time. With cinemas, on the other hand, appropriate films can be shown and screen times can be maintained. There is no doubt that most people would prefer – if given the choice – to be someone else and forget all their problems, and today, the movie theatre provides the easiest way to do this. As powerful as the films they show themselves are, the true spectacle of cinema resides in the relationship between the viewer and the motion picture. It can clearly be shown that when you’re at home, sitting on your sofa watching TV, you’re in and out of limboland, getting dragged back and forth through this apparent ‘immersive’ experience countless times as you answer the door, make dinner, or leave the room. In this sense, these self-indulgent corporations will never be able to rival a theatrical release. Cinemas offer a greater experience than streaming services are destroying.

Despite the abundance of entertainment options available to us today, cinemas are undoubtedly one of the most superior ways to free yourself from fears, worries, and insecurities. It has been scientifically proven that when people visit the cinema, they lose the pressure that intensive social interactions bring. Cinemas provide a way to engage in social interactions while focusing on something other than the actual interaction itself – focusing on the film. This effect the cinema bestows upon us allows people to live healthier lives. According to a report by the Journal of Psychiatry in late 2018, regular trips to cultural attractions, such as the cinema, can help lower the risk of developing depression by up to 48%. How is it possible a form of entertainment that has the potential to provide support and even save lives goes concealed from the general public? Anyone smart enough to take advantage of this healthier lifestyle opportunity would gladly pay the small fee. As a result of ignoring this great place of freedom and comfort that cinemas have created, we have invited the leviathan of streaming services to begin their demolition process. In addition to squeezing the life out of the film industry, their actions have destroyed the novelty of cinemas through the conjuring of their own desert of loneliness and suffering that, frankly, won’t benefit anyone. There’s no doubt that during the pandemic everybody’s mental health suffered significantly and without such remarkable experiences as the cinema, people are left to suffer from a lonely streaming subscription service collapse into. Essentially, rather than wasting hours watching TV, you could spend it exercising, reading, and interacting with friends and family; all of which are important for an active, healthy lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with having fun, but spending a couple of hours at the cinema every once in a while is far better for your health than being glued to the television for hours on end.

Ultimately, it is evident that streaming services have been thrown into the spotlight, while the cinematic experience has been discarded into darkness. A once wondrous opportunity to free the mind from the ever-pressing concerns in the world today had been closed as people futilely searched for an alternative. Will we triumph and restore cinemas to their once-renounced glory? Or will we all inevitably fall victim to this inhumane obsession of relentless binge-watching sourced from the streaming empire?

The filming industry is one of the major media and entertainment platforms with a greater influence on the culture and organization of every society. Diawara (1988) points out that Hollywood, being one of the major centers of excellence in the production of breathtaking movies and series, plays a vital role in shaping perceptions, thinking patterns, and ideologies among Africans. It has become one of the biggest perpetrators of Westernized influence, which originally is unwelcome in African society. African communities, whether located geographically in Africa, the United States of America, or Europe, have had a rigid cultural paradigm that cannot easily be broken, no matter the influence. Most interestingly, with the new age of computers, the filming industry has pierced into the core of the African community, dissecting rigid traditional micro-facets, be it social, spiritual economic, political, or environmental. Therefore, this paper explains how the filming industry has negatively impacted the African community, eroding every cultural structure that is esteemed before.

Effects on African Social Life

African communities establish solid social standards which really protect relationships across the strata of society. For example, young people have been taught since age 4 how to handle an elder with honor and respect, even when they are wrong. Such a child grows up knowing that elders are to be handled with a lot of wisdom and fear. Some films have been produced where children are answering back the elders or throwing tantrums anyhow. Such films are influencing how kids relate to parents slowly by slowly and before long the African community is in chaos. Secondly, there are other customs where a man moves out to stay far from his parents’ house when he gets married. This custom helps a lot with how the mother-in-law relates with the newly married bride in the family. The filming industry has broadcasted a family set-up where the man marries and continues staying at his mother’s house. Such a culture is destroying relationships and, furthermore, breaking marriages, because it is sensible for a man to find his own domain where he should discharge his duties as a husband and a father independent of his biological family. Thirdly, the rise of homosexuality has really affected African society. From an ancient age, African communities esteem their moral values, especially handling their sexuality with a lot of honor. Young men and women keep their chastity in check until they reach their late adolescence when they undergo circumcision as a sign of purification and then get married under the council of the elders. The issue of homosexuality is something that cannot be accommodated in African communities at all. On the flip side, the persons engaging in massive sexual perversion are Africans. Mabelle (2016) points out that movies on homosexuality are brought on board in the 90s when it almost looks like it is virtuous to be a homosexual. Lastly, the filming industry has projected an African man as a lesser human being, and in so doing it has affected how they perceive themselves. There are many stories, poems, and literary works which are done in the 20th century about how African communities have struggled to feel accepted and regarded as a people by the white community. A poem such as ‘If We Must Die’ by Claude McKay shows the struggle and pursuit for self-concept, self-identity, and self-image by Africans. As much as movies such as ‘12 Years a Slave’ serves to keep historical facts for generations to come, it has an element of downgrading an African man. Scenes full of massive killings, beatings, and rape of women slaves do not augur well for the African community. In fact, the majority of black women living in the United States cannot watch such scenes because they are heavy and devastating. Lord McAulay, addressing the British Parliament on February 2nd, 1835, said that after traveling and exploring African culture, he found that it is a community rich in good laws, which the only way to destroy was to make Western culture appear better than their own.

Effects on African Spiritual Life

The filming industry is highly responsible for the drift in the spiritual life of African society. In the ancient age, African society, though in ignorance, worships sincerely and performed several liturgical practices which to them form the very essence of who they are before God. There are communities that have extraordinary encounters that assure them that God is with them. Some communities have seers and ancient oracles which gave them the direction of life or how to approach enemies while in battle. Onyenankenya and Osunkunle (2017) point out that the films bring the Western culture with secularism and liberalism where opinions of man are valued, and thus, it destroys the spiritual identity of African society. Secondly, the African community in the past has ways they show compassion, helping the poor, and treating strangers with utmost dignity. The filming industry brings a culture where the spiritual framework is dysfunctional. Such a society does not appear spiritual nor is it social. Therefore, with time, the spiritual life of the African community is eroded, and in the current age, there is a lot of bankruptcy. Lastly, there is a religion that is purely centered on business, emerging in America in the 20th century. Films shape people’s perceptions of how ministry is supposed to be conducted. African communities, especially in Southern America and in Africa, are coming up with a religion that is centered on money. Pastors are taking advantage of the poor and also sleeping with people’s wives. A movie such as ‘Keeping the Faith’ is a good example where men who should have been a model of perfection are compromising the statutes of religion.

Effects on African Political Life

The filming industry is depositing corrupted seeds into the leadership domain of the African community. In the past, African society is established with administrative and governing councils that esteemed God and humanity. In fact, political leaders were chosen from spiritual leaders. There are some who were medicine men and others who were prophets, with reputable character and vitreous that cannot be disputed. Such persons are chosen to lead because they have been tested and proven. A series such as ‘24’ brings on board a scandalous system of governance where leaders are hungry for power to the extent of terminating anyone who stands in the way. President David Palmer in ‘24’ tries to stick to principle, but he compromises when his son is charged with murder by miss Maurine Kinsley. This is exactly opposite to how ancient African society is led and governed. Secondly, the filming industry is projecting the major conspirators against humanity and ethical standards to be high-ranking officers in the government. It becomes difficult for African communities to raise a generation of leaders who a pure and without blemish, those who can handle power and money and still respect others. Furthermore, in the movie ‘Angel Has Fallen’, the conspiracy to bring down President Trumbull is organized right from the second in command. The conspiracy ends in framing agent Mike as the alleged killer of the whole security detail of the president. In African communities, the higher offices in the current age have such villains. In fact, Atlanta records high levels of crime rates being the base of the African communities, and tracking back, it has everything to do with the attitude that blacks develop as they watch films.

Effects on African Economic Structures

The filming industry as a media platform is greatly informing how African communities perceive work. Raising children with programs on television and films which are perpetually produced every season can be very difficult. For example, a movie such as ‘Blue Streak’ is one of the comedies of the 21st century, where Martin Laurence plays the role of a smart guy. On the other hand, the movie demonstrates that you must be dirty to gain. African culture projects clean dealings in gaining any financial resource. Ebert (1999) says that Martin Laurence is a thief and continues being a thief until the whole host of police leaves him at the border to Mexico where they have no jurisdictions to arrest him. Though the United States of America has a good work culture, Hollywood is feeding societies with other erroneous elements of entering financial freedom.

Effects on African Environmental Structures

The films produced in the 21st century influence African culture in terms of the environments they have created. For example, there are tough environments that harden children while they are still young. Severe environments impart the capacity for them to handle difficult assignments in the future. The filming industry has endeavored in artificial intelligence where everything that a person needs is integrated within their reach. The games played in the African tradition are physically challenging, they help in developing motor skills and generally improving a person’s physical structure. On the other hand, films have shown computer games that do not per se improve children’s lives. Such an environment can promote obesity because the players are just seated playing football in their minds. Another danger is that the environment can easily create addictions, such as laziness.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the filming industry has had negative ramifications on the culture of the African community. First, the industry is purporting a social lifestyle without boundaries or honor to elders. Politically, the filming industry creates characters with unscrupulous dealings of either amassing wealth or misusing power. The spiritual life is becoming secularized and liberalized through movies. Methods of accumulating wealth are very skeptical and unclean. Therefore, it is true that the filming industry, as much as it has developed an entertainment platform, is destroying cultural values that for a long time are keeping the African community morally straight.

References

1. Diawara M. (1988). Popular Culture and Oral Traditions in African Films. (3) 41:6-14.
2. Ebert R. (1999). Blue Streak Movie. (7) 3:1-2
3. Mabelle F. (2016). Impact Assessment of Western Films on Teenagers and the Question of Cultural Promotion in an African Society. (3) 2:21-33.
4. Onyenankenya, M.O. and Osunkunle O. (2017). Persuasive Influence of Hollywood Film in Cultural Transmission: Negotiating Nigerian and Culture in a South African Environment. (4) 46:2-34.

Maersk line is a part of the Maersk Group which is a collection of shipping and energy containers. Maersk Line is considered one of the world’s largest shipping container companies. According to their website, “As a group, our business success is built on a number of strengths: our size and global research, our financial strength, our talented employees, our time-honored values, our approach to sustainability, and our drive to innovate. Combined, these strengths form a unique platform for our continued success and future growth.” This motto shows they are willing to continue their success and grow with the times to stay successful in the future.

With social media playing a major role in society, it’s different than the traditional way of advertising. A few ways in which it is immediacy, permanence, cost, quality, frequency, and reach. There is a ton of well-known social media platforms and for a long time, they were used for B2C (Business-to-Consumer) interactions. As social media has become prominent in society, B2B (Business-to-Business) interactions have grown as well. Since social media is still relatively new, B2B companies see challenges. “The biggest challenge is that many companies see social media as a cute promotional activity when it can be a strategic marketing activity,” Says Christine Moorman.

B2B however can also have positive impacts. Brand awareness, connecting with customers and prospects, establishing companies as thought leaders, and at times even increasing sales. Wichmann from Maersk line before taking off on his social media adventure for Maersk wanted to look more into all this information. Wichmann decided to look into two successful companies that have exceeded the social media world, Dell and General Electric. Both companies have been extremely successful in their social media efforts. Dell has a success rate of 98% and dissatisfied customers went from being demoters to promoters while General Electric put a face to the company with Megan Parker.

Wichmann later became a one-man team when trying to promote his Maersk Line social media journey. He started in late 2011 but it wasn’t until 2013 in which he began having some more people on board. At first, Wichmann began by only devoting 50% of his time to working on social media but in 2012 he made the full-time switch. Skepticism internally as well as externally flew over Wichmann’s head but he continued to push. When developing the social media line for Maersk, the four areas which were being targeted were communications, customer service, sales, and internal usage. The overall goal of this whole journey was to get closer to Maersk’s customers. Wichmann wanted social media to be about communicating with customers not marketing and engaging not pushing. When beginning Wichmann focused on the key communication and building aspects of Maersk’s presence and then turned to all four areas.

The strategies that Wichmann used were like no other and very different. He decided to start with Facebook which was typically not the first move for B2B companies. He started with boring posts but later found pictures and stories unique to the Maersk line. Posting these pictures instantly attracted people with them liking and commenting on pictures. Wichmann decided to now add the involvement of people and encouraged them to take pictures of Maersk ships around the world adding comments of the person who took them. A poll was taken to find out who these people liked the pictures and comments. Many were employees but this was a part of Wichmann’s plan in engaging employees to be a part of something bigger.

Within 11 months 400,000 people were attracted to their Facebook page and this only continued to grow. Followers included NGOs, employees, potential employees, competition, suppliers, regular bodies, and shipping enthusiasts and fans. Wichmann’s lesson that he stands by from learning was telling stories of who you are rather than manufacturing stories from the inside. Regardless of the stories, all were told even the negative ones and this was important to all followers.

Facebook began the social media platform of Maersk Line but by the fall of 2013, Maersk Line was existent on 10 different social media platforms and each platform had its own agenda. Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram/Flickr, Google+, Vimeo/YouTube, Pinterest, and Tumblr are the 10 platforms involved. Facebook was used to engage in visual and controversial ways, LinkedIn was to reach customers and Twitter was initially used as a news outlet. Wichmann also created Maersk Line Social, this was a place in which posts were more in-depth and personal and it was a site Maersk Line called their own

Looking back at Twitter it began as a news line but after adding other platforms and seeing who the followers were, Twitter became a place where a variety of content was shared from shipping news to photos of animals on top of containers and boats. LinkedIn became a site to target customers and a way to tie the customers closer to Maersk Line as a company. Instagram was used as a “fun app” for Wichmann and it consisted of photos with the #Maersk. All kinds of pictures were posted and tagged worldwide.

Flickr was used for a more functional purpose of grouping high-resolution photos and distributing them to whoever needed them. A link was given directly to the page. Google+ was used to connect openly and directly with customers, shipping professionals, and experts. Vimeo was Maersk Line’s primary video channel where all videos were uploaded for all viewings and YouTube was used for more business purposes internally. Pinterest and Tumblr are the last of the 10. Pinterest was used by pinning pictures on boards and this translated through different parts of the world. Tumblr is the last of the 10 and was initially a blog to promote and display Instagram photos but it shifted this and shared Maersk Line stories instead.

All social media platforms were a part of the engagement for the Maersk line. The social media adventure that Wichmann started out on Bean by attracting attention and storytelling, and the fact on Wichmann was one of the first to hit social media platforms was also a plus. Money wasn’t an issue for Wichmann and he and his team barely spent any. Maersk engagement was 4x higher than the average B2B brand that number may even be higher according to Wichmann.

He also believed that followers and fans shouldn’t be the main focus but instead keeping it real and creating bottom value was the ultimate goal. As for overall engagement, all the social media platforms held customer service out the most. Before customer service could answer a question on social media, customers and fans jumped in to solve the problem or give an answer. Social media and its engagement helped Maersk Line move from a culture of protecting knowledge to one of sharing. The engagement of Wichmann and all the fans and customers really helped Maersk Line take off in the social media world. Wichmann didn’t give up and was positive this would help take the company to the next level and with the help of everyone around the world between posting, liking, commenting, or retweeting it has exploded.

Skyum-Nelson is looking forward to the Maersk Line and she wonders what can be done to continue this trend. What more can be done to unleash the ultimate power of social media in the Maersk Line company? She has major shoes to fill but Wichmann set her up to success in many ways.

Introduction:

In this essay I will explore a variety of topics relating to the concept of mediatisation and mediated communication. I will critically discuss the concept of mediatisation, it’s impact on society with it being no longer conceived as being separate from cultural and other institutions as well as describing the mediatisation of religion throughout this essay. I will also be dwelling on scholars such as Hjarvard and many other relevant authors and theorists as well as discussing how the media affects us personally and how it can shape our minds into viewing a mediatized world. Towards the end of this essay you should fully understand the concept of mediatisation and I will also conclude how mediatisation has led to religion becoming mediated.

What is Mediatization:

In order to fully comprehend this essay it’s important that we take a first look at understanding the concept of mediatisation as this will be our main theoretical framework . Mediatisation is considered as one way of theoretical framework in which we can view the relationship between the media and society. There has yet to be a wider definition accepted of the term, however according to the famous scholar Hjarvard (2008) “Mediatization is to be considered a double – sided process of high modernity in which the media on the one hand emerge as an independent institution with a logic of its own that other social media institutions have to accommodate to. On the other hand, media simultaneously become an integrated part of other institutions like politics, religion, work and family as more and more of these institutional activities are performed through both interactive and mass media.” The media is increasingly shaping our views on culture and is becoming increasingly important in the production and circulation of various forms of knowledge. It has now become the principal for public discussion relating to a variety of topics such as politics and many more.. Many of us share our political views and other views which aren’t political on social media sites such as Twitter. It has become quite clear that the media has now become central to “modernity’ and social change.

The Impact of Mediatization on contemporary society:

According to Hjarvard (2008) “Contemporary society is permeated by the media, to an extent that the media may no longer be conceived of as being separate from cultural and other institutions”. In order to fully comprehend this statement, we must study the ways in which the social institutions and cultural processes have changed their characteristics and their structure to the presence of the media. This altered message of how we begin to understand the media’s importance doesn’t essentially mean that ancient queries relating to aspects just like the effects of mediated messages on public opinion or the purposes to which people use the media, are no longer relevant. However, it does mean that understanding the importance of media in the modern society and culture can no longer rely on models that conceive of the media as being completely separate from the society and culture. A significant share of the influence media exert arises out of the fact that they have become an integral part of other institutions and organisations operations, while they also have achieved a degree of self-determination and authority that forces other institutions to a greater or less degree to submit to their logic. The media certainly are a part of the fabric of culture and society and an institution which is independent stands between other social and cultural institutions and coordinates their mutual interaction.

The duality of this structural relationship sets up a number of preconditions for how the media messages from given situations are used and perceived by its senders and receivers, thus affecting the relations between the public. Thereby, traditional questions about the media, it’s usage and effects need to be taken into the account of the circumstances that society and culture have become mediatized. Hjaravrd deduces that the media has become an integrated part of today’s society especially since we now have the existence of other new social media that we use in our daily lives. New social media, a set of identity-centric information and communication technologies, otherwise known as ICT’s, enables the production and sharing of digital content in a mediated social setting (Studstzman 2009) such as Facebook and Twitter. These social media sites have successfully attracted millions of users with many of them integrating these social media sites into their daily practices and transformed them from a situation of information scarcity to one of information abundance. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are some of the most visited sites on the internet with many users engaging with and sharing their opinions on various topics and issues such as cultural, political, social, religious, etc. With the current upcoming UK election, celebrities such as Dua Lipa have been taking to Instagram to post stories encouraging fans to vote Labour and not Conservative. This is a prime example of how politics becomes mediated.

Facebook and Twitter have also played an increasing role in Politics especially American with constant debates/discussions online about the behaviour of president Donald Trump and these sites have also facilitated an online community to raise funds for the Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims as well as assist innovation that plays a significant role in cultural change. The existence of interactive and collaborative features produced by these social media platforms have allowed the dimension of political, social and cultural advancement to become more prominent. However, it appears questionable to simply claim that social media alternately acts as the ground of political revolution or creates new social identity and induce cultural change (Boyd, 2011, Green 2011, Hoffman & Kornweitz 2011). A single click on a merely tweet or a Facebook group do not always make people politically activated or socially changed. Boyd (2011) emphasises that it seems to be only a “majestical lustre” that the structure of technology instantly influences people’s behaviour. Correspondingly Green (2011) also voices an interesting quandary if social media actually enhanced the democracy itself. It is reasonable since Twitter and Facebook are not a replacement for motivation that are at least required for a revolution to be taken place or a new community to be formed. Nonetheless it is likely understandable from current events that social media certainly has the power to be able to persuade and pursue as by providing platform toward social community, political revolution and cultural advancement yet bring negative and positive consequences for all three of those subjects.

The Mediatisation of religion:

Using the concept of mediatisation, we can clearly see that religion is becoming increasingly subsumed to the logic of the media, both in terms of symbolic content, institutional regulation and individual practices. The media has become a channel of communication that has become the primary source of religious ideas, practices and also a language that the media mould our minds with the concept of religious imagination in accordance with the genres of popular culture. Michael Biling’s theory of “Banal Nationalism” is very inspiring to look at. This concept/theory of “Banal religion” is developed to help us understand how the media provide a constant backdrop of religious imagination in society. If we look at the media as a cultural environment we can see that it has taken over many social functions of the institutionalised religions, providing both moral and spiritual guidance as well as a sense of community. As a consequence, in the modern western societies it has been said that institutionalised religions play a less prominent role when it comes to the communication of religious beliefs hence the idea of elements of banal religions taking to the front of the stage and causing religion to become mediatized.

With the existence of most sophisticated media technology, the supernatural and metaphysical phenomena have required an unprecedented presence in today’s modern society. Movies such as Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings, Narnia and many other blockbuster movies have unicorns, magicians, elves and monsters who seem possessed by evil and spirits working for the good. These media representations of the supernatural world have acquired a richness in detail, narrative and character which makes the supernatural world appear natural to the human eye. The idea of the supernatural world is furthermore supported by its everyday character in the media especially with the emergence of programmes such as Buffy the Vampire. The supernatural world is not only just associated with the genre of fiction, during recent years there has been factual programming on television showing an increasing interest in supernatural, paranormal and traditional religious issues. There has been many countries such as the US, UK and Denmark which have produced movies/programmes associated with ghosts, paranormal activity, exorcism and reincarnation.

However, we must note that it is not only superstition or new religion that has gained a lot of interest and a higher presence in the media. Institutionalised religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc have also achieved some great coverage across the media with the emergence of factual programs on these religions as well as journalistic coverage. A lot of religious institutions are now frequently appearing in various forms across the media such as documentaries on religious issues like Ireland and the Catholic church with their scandals, the Tuam babies and discussion programmes such as when Ireland was voting for Repeal the 8th. It has certainly become clear in recent years that the media has become a platform which has allowed and catered for the discussion of religious ideas and movements through communication on the internet. The Mediatisation of the Catholic church has been led by documentaries such as the Magdalene laundries and has been leading to the growing decline of faith in Ireland. Irish people have now become more open minded in terms of religious beliefs over the years, we no longer accept the mistreatment of LGBTQ people as we feel that is no longer accepted in modern society and have now moved on to legalise gay marriage as well as abortion.

This increased emergence of religious themes in the media may be seen to falsify the ideas, that secularization has become the hallmark of high modernity and that the media have become agents of enlightenment. According to (Demerath, 2003) we may interpret this development as an increased tendency towards a re-sacralisation of modern society in which secular tendencies are gradually being replaced or challenged by the resurgence of Christianity, Islam and other newer forms of religion. However, if we look back on a longer period of time, it is clearly visible that a prominent secularization of society is present and during this time process the media have taken over many social functions that would be carried out and performed by religious institutions. Various rituals, worship, mourning, celebration are all linked to social activities that would rely on institutionalised religion but have now been taken over and reshaped into a more or less secular activity by the media. It is much more important for us to understand how the modern media not only represents religious issues but also changes the authority and ideas of the various religious institutions and alters the way in which people communicate with each other when it comes to dealing with religious issues. It can also be said that the increased presence and availability of such forms of faith across national television have increased the legitimacy of “superstition” and has also challenged the cultural prestige of the institutionalized church. Many documentaries, films and books based off these institutionalised religions can completely reset our agenda on how we view them for example Dan Brown’s best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code. A Danish Bishop has also stated that after the screening of the TV series The Power Of The Spirits “Danish Culture will never be the same after this series.” (Lindhardt, 2004).

Banal religion: The idea of the term “Banal Religion” is a very important concept to understand when it comes to discussing the mediatisation of religion and really helps us to further understand how religion has become mediatised by the various forms of media. Michael Billig (1995) develops this concept in his book on nationalism and cultural identity. It is meant by banal religion that we have to consider that the media not only report on the established religions but they also deliver in a sense their own kind of religion through fictional formats, news formats, etc. However, this type of religion has become less coherent and less elaborate of the religions we find in institutions. The media describe a backdrop of our understanding on what religion is in a modern society but not by giving explicit, elaborate religious narratives but rather by giving fragments from both institutionalised religion, folk religion and the religion produced by the media themselves for instance those portrayed in Harry Potter movies, Lord Of The Rings, The Da Vinci Code and many more. So Banal religion is the kind of religion that in a sense is a more fundamental character, it’s about symbol, images, short narratives that may or may not be considered as religions by people who use the media.

How The Music Industry portrays religion: Another important element that shows us how the media affects religion is by looking at the music industry. Many artists are using music videos to portray religion such as Lady Gaga and her music video for her song “Judas”. In her music video she states that she is in love with Judas and people of a Catholic faith may find this offensive however the message she is trying to portray is how she is in love with a toxic person who is bad for her but she still wants them. Some fans even take to Twitter stating that Lady Gaga is their religion. Religion can also be portrayed in various song lyrics from other artists.

Another example of how the music industry portrays religion is how the celebrities themselves talk about, one really good example is Matty Healy from The 1975 who is an atheist. He recently did an interview with Ted Talks where he stated that if you’re piously religious in today’s society you should be ashamed of yourself. He also stated that he was bored of certain religions as well because certain racisms are aligned with them thinking that you can’t criticise them and you can’t criticise Islam as a set of ideas, you can’t criticise these kind of these because you’re inherently criticising people. He talks about how religious people are always allowed to be offended and doesn’t know when he is allowed to be offended as an atheist. “I have to get up every day and read something abhorrent that’s happened in the name of religion and I never get a day where I’m allowed to be offended. Where are my rights as an atheist?” he talks about how people use the internet to create this “perfect profile” of ourselves when we should be trying to connect with one another despite race/colour/sexuality as he loves people for who they are. He also briefly mentions how we all live with this phenomena that we will all live forever and never going to die. Thousands of his fans have interacted with this interview online, discussed it and supported Matty which is another example of how the media mediatises religion. His views can be sometimes controversial and the religion is also portrayed in their song “Nana” about Mattys nan who passed.

Conclusion

To conclude this essay, we can see that from performing a critical assessment on the concept of Mediatisation, we can begin to understand the meaning of it and fully comprehend its concept. By looking at how the media affects society, politics and various culture issues using the theoretical framework of mediatisation we can clearly see how it may no longer be conceived as being separate from cultural and other institutions. Also by carrying out at critical analysis of the mediatisation of religion and considering factors such as films like Harry Potter, Paranormal documentaries, religious documentaries, music videos, how celebrities talk about religion, understanding the concept of banal religion and various religious opinions/debates shared on social media we can state that religion has certainly been meditated. The concept of Mediatisation also shows us how powerful the media can be and how it can completely change religion, culture, politics and society. By using Mediatisation as a key aspect/theory in this essay we get a deeper meaning and insight into how religion becomes enchanted and how the media can act as a backdrop into producing these fantasies, banal religions and completely reshaping our view. Online debates/discussions about religious issues in Ireland has certainly proved that religion has become mediated especially with the Magdalene laundries scandal which has caused many Irish people to turn away from Catholicism. Modern society has led to the emergence of new views, religious caused by the media, thus religion has become mediated.

References

1. Billig, M. (1995) Banal Nationalism. London. SAGE.
2. Campus, D. (2019) Mediatization and Personalization of Politics In Italy and France: The Cases of Berlusconi and Sarkozy. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 15(2), pp. 219 – 235
3. Eric John Herbert, D., Greenhill, A. and Gillespie, M. (2013). Social Media and Religious change. 1st ed. Berlin, Boston: De Gruter.
4. Giorgi, A. (2019) Mediated Catholicism – Minority Voices and Religious Authority in the Digital Space. MDPI Religions Journal, 10 (8).
5. Hjarvard, S. (2008) The Mediatization of religion: A theory of the media as agents of religious change. Nordic Journal of Media Studies., 6, 9-26.
6. Hjarvard, S. (2008) The Mediatization of Society: A theory of the media as agents of Social and Cultural Change. Nordicom Review, 29 (2), pp. 105-134.
7. Mitchell, J. and Marriage, S. (2003). Mediating religion. London: T & T Clark.
8. Moberg, M. (2012) Religion in popular music or popular music as religion? A critical review of scholarly writing on the place of religion in metal music and culture. Popular Music and Society. 35 (1), pp. 113-130.
9. Rothenbuhler (1998): Ritual Communication. From Everyday Conversation to Mediated Ceremony. London: Sage.
10. Sky, J. (2006): “Harry Potter and Religious Mediatization”, in Sumiala-Seppanen, Johanna, Lundby, Knut and Salokangas, Raimo (eds): Implications of the Sacred in (Post)Modern Media, Gothenberg: Nordicom, pp. 235-254.

Does violence in the media link to violence in real life? Well, according to a study conducted by the US (United States) Secret Service and the US Department of Education, half of the perpetrators of violence in schools showed signs of interest in violence in media such as movies, video games, and books.

I will dispute that violence in mainstream media does not correspond to violence in real life due to watching a movie or reading a book that has a theme of violence will struggle to cause and inspire a crime in the real world. However, some may propose that we must censor all violent media to shield children from the horrors of violence; yet I do not believe it’s an effective method. I presume that a teaching method would be a more practical approach. Though, if we were to educate children about the circumstances that characters get into such as 456 humans playing children’s games for a generous sum of cash could lead to teenagers understanding that things like this do not happen in the real world. For example, if you ever heard an explosion behind you, why wouldn’t you turn around? Many understand right from wrong, while others who have a more discluded and closed childhood might believe that the killings and violence in these movies are ordinary things. Another point that some make in defense of not banning violent media is that it’s a positive thing to let children watch aggressive films as it allows them to be more self-sufficient as they won’t need their parents to shelter them as they grow up.

Countless researchers have insisted that video game violence is the number one cause of violence in media-related crime since it is here where the player is at liberty when making the decisions that lead to violence. However, as much as games like GTA V and Resident Evil can lead to violence, studies have shown that it is unlikely that this idea will happen, further adapting the point that violence in video games doesn’t lead to violence in real life. Furthermore, a study ran on over 21,000 gamers from across the globe states that there is no relation between gaming and violence, and in the rare case where there is, it has had a miniature effect that has no long-lasting impacts. Additionally, researchers have struggled to find anything that would affect gamers. The only evidence that researchers have produced that would lead to violence is that aggression after a gaming session could add up and might have an aggressive impact in the long term; however, it would be insignificant.

Another case some people make is that violent movies such as famous Tarantino flicks like Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained can incite adolescents into violence. Despite this, watching Silence of the Lambs will not turn all its viewers into cannibals, but it does not mean it entirely ceases to affect all its viewers. The antecedent manifests that violence in films does not have a direct relation to causing teenagers to commit acts of violence. One of the most violent movies of the 21st century, Joker, has made people wonder if the violent actions that Joaquin Phoenix’s character makes in the movie will cause young moviegoers to act in aggressive ways. The actor himself gets questioned whether or not the film would inspire ‘an unstable, self-pitying loner with a mass-shooter mindset,’ The actor responded by saying that ‘anyone can have that level of emotional disturbance, they can find fuel anywhere. I don’t think that you can function that way.’ I believe that there is the possibility that watching a violent film, such as Joker, can erupt in pent-up aggression in any person, further backing up the point of the titular actor. Phoenix’s statement also supplies insight that violence can be ‘fuelled’ from anywhere, especially in films however, I believe that this would be unlikely, and this is then further backed up by a study from Stetson University led by Professor of Psychology, Christopher Ferguson, who says that ‘It doesn’t appear that PG-13-rated movies are having any impact on viewers’.

One of the most controversial directors of modern cinema, Quentin Tarantino, stated that he believes his five-year-old son, Leo, should be allowed to watch the violent and bloody movie Kill Bill, which Tarantino directed himself. He thinks this because he wants his child to have rich cinematic knowledge, including watching violent and aggressive films. By doing this, he wants to replicate his childhood of cinema by viewing these gruesome films. I believe that children at the age of 5 should be prohibited from such gruesome scenes of violence at such a young age, no matter what cinematic benefits it may bring. However, if parents were to educate them about the unrealisticness of these ‘fantasy’ films, it would mature kids, making the experience more acceptable.

Does violence in the media link to violence in real life? In my opinion, no. If you take the quotation from Joaquin Phoenix, there is a chance that it can arise suppressed violence but, the science and figures show that there is little chance that it will release repressed emotions. However, many believe that we should censor children from violent media as a precaution. Despite this, letting children watch these violent films could educate them on the horrors of the world and help reinstate right from wrong. After reviewing all arguments and data, no matter what perspective you look at it from, there is no proper evidence that supports the view that violence in mainstream media causes violence in young people.

The Internet has changed how Canadians buy music, plan vacations, and research school projects, but it has also changed how they interact socially. People can use social media to exchange photos and videos, share news stories, write blog posts, and participate in online discussions. Individuals, businesses, organizations, governments, and legislators can also interact with large groups of people using social media. Along with the increase in online activity, there are concerns about how personal information shared by social media users may be collected and analyzed. The term ‘social media’ refers to a variety of Internet-based and mobile services that enable users to participate in online exchanges, contribute user-created content, and join online communities. The following Internet services are frequently associated with social media:

Blogs: A blog, which is short for ‘web log,’ is an online journal in which pages are typically displayed in reverse chronological order. – Websites such as WordPress, Tumblr, and Blogger offer free blog hosting.

Wikis: A wiki is defined as a collaborative website in which any participant may modify any page or create a new page using her Web browser.’ ‘ Wikipedia is a well-known example.’ a free online encyclopedia that employs Wiki technology

Bookmarking on social media: Users can use social bookmarking sites to organize and share website links. Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Digg are a few examples.

Sites for social networking: These are ‘web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections as well as those made by others within the system. Facebook and LinkedIn are two of the most popular in Canada.

Services that provide status updates: Status-update services, also known as microblogging services, allow people to share short updates about people or events, as well as view updates created by others.

As broadband Internet became more popular in the late 1990s, websites that allowed users to create and upload content began to appear. In 1997, the first social networking site (SixDegrees.com) was launched. A large number of social networking sites were launched beginning in 2002. Some, such as Friendster, experienced a brief surge in popularity before fading. Others created niche communities, such as MySpace, which catered to adolescent music fans. By the late 2000s, social media had gained widespread acceptance, with some services gaining massive user bases. For example, Facebook announced in November 2012 that it had 1 billion users worldwide, 18 million of whom were in Canada.’ Twitter had an estimated 517 million users in July 2012, with 10 million of them residing in Canada. Several factors have contributed to the rapid increase in social media participation. These include technological factors such as increased broadband availability, improved software tools, and the development of more powerful computers and mobile devices; social factors such as the rapid adoption of social media by younger age groups; and economic factors such as rising computer and software affordability and growing commercial interest in social media sites.

Until recently, Facebook dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth – but according to a new Pew Research Center survey, it is no longer the most popular online platform among youths. Today, roughly half (51 percent) of 13- to 17-year-olds in the United States say they use Facebook, which is significantly lower than the percentages who use YouTube, Instagram, or Snapchat. When it comes to which of these online platforms youths use the most, roughly one-third say Snapchat (35%) or YouTube (32%) is their favorite, while 15% say Instagram is their favorite. In comparison, 10% of youths say Facebook is their favorite online platform, and even fewer say Twitter, Reddit, or Tumblr is their favorite. Using social media poses a greater risk to youths than most youths realize. The majority of risks are classified as peer-to-peer; inappropriate content; a lack of understanding of online privacy issues; and outside influences from third-party advertising groups. Youths are discovering that they can easily and anonymously access information about their health concerns online. Excellent health resources on a variety of topics of interest to this population, such as sexually transmitted infections, stress reduction, and signs of depression, are becoming increasingly available to youth. Social media also allows to create a group of like-minded people to collaborate on projects. Students benefit significantly from social networking sites in school, primarily by connecting with one another on school assignments and collaborative group projects outside of class. By the use of social media small businesses Increased awareness and inquiries, improved customer relationships, and an increase in the number of new customers are all advantages of using websites and social media sites. Social media has greatly altered the consumer decision-making process, and over the last decade, a more sophisticated understanding of how consumers interact with brands has emerged. Although social media stimulating social movements has only recently begun to emerge. To meet this expectation, many emergency responders and organizations have already adopted the use of social media. They have begun to use social media because they believe it provides an additional tool for disseminating critical public safety information. Although social media and its associated risks have captured the attention of many authors. A very early study by Griffiths and Light (2008) focuses on the problem of media convergence, whereby a gaming website includes social media features, putting a sensitive young audience at risk of scamming. An Australian study suggests that many users are unaware of the potential risks of disclosing personal information on social media sites. Social media has many benefits, but it also has some drawbacks that have a negative impact on people. False information can lead to the failure of the education system; in an organization, the incorrect advertisement can reduce productivity; social media can abuse society by invading people’s privacy; and some useless blogs can influence youth, causing them to become violent and engage in inappropriate behavior. Social media can be beneficial, but it should be used in moderation to avoid becoming addicted.

1. Introduction

To analyze the articles, first, I read all the articles to get an overview of the topics they dealt with and the way they dealt with them. I chose set A because it dealt with an issue that directly threatens the civil liberties of Indian citizens and is seen as a threat to the secular nature of Indian discourse. Next, I read both the articles of set A in comparison to each other, trying to verify the facts and data presented in both articles. Upon doing so, I formed a conclusion which will be presented in this essay.

The articles deal with the topic of the ‘love-jihad’ laws on grounds of forced conversion to Islam using coercive methods of marriage. The articles present two contrasting views which, as per typical political discourse, we may refer to as the views of the ‘left’ and the ‘right’. The left argues that the laws are unsecular in nature and infringe upon the civil liberties afforded to us by the Constitution, whereas the right argues that the laws are a necessary measure to prevent domination of the Muslim population over the Hindu population and to protect the Hindu citizens, typically women, from being trapped in inter-religious marriages leading to forced conversions.

2. The ‘Right’: Swarajya Magazine

The article is written in the backdrop of two news articles, one about the ‘Provision of Unlawful Conversion Bill 2020’ introduced in Uttar Pradesh, the other about a judgment of Allahabad High Court affirming the rights of individuals to live with and marry a partner of their choosing, irrespective of their religion. The author expounds on the reasons attributed to conversions due to marriage being a menace and a threat to the Hindu population, detailing the five ‘asymmetries’ between Hinduism and other religions. He lists these as the Abrahamic religions being imperialist in their approach, Hindu girls not being educated to protect their religious rights within marriage, the imbalance caused due to prevalent personal laws, the closeted atmosphere that Muslim women exist in, and the law of apostasy in Islam. He employs phrases like ‘predatory, expansionist and imperialist religions’, and ‘sheer naivete’ of Hindus. He employs metaphors like ‘fighting against guns unarmed’, trying to bring changes by modifying the gun laws. He tries to justify his claim of the subjugation of women in inter-faith marriage with an example of a rape victim having to marry the perpetrator.

Clearly, the article is meant to be provocatory, instigating the reader against the Abrahamic religions, especially Islam. But the theories presented in the article are not backed by evidence, even as the author makes hypothetical statements. The author makes several purely subjective claims such as Muslim women being closeted inside their society, or Hindu women: ‘make them fall into a trap they did not see when they married someone from another religion who they liked’, which are not only unsubstantiated but also misogynistic, confining women to a religious instrument without an identity of their own.

The author, being the editor of a premiere right-wing magazine, represents and reflects the typical propaganda of the communal narrative.

3. The ‘Left’: Al Jazeera

The article is written in the context of the refusal of the Supreme Court to stay several ‘love-jihad’ cases. The author elaborates on the discriminatory nature of the ‘love-jihad’ laws enacted in several states. He exemplifies this with accounts of several instances, such as that of Raina Gupta and Mohammad Asif, Owais Ahmad, etc. He goes on to claim that the rhetoric of ‘love jihad’ is merely a conspiracy theory conjured by Hindu nationalist groups such as the BJP. He justifies this with the juxtaposition of the claims made by the BJP with the results of two inquiries conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Kerala and then, in Kanpur. He then refers to the dismissal of the case against the marriage of an inter-faith couple by the Allahabad High Court. Finally, the author concludes with some examples of other recent laws which he believes to be a part of the larger agenda of far-right nationalist parties to victimize Muslim men.

The author uses invention, stating facts and figures to back his claims, and individual incidents to justify his claims regarding the issue of ‘love-jihad’. He tries to explain the gravity of the situation and, in part, provokes the reader with the usage of words like ‘criminalizing’, ‘victimizing’, ‘harass’, etc. He tries to further his rhetoric of an anti-Muslim stance of the BJP, by mentioning the Citizenship Amendment Bill, Triple Talaq law, but does not give any proof as to the veracity of the claims.

The author is a faculty at Delhi University and has been known to oppose the government on issues such as the CAA.

References

1. Jagannath, R. ‘Love Jihad, Conversion: Five Asymmetries That Hindus Must Come To Terms With’. Swarajya. Nov 5, 2020. www.swarajyamag.compoliticslove-jihad-conversion-five-asymmetries-that-hindus-must-come-to-terms-with.
2. Apoorvanand. ‘India’s ‘love jihad’ laws: Another attempt to subjugate Muslims.’ Al Jazeera. Jan 2021. www.aljazeera.comopinions2021115indias-love-jihad-laws-another-attempt-to-subjugate-muslims.
3. Chadha, Kalyani and Prashanth Bhat. ‘The Media Are Biased: Exploring Online Right-Wing Responses to Mainstream News Media in India.’ ResearchGate. Jan 2018. www.researchgate.netpublication322277601_The_media_are_biased_Exploring_online_right_wing_responses_to_mainstream_news_media_in_India.
4. ‘Delhi Riots: Police Question DU Professor Apoorvanand, Seize Phone.’ The Wire. Aug 2020. www.thewire.inrightsdelhi-riots-police-du-professor-apoorvanand.
5. Rehman, Asad. ‘Allahabad HC says previous orders on interfaith marriages not ‘good law”. The Indian Express. Nov 25, 2020. www.indianexpress.comarticleindiaallahabad-high-court-hindu-muslim-marriage-love-jihad-up-7063742
6. Srivastava, Prashant. ‘Draft UP law on ‘love jihad’ proposes 5-yr jail, marriage annulment for ‘forced conversion”. The Print. Nov 22, 2020. www.theprint.injudiciarydraft-up-law-on-love-jihad-proposes-5-yr-jail-marriage-annulment-for-forced-conversion549637

Michael Crichton once said, “Considering that we live in an era of evolutionary everything…. it was surprising how rarely people thought in evolutionary terms. It was a human blind spot. We look at the world around us as a snapshot when it was really a movie, constantly changing.” Crichton, a famous author and film director, was a forward thinker, well ahead of his contemporaries. Despite the supposed wool over the masses’ eyes, much of the modern media can be explained by evolutionary psychology. How I Met Your Mother, an American sitcom strongly influenced by the hit show Friends and Cheers, is laden with evolutionary psychology. Characters with such contrasting and polarizing personalities and pursuits explore evolutionary concepts such as altruism, mate pursuit and behavior, rivals, game theory, and gender attraction. The characters show how psychological extremes play out in society, for better or worse, and how it impacts friendships, relationships, and each one’s place in society.

How I Met Your Mother, follows a central character named Ted Mosby, and his motley crew of friends that congregate at the same bar ad nauseam. Ted Mosby, a young aspiring architect in New York City, is a hopeless romantic in pursuit of the perfect woman. One of his best friends, Barney Stinson, is anything but romantic, and uses deceit, status, and many other ploys, to mate with as many females as possible. Marshall Eriksen is Mosby’s best friend from college, a gentle giant. His wife, and former longtime girlfriend Lily, is a firecracker with some undesirable yet redeemable character traits. Together they often judge all their friends for their lusty pursuits and moral dilemmas. Lastly, Robin Scherbatsky is an attractive on and off again love interest of Mosby and Stinson (Spada,2015). The show follows their journey into adulthood, with crises aplenty. The group often explores those conflicts, and the characters choose either the “right choice, or wrong choice”.

According to research by Science Direct, evolutionary mating strategies changing from short term to long term, can be influenced by key moments in life. A change in social status or an event such as a breakup may be a reason for this shift (Thomas,2017). Ted Mosby’s wholly encompassing focus in the show is his long-term mating strategy, and how every event in his life leads him closer to “The One”. This pickiness makes sense from an evolutionary psychology perspective, because a mate of desirable traits and higher reproductive value, would grant greater fitness to his future offspring. Beyond that, his friends often provide a barrier to suitors, as a pseudo-kin altruistic alliance in mate selection. They rationalize it so that Ted finds a mate who will fit well into their group. Contrary to these obsessions, there are times when he gives in to momentary passion. Typically, these swoons are due to job loss, where his mate value is lower. In addition, he may pursue a short-term mating strategy while serving as a wingman to his friend Barney Stinson, or when an attractive female is around, shifting his strategy to spontaneous and opportune (Thomas,2017). Despite Ted’s regret afterward, on an evolutionary level, empirical studies aggregated by the University of Texas have shown that men are open to casual sex with less emotional connection than females are. From Trivers’ parental investment theory, this makes sense as well, as the less involved parent will seek more sexual opportunities, as their resources and energy aren’t as tied up to their offspring’s fitness (Schmitt, Shackelford, & Buss, 2001)

One of the best explanations of mating behavior in evolutionary terms is shown through Barney Stinson’s transformation to his current self in Season 1 Episode 15. In the episode, he has a steady girlfriend whom he is madly in love with. They are both in subsistence jobs at a coffee shop and are both headed to the peace corps together to solve humanitarian issues. When he is about to leave, his girlfriend leaves him a dear John letter. It turns out an older man who is rich and powerful, succeeds in stealing her away. Though the situation causes him extraordinary pain, it is the epiphany that pushes Barney to become powerful and successful. As he attains it, he begins to pursue younger and more attractive women and desires to mate with as many women as possible. Caroline Uggla, an anthropology professor from the University College of London supports this stance that when “an individual with higher resource access has higher status and is more attractive to the opposite sex, he or she will have higher bargaining power on the mating market. Barney wears fancy suits and accessories and often flaunts his fancy apartment and job to women. His bargaining power is exhibited when he lists personal ads and receives many responses to them. He also acknowledges his higher mating value on the surface, by constantly stating widely accepted stringent standards of attractiveness. This typically includes youth, waist-to-hip ratio, and no previous childbearing (Uggla & Mace, 2017).

While Ted, Barney, and Marshall usually agree on attractive standards for women, Ted’s mating behavior is more reserved. His bargaining ability is impeded by his non-masculine attributes, as he calls himself “linguine”. His job instability impacts his status at times with women. At one point he even goes speed dating and is not attractive to many of the women. With his standard for the perfect woman unachievable for most of the show, Ted often settles for mates below his value as well. At one point he dates a woman much older than him, who already has kids. At that point, his career is struggling, and he subconsciously dates an older, more established female doctor named Stella. This stark contrast to Barney provides a rational explanation of how status and standards of attractiveness affect mating behavior and value.

To coax his friends into going out, Barney Stinson once said, “Settling down is for losers and kids who never go out anymore”. Throughout the show, Barney Stinson is obsessed with games aimed toward bedding women, or asserting his dominance over his friends. He even created a book of laws governing them, known as the Bro- code. While the show jokingly dates its inception back to the Declaration of Independence meetings in Philadelphia in 1776, game theory has been an integral part of evolutionary psychology. The game theory focuses on an objective that includes decisions amongst a group. Multiple participants will need to perform altruistic actions in interactive decisions, for an agreed-upon benefit or outcome (Coleman & Krockow, 2018). In the show, there are many instances where the characters have altruistic alliances against a common foe. For example, Barney Stinson is in a feud with a Business rival named Clark Butterfield, within a window view of his office. They pull harsh pranks against each other that impede their daily working life. When the pranks go too far, he draws his friend and co-worker Marshall Eriksen into the feud, and they effectively out-prank Butterfield to end the games. On a more extensive level, however; is Barney’s continual pursuit of bedding young attractive women. He often employs Mosby, and sometimes Eriksen in his elaborate schemes. A memorable episode involving this was when Barney’s efforts to hit on women were continually thwarted by an unknown woman (Britney Spears playing a desperate office secretary). Barney recruits his friends to track down the saboteur, while offering them pizza, and alcohol and promises to stop being so obnoxious. They all set up a march madness bracket with females he suspected could be the saboteur. Amidst the hilarity, all parties cooperate and benefit in this version of social game theory. In many episodes Mosby and Eriksen cooperate, until they realize that Barney lied about their benefit or payoff, and they defect. In many instances, Stinson will have to defect as well, ultimately losing out on a mating opportunity. Despite this common defection, even Marshall Eriksen, a well-experienced attorney, says that the game theory propagation “Bro-Code” is an ironclad contract. Barney’s extensive knowledge and greater knowledge of game theory manipulation, leads to him having his altruistic friends pulling more than their own weight for his interests, maximizing his return on investment.

How I Met Your Mother, peers into our evolutionary psyche, and strings it out in hilarious plots. Ted Mosby, and his friend Barney Stinson, are constantly involved in short- and long-term mating behavior. They also frequently debate the attractiveness and mate value of an individual female. The dilemmas all the characters are involved in as well go to show how game theory can often turn out when one party takes advantage of the rules or unsuspecting partners. Without a doubt, How I Met Your Mother is a modern-day subconscious reflection of how evolutionary psychology can explain characters’ psyche, relationships, and behavior in a variety of circumstances.

References

1. Schmitt, D. P., Shackelford, T. K., & Buss, D. M. (2001). Are men more ‘oriented’ toward short-term mating than women? A critical review of theory and research [Abstract]. Psychology, Evolution, and Gender, 211-239. Retrieved December 9, 2018, from https://labs.la.utexas.edu/buss/files/2015/09/are-men-oriented-toward-ST-mating-PEG-2001.pdf.
2. Spada, M. (2015, December 01). Social Psychology in the World. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://socialpsychhc.blogspot.com/2015/12/love-as-demonstrated-by-how-i-met-your.html
3. Thomas, A. G. (2017, October 20). Mating strategy flexibility in the laboratory: Preferences for long- and short-term mating change in response to evolutionarily relevant variables. Retrieved December 06, 2018, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S109051381730017X
4. Uggla, C., & Mace, R. (2017, September 19). Adult sex ratio and social status predict mating and parenting strategies in Northern Ireland. Retrieved December 9, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5540860/
5. Coleman, A. M., & Krockow, E. M. (2018, November 20). Game Theory and Psychology. Retrieved December 9, 2018, from http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199828340/obo-9780199828340-0192.xml

Since Fuji Television Network was established in 1959, the company has accumulated a substantial amount of viewers thanks to its string of hit movies and reality shows. As one of the major TV networks in Japan, Fuji TV Network has won the rating battle in Japan for six years straight, scoring an average of 13.4% share in the golden-time period from 7 pm-11 pm (Mark Schilling 2010). Their success is evident from their viewership, and partnerships with prominent streaming companies such as Netflix and Youku (Fuji Television Network 2018).

With ‘Challenge and Creation’ as their corporate mission, Fuji TV Network has continually produced shows with creative explorations of social issues (Fuji Television Network 2019). For example, Terrace House has been a hit show since 2012, where a group of six strangers — three women and three men — are provided with a house and automobiles while being observed by a panel of Japanese celebrities and comedians. Terrace House gives its audience an insight into a multifaceted view of Japanese culture while challenging social and cultural norms (Mia Nakaji Monnier 2017). Hence, Fuji TV Network’s Terrace House is the ideal platform for our proposal.

Problem issue

Low fertility and marriage rates

One of Japan’s social and economic problems has been confronting its rapidly aging and declining populations due to its decreasing birth rates. In 2017, the fertility rate of Japan hit an incredibly low figure of 1.43 children per woman, dropping 0.73 compared to 1971 (World Bank n.d.a). As observed from the graph of the World Bank (n.d.b), Japan’s birth rate per 1,000 people decreased dramatically from 1973 to 2017, dropping from 11.8 to stay at 7.6 in 2017. The declining fertility rate has led to a shrinking Japanese population but a rise in the number of older people. According to Nikkei (2018), the quantity of citizens aged 65 or over has reached a remarkable number of 35.57 million and accounting for 28.1% of Japan’s total population. Reuters (2019) reports that Japan is currently the greyest society in the world, and the percentage of Japanese citizens who are 65 or older is estimated to step over the threshold of 35 percent by 2050.

There are a number of major reasons that lead to low birth rates in Japan. The first factor is employment opportunities for Japanese males. As Tsuya (2017) has noted, in contemporary Japanese society, men’s employment rates have largely decreased, and a huge number of men are in temporary jobs. In contrast, female employment opportunities have risen dramatically, with rates reaching 72 percent in 2010 (Tsuya 2017). It is extreme difficulty currently to have regular careers in Japan, and males who cannot grasp regular positions are not regarded as potential partners for females. Moreover, according to POSSE (Semuels 2017), non-regular workers, particularly young males, earn an approximate wage of $1,800 monthly, and this is paid majorly on accommodation renting, social-security programs, and loans from college so they do not have much money left for other things. Consequently, as Japanese culture still sees men as breadwinners in families and in today’s high cost of living, incomes matter. Low salaries lead to fewer men getting married and having children, which results in even worse birth rates. Besides, it is also the unwilling attitudes of Japanese people toward marriage and children. Young adults in Japan, especially men, are disinterested in sexual relationships and say no to sex. Since young males already have their own alternative sexual practices such as 2-D lovers, dating sims, or games, they no longer enthusiastically pursue real-life romances (Ghaznavi, Sakamoto, Shibuya & Ueda 2019; Kelts 2019).

The strong growth of gender inequality in Japan has created pressure on women and reduced their desires for both marriage and children. Tsuya (2017) observes that with wives at reproductive ages, an average of 27 hours was spent weekly on household chores in 2009, whereas there were only 3 hours seen from men. In terms of parenting, Japanese females still hold primary responsibility for rearing children and ensuring they get great results in an aggressive educational environment (Tsuya 2017). Japanese females express that their spouses provide very limited assistance in these areas (Boling 2008). Although similar circumstance of women doing more than men in terms of child-rearing and household tasks is seen in other countries, Japan is much different and extreme. As compared to France, Japanese women’s involvement in housework triples that of France (Boling 2008).

Japan’s new maternity leave law has increased the participation of fathers in the family to some extent. Only 2.03% of male employees used their maternity leave rights between 2012 and 2013 (O’Brien and Wall n.d.). These new plans indicate that even if the spouse of the active employee does not work or is on vacation, they still have the right to take paternity leave. Although this data looks low, it is already four times that of 2005. The father exercised more of his paternity leave right to take care of his wife to ease the burden of his wife in childcare. According to Nakazato’s research, the article shows that all the fathers who have maternity leave have one thing in common their respect and understanding of their partners.

(Re)solving the problem issue

(Ha and Nichole)

The concept:

A new season of Terrace House called Terrace House: First Steps. We think the title lends itself to not only seeing the first steps of a child but also society’s first steps into changing attitudes in regard to parenthood. The house will have two families, one family will have a father as the primary caregiver, and the other will show a single mother supported by her parents. It will be filmed in Osaka and like the other seasons, it will feature select moments captured during the week, as well as a panel of comedians and celebrities that offer their insights and thoughts on the week’s events.

Target Audience

In this proposal, we target young Japanese citizens age 18 to 40 years old. This group is within the main period for having children; according to Yasuyo Kasai, an obstetrician at the Tokyo-based Japan Red Cross Medical Center, the higher age the women give birth the higher risks can potentially occur such as miscarriage, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, and diabetes (Otake 2010).

1. Platform: Television

‘Contemporary media’ culture in Japan is a bit different compared with other countries. People spend most of their time with social media especially TV in their daily lives, from the statistics, show that the average daily time spent using social media is 48 minutes and the average daily TV viewing time is 2 hours and 29 minutes, and 99% of Japanese families have televisions, a percentage much higher than in other countries (DataReportal 2018).

Compared with the Internet, watching TV is easier entertainment and results in a greater viewership (Kensaku 2010). TV production is a big part of media and Japanese reality shows are gaining popularity around the world, it presents a milder atmosphere instead of dramatic performances, close to people’s daily lives, and reflects issues from real life. This reality show, Terrace House, is all modern comforts and sleek cinematography, and every host has a strong personality and creates a unique dynamic for the show (Taylor 2017). The perfect medium to start the conversation of change in contemporary Japan

2. Platform: Terrace House?

The format and editing of Terrace House aim to create an ‘honest’ and ‘real’ television show. People who participate in the program communicate constantly through face-to-face communication.

Regarding skeptics of the amount of truth that will be portrayed in the show, one of the features that make the Japanese favor their reality show is because of the truthfulness, with a guarantee of the script during the show. As the style of the Japanese reality show is less about creating drama, and more about creating family or camaraderie (Monnier 2017), the show can avoid the audience’s skepticism toward solutions the characters addressed through the show.

3. State why this TV show works

The social surrogacy hypothesis is that people who suffer from social stress or anxiety can create a sense of belonging with their favorite characters in their favorite television show (Derrick, J, Gabriel, S & Hugenberg, K 2009). By being sympathetic to the situation of the characters nurturing a baby in the Terrace House, the audience’s feelings of insecurity and social pressure in becoming parents can be reduced and explored in a safe environment.

Moving further than just impact and influence, the audience can either learn from participants’ mistakes or experiences as well, so they can at the same time gain knowledge of being parents. This is using Entertainment-Educational presentation as a catalyst for behavioral change. This strategy is designed for educating while entertaining, purposely using entertainment as an approach to deliver a social issue to the audience (John Hopkins n.d.)

We believe that broadcasting the benefits of getting married to have a family with babies in Terrace House can first give the audience awareness about this kind of family structure is still exist and doing well in the city, which can trigger their concern or curious about them. And again with the entertainment-educational strategies, the audience will get influenced by what happens in the Terrace House, and as a result, their mindset and behavior adjust. One real example of this method already existed in the Terrace House episode 32, when a new participant, Shunsuke, joined the show and came out as bi-sexual and how he’s in the show to explore his sexuality. This generated positive support from fans, which eventually applauded him for his bravery in challenging Japan’s implicit ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ (Hanaway 2018). With changes in the minds of participants as well as audience members, this is the right step in changing the attitudes towards child rearing in Japan.

Significance and benefits

In the past 40 years, the Japanese government has implemented many programs with the intention of increasing the ease of new parents and those that wish to have children. Even with new strategies, it has proven largely ineffective due to previous anti-natal policies of the past and as Ishii-Kuntz (2018) further expands that without the government’s assistance, those wanting to push for more men to be active in raising children have developed the concept of Ikumen, basically ‘cool dads’. The government could get behind this for future funding, but this can’t be something led by a governing body, it needs to be a cultural phenomenon led by community views.

Terrace House already has the success of previous seasons, but as with every new show, a new concept needs to be introduced to keep content fresh. Previously, location changes and the selection of more interesting participants has kept the show fresh, but we believe that the addition of a new element, children and parenting, and showing a hidden side of modern Japanese problem will spark new interest and healthy conversation, this, in turn, can pull in a new audience with conversations that occur in the day to day of the viewership. For example, in the episode ‘Change of Vibes’ of Boys x Girls Next Door, Seina Shimabukuro — a former Terrace House member — went back to the show, which resulted in a huge fuss where fans started to speculate why she went back. This concept of introducing a new ‘old member’ spread widely among fans and contributed to a record of 8.1% in audience rating, one of the highest ones recorded in the series (Niche Domain News 2014).

Changing attitudes towards child rearing in Japan will help maintain the future generations of Japan, care for and provide for the aging population. The show will also help change the mindset of gender roles within Japanese society, current views that women should be the primary caregiver and that men are only needed for financial responsibility are stale forms that are ripe to change and free repressed elements within Japanese society. It worked out that the more frequently an individual watched a show and the more they were in it, the more probable it was that their view of social standards would change (Otto 2017).

Changing Japanese birthrates is not a problem that can be solved in a day. But Terrace House: First Steps, is the show that will spark that conversation that will leap out of the television and carry across to other forms of media, social media, and into the everyday conversations of Japanese citizens. And for Fuji Network, not just will there be another hit show, but also the chance to again impact modern Japan and increase brand identity amongst the younger generation.