Desensitization Of Women In Media Essay

Medium, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is an agency or means of doing something, an instrument. Media, the plural form of medium, is the colloquial term which we are all accustomed to using. The term is plural because it is the combination of different instruments (the different types of technology) that is used to perpetuate the same homophilic values and beliefs. In our everyday conversations, we utilize these words and the technologies without ever analyzing the ideas and concepts which they stand for. The extent to which we do not analyze media leaves us vulnerable to the desensitization of the messages and ideas they perpetuate. An important piece of media which has a major influence on us and our values is film. After analyzing a very popular form of media, movies, it was evident that men dominated the film industry and women were often portrayed in very stereotypical roles. While more movies hire women …show more content…
It becomes normalized to see women playing stereotypical roles. Furthermore, when a situation is presented in a real life setting where a woman is being stereotyped or discriminated against, fewer people are willing to act and diffuse the situation or even consider it out of the norm. It is also common that when women are cast as lead characters in action movies that audiences find it offensive or unusually “modern” for women to be playing such roles. Another consequence of the negative portrayal of women in movies is how younger audiences interpret the messages. Since they are rarely exposed to movies where women have lead roles and play characters that are not subjected to stereotypes, young children are familiarized with the idea that a women’s opinions and ideas are second to a men’s. They also learn the importance of women is relative to the role she serves for a man (lover,