The Media Torrent And Disposable Feeling By Todd Gitlin: An Analysis

From early art in the 1600’s to the emergence of television, the media has had a rapid and unstoppable invasion on lives. Media overwhelms society with drama and entertainment. In “Supersaturation, or, The Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling” by Todd Gitlin, he asserts paintings were what television is today: entertainment. In the 1600s, these paintings were passed down from generation to generation, and today, television shows rarely last two seasons. Gitlin feels as though the media desensitizes people, and therefore, modern day feelings are “disposable.” The media moves from one topic to the next constantly changing its focus. Society mimics the media’s movement. Not only is the media inconsistent, but it is also invasive. Private households are now dominated by other worldly distractions due to overexposure of the media. Media not just in the form of television, internet, and radio, but the media Gitlin did not emphasize is also influential. Music is just as manipulative as television and internet. Hip Hop music, for example, negatives influences its listeners due to its lyrics …show more content…
NBC News states, “Teens who said they listened to lots of music with degrading sexual messages were almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years as were teens who listened to little or no sexually degrading music. Among heavy listeners, 51 percent started having sex within two years, versus 29 percent of those who said they listened to little or no sexually degrading music.” Hip Hop and rap disrespects women and treats women as a sex symbol. Boys learn to be relentless in their pursuit of women, and girls learn to accept themselves as sex objects. As a result, women lower their standards in men and engage in dangerous sexual activity. Hip Hop and rap music has a careless and reckless message to party, and become violent and