Midterm

1) Analyses of the media are integral to whatever social problems critical constructionists study; explain why this is so.


The media is thought to create many complex effects, many of which are negative. Media is a huge part of our daily lives, and it’s almost impossible to escape it’s effects without removing oneself completely from society. Because of it’s affect on society, it can be claimed to be either the cause or in someway related to almost every social problem, which is why analyzing it is essential to critical constructionists' study of social problems.
Media within the United States is completely out of hand. What our news stations play is being significantly influenced by their commercial advertisements, so we aren’t getting all the important news stories from the sources that many Americans are completely dependent upon. The “chances that a problem will receive much attention - or have societal resources mobilized against it - are almost nil without media coverage” (Heiner, 17). The media has also been blamed “for promoting violence and sexism, racism, homophobia, ageism, and other oppressive phenomena” (Kellner,1). It is important that change occurs within the U.S. media structure because “Brent Cunningham writes in the Columbia Journalism Review ‘the press has the power to shape how people think about what’s important, in effect to shape reality’ “(Heiner, 17).
The film Toxic Sludge is Good for You explains that the public relations industry is a multibillion dollar industry controlled by the advertisement industry and it’s job is to manipulate public opinion, news information, and public policy on behalf of it’s clients. In order to challenge it’s hold on U.S. ‘democracy’, more people need to question the experts and be aware of how public relations is spending it’s money. Critical Constructionist are among the people who are aware extent to which the public relation industry is creating issues, which is why it is integral to the social problems that they study.

2.) A. State some evidence that since the 70s the American middle class hasn’t prospered as much as is commonly believed.

It is commonly believed that in the United States that our economy has been greatly prospering sense the 1970s, but it hasn’t as much as we tend to think it has. Our economic growth has dramatically slowed down; “between 1947 and 1973 real family incomes went up 104 percent; during the next 32 years, it only increased 23 percent. And the gap between the rich and the rest started its precipitous expansion.” (Heiner, 31). The United State’s huge amount of inequality plays a large part in the inhibition of it’s once rapidly growing and prospering economy. There is so much inequality here because “Americans are unusually supportive of inequality. They back the moves toward expanding opportunity, but oppose moves toward equalizing outcomes” (Eitzen, 52). A small present of America’s people and companies have become very wealthy sense the 70s, but the majority of people and businesses have been have on average been making less than ever (Heiner, 36).



B. Explain what part individualism plays in exacerbating and lessening the social problem of class inequality in the U.S.

People in the United States tend to have individualistic views, where oneself’ “success” is more important than helping one another. It is the American Dream-if you work hard you will become rich and get all the material possessions that you would ever want and will have a perfect life. It is because these ideas of individualism and what our image of a perfect life would be, constantly being reinforced by media and the culture of our society, that egocentrism is exacerbated along with social inequality.
In our capitalistic society, it was hoped that if everyone perused their individual “interests in a market of free competition, the the best quality products will be made at the lowest possible prices and the society will thrive”(Heiner, 136), unfortunately this didn’t happen quite like it was wanted to. The U.S. has an enormous gap in social class and a great poverty problem. The American Dream inspires and motivates people to work hard, but also provides us with “winners and losers”-the rich and the poor (Heiner, 136).
The majority of U.S. people are in the working class, with a rising gap between them and the rich, and an increasing number of people living below the poverty line. Although individualism in our country has created a huge social class problem, it also created a very large working class in which there is some equality between one another. The rich people dominate the others with power, politically and socially, because they can use their money make things happen that the others can’t. Something needs to be done to help stop the increase in inequality because “extreme inequality of income and wealth gives vast economic and political power to big corporations and wealthy families and weakens the sense of community and common purpose essential to a democracy”, (Eitzen, 45).
Americans are brought up to want to be rich. The media is constantly telling us that we should buy this or that. Reality television shows usually take place in huge luxurious homes. And we are taught that we need to be able to buy big expensive things in order to be successful, and to obtain those things we must individually peruse them. Americans look after them instead of working together like other societies do, causing social inequality.