Ageism: Representations of the Elderly in the Media

    Ageism in defined as "prejudice or discrimination against a person's age". And I believe the media is somehow ageism.

    People are afraid of getting old, either physical or mental. The media kind of pose a negative attitude about old. There are signs in ads show that "stay young" ,"look young" "anti-aging" makes people think "old" is some horrible and everyone should avoid it. I have to say that the media is really ageism, there are new young fresh singers, actors and models replacing the old ones every single year. And the mainly media, such as TV shows, dramas, movies, music, magazines are all targeted to young people. Both the society and the media world give too much attention to the young people instead of the elders.

       And, there are stereotypes of the elderly in the media for sure. The elderly usually present in a way that is disable, needed help and care, has poor sight and hearing, unable to use the new technologies and don't want to either, and obstinate about their own opinions. It's kind of disappointing that the society posing this kind of attitude instead showing love, care and respect. 

Is the Media Homophobic? Representations of Gays and Lesbians in the Media

    

  I personally don't think the media is homophobic in United States, at least the homosexuality is wide acceptable in the media now. The recent TV shows and dramas are all involved about gay and lesbian characters. And the media is posing a positive attitude about them. Comparing the earlier media, recent media is now more diverse about the sexuality orientation.  Here are some examples about gays and lesbians from the recent media.

                

                     Pretty Little Liars: Emily Fields

Brokenback Mountain

Gossip Girl: Eric van der Woodsen

Katy Perry's MV: Firework

     The homosexuality was not highly accepted in the earlier media, but somehow they were still presented in the media. As I doing the research about gays in the earlier media, I found this ad which the word "gay" was highlighted in the ad but it had a total different meaning:

1940's: Jester Wools, "I've robbed the rainbow." At the time, the word "gay" solely acted as a substitution for "happy."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/15-ads-that-changed-the-way-we-think-about-gays-and-lesbians-2012-10?op=1#ixzz2zIoxkAwD

     

      And then in the 1950s, it's became more revealing about the gay rights

http://youtu.be/hieKgQNQpMA

1955- Guinness advert - "Men and women shouldn't live together"

     In the recent media, the homosexualities have been treated almost the same as heterosexualities. 

2012: Amtrak, "Ride With Pride." Brands now see equal rights as more than just charitable moments, and the gay community is just one more target market.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/15-ads-that-changed-the-way-we-think-about-gays-and-lesbians-2012-10?op=1#ixzz2zIvPApKW

      Some people think the media is still homophobic because the media is not "all about gays". My perspective is that the gays and lesbians are still the minority of the society, I think it's normal that media is more about heterosexuality than homosexuality. But that's not how we judge the media is totally homophobic. From my point of view, the media in U.S is not homophobic at all.