Media Torrent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media Torrent - Essay Example In his article â€Å"Supersaturation, or The Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling†, Todd Gitlin states his observation and provides sufficient evidence supporting the fact that media has great influence on our lives. Right from the time of emergence of television and internet, media has been influencing the lives of individuals whether it is through print, television, films or social networking websites. However one may take into account the fact that the notion of media saturation has gone through several significant amendments since the time Gitlin’s article was published. There are many evidences illustrated by Gitlin that support his ideas of â€Å"super-saturation† and â€Å"disposable feeling†. The literal meaning of â€Å"super-saturation† is to increase the concentration of solution beyond saturation. The word â€Å"super-saturation† is used by Gitlin for defining the notion that how the modern society has completely absorbed the internet and media. The society is completely immersed in the images and gossips that are being displayed by media. There is no clear line present, which distinguishes living space from working space. Outer world has invaded the inner world of people. Gitlin uses the phrase â€Å"disposable feeling† because individuals today are easily switching from one feeling to another, one scandal to another, without making effort to actually find out the hidden truth. I completely agree with Gitlin’s idea that media has its impact on our lives through several means and its component have gr adually immersed in our daily. We can easily observe the amount of movies and TV shows being watched and quantity of CD’s and cameras being used in today’s modern world. Gitlin states that the extensive use of internet has not diminished the use of media but has affected the flow of unlimited media. I do support the fact presented by Gitlin that Internet has revolutionized the use of media. Our hyper-mediated world is affected by internet to a great extent converting us from media users to media producers (Gitlin). Gitlin’s article to some extent downplays the massive influence that internet had on the society at the time it was penned. Despite of this fact many of the points suggested by Gitlin are still valid in today’s world. The emergence of the social networking website â€Å"Facebook† is the example of the actualization of Gitlin’s observation. This website is known for providing its users with hyper-mediated experience as it allows th em to upload photos, videos, texts and provide them variety of ways through which they are allowed to express themselves. Facebook media is different from the inherent media as on this social networking website a mass population is acting of watching other people’s activities. 600 million Facebook users actively participate in this process of acting and watching. They create their own replicas through their profiles. People become kings, queens, demons, angels and adopt the character of their choice, which is far away from reality. These websites have created a virtual world that is far from reality. Gitlin has also stated that individuals today have the authority to create their own content. This proposition of Gitlin can be easily implied to the communicative quality of Facebook where individuals develop their original content and portray it in a way different from reality. The experience of their life is no

Senators and Representatives Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Senators and Representatives - Research Paper Example The voters have tended to choose presidential candidates from the said party for three elections already. Apparently, this only gives the impression that the district may well be considered as a bulwark of the Republican Party. The presidential elections since the year 2000 provide figures that proved this conclusion. In 2000, when George W. Bush ran for president, he got 37 percent of the votes. As he continued to banner the war on terror, and riding on the bandwagon effect of the American response to 9/11, President Bush managed to be reelected. The 7th District of Virginia produced 38 percent of its registered voters in favor of the incumbent chief executive. While John McCain was very unpopular in other states, in the district, he and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin were able to obtain a majority of 53.16 percent of the votes (Virginia State Board of Elections, n.d.). This obviously made the tandem win in the district. All these figures only prove how the district’ s population has the tendency to favor one party over the other. The voters in the district also favor congressional candidates who belong to the Republican Party. From January 1971 until the present, the district has always had a Republican congressman. This means that the GOP has been dominant in the counties composing for about four decades already. However, this is not the case when it comes to the voters’ choice of senator. In the 2008 senatorial elections, Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, won over Republican James Gilmore III with a huge margin of 88,461 votes. Sen. Warner took 62.25 percent of the total votes (Virginia State Board of Elections, n.d.). In the 2000 elections, however, a Republican, Sen. G.F. Allen won with a great majority also. As the presidential elections would show, it is clear that the 7th district of Virginia leans to the Republicans when it comes to choosing the country’s chief executive. This is the same tendency that is displayed in congress ional elections, particularly when it comes to selecting a representative in the lower house. Its choice for senator, however, has changed only in the last senatorial elections. It remains to be seen whether this signifies a start of a new trend. Rep. Eric Cantor is the district’s congressman. He has been considered as the Republican Party’s fast-rising leaders. Aside from being a lawyer, Rep. Cantor is also a businessman. Prior to being elected a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he was a member of the state of Virginia’s legislative body. He was first noticed on Virginia’s political scene when he became part of the House of Delegates from 1992 until 2000 (Project Vote Smart, n.d.). In 2000, he was elected as congressman. It did not take long before he immediately became prominent in the halls of Congress. He first became popular among fellow Republicans in Congress which resulted in him being named as chief deputy majority whip for the party in 2002-2006. He later held the position of chief deputy minority whip in 2006-2008. As he became more accepted as a party leader, Rep. Cantor became minority whip for about two years in 2008. This year, his influence became even broader when he became the majority leader of the House of Representatives. Considering his growing influence in the Republican Party, it is only expected that Rep. Cantor’