Mtv's Music Videos And Reality Tv Series example essay topic

Melissa Gn an Professor Ford English 1108 14 November 2003 MTV's Effect on Teen Culture MTV celebrated its 20th birthday in 2001. Many in the entertainment industry refer to productions younger than 20 as " MTV babies", because MTV had a major impact on the way TV programs are produced. MTV pioneered the fast paced, "in your face" style of programming and advertising. Since its launch many years ago, MTV has been the driving force that represents teen culture.

The MTV network consists of music videos, giving idols to the masses, and a variety of reality TV shows, among many similar programs within its reign. Even though it's allegedly made as a reflection of the real world, these shows are not, and can be harmful to many teens perception of sex, drugs, alcohol, and other aspects making up a big part of teen life. Since what people see on television is to the most part held to be truthful and real compared to reality itself, than MTV's programming of music videos and reality TV shows contain significant exposure to glamorized depictions of sex, drugs, and alcohol which contributes greatly to the desensitization of these aspects, to the teen population watching these programs. MTV'S music videos and reality TV series often portray a world teaming with sex, drugs, and alcohol. MTV has been a very successful business because it is almost non-stop advertising.

In addition to the traditional commercials, the music videos themselves promote the sexual image complimented by drug and alcohol portrayal. "One study showed that 75% of music videos involve sexual imagery" (Greeson & Williams, 182). Britney Spears is one of the most popular artists on MTV today. She is idolized by girls aging between the age of 12 and 19.

Her alternating sexy and innocent image has been thought to confuse teen girls' idea of pretty. Psychologist David Walsh explains that the midriff is a powerful way to market an image to young girls, "Britney Spears is the archetype of the image known as the 'midriff. ' Her music videos and lyrics teach young girls and teen-agers to flaunt their sexuality, to be concerned with their appearances and to be cautious about the impressions that they make on other people" (1). Britney's videos include " Hit me baby one more time", and " Oops, I did it again". These lyrics and videos, and a majority of her others are laced with extreme amounts of sexual innuendo.

Christina Aguelera is now in the spotlight, and like Britney, her work consists of sexual lyrics and videos that are viewed by girls between the ages 12 and 19. She is now a self-proclaimed bad girl and very sexually prevalent, as evident in her video "Dirty", which contains extreme amounts of sexual imagery and gestures. Britney Spears and Christina Aguelera both use their body as a sexually intimidating force in their music videos. These artists are idolized by many young girls; they look up to these people as role models. TV idolizes sex because sex sells. It shows that this is cool, this is what will make you popular and this what you should strive to be.

It is a ridiculous concept that is accepted by a majority of the teen culture. At least two experiments show that watching MTV results in more permissive attitudes about sex. "Experiments found that college students who were assigned to watch MTV developed more liberal attitudes toward premarital sex than their peers who did not watch MTV as part of the study. The second experiment found that seventh and ninth graders were more likely to approve of premarital sex after watching MTV for less than an hour" (Calfin 477).

MTV's use of sexual content gives out negative media images and messages so persuasive that they imply that certain behaviors are common and acceptable among teens. MTV's use of sexual imagery in music videos and reality TV series collaborates closely with the overt usage of drugs and alcohol. George Comstock, author of Television and Human Behavior reports that, "Sexual imagery makes up 75% of music video, while the other 25% of the video contains drug and alcohol content" (156). Over one half of all the music videos aired on MTV are rap, from the soft-core story lines to the explicitly violent plots. Rap is currently the most popular type of music, dominating MTV's count down for many years". One fourth of all rap videos involve drug and alcohol use- predominately by men" (Robinson 63).

Psychologist David Walsh found that that: "Male teens who spend more time watching the drug and alcohol use depicted in the 'real life of gangsta' rap music videos are more likely to practice these behaviors in reality, suggests one of the first studies to specifically explore how rap videos influence emotional and physical health. Researchers found that compared to those who never or rarely watched these videos, the girls who viewed these gangsta videos for at least 14 hours per week were far more likely to practice numerous destructive behaviors, causing them to become 1.5 times more likely to use drugs or drink alcohol" (1). "The Real World", a very popular reality TV series, now in it's 13th season, is a great example of the wrongful representation of sex, drugs, and alcohol in the real world. The show puts seven strangers together in a house and videotapes their day-to-day activities and obstacles. It is supposedly a view into real world happenings of people aging from 18 to 24. This show is not in any way a good insight into what really happens in life, or in the world, we live in.

"Reality-TV themes, however, have evolved from the comparative innocence of 'Candid Camera,' striving to entice teenagers, programs such as MTV's 'The Real World,' which delves into the "real-life" drama of sex, and drinking" (PBS 1). The show's plot consists of seven beautiful people picked to live in a mansion, free of charge. There is explicit sexual content of the cast members especially after a night of drinking at local bars and clubs. There are generous amounts of nudity, especially by the women. Mix it all together and MTV gets good ratings.

However, it's not, at least for most people". The show creates a mindset that this is what everybody is doing, it is harmful to the perception teens have of the actual real world" (Walsh 1). Like many of the shows aired on MTV, "The Real World" gives off the untouchable image, a digital sense of reality. Entertainment has become truth in many people's eyes, and it skews the sense of reality and real life happenings.

Teens who watch MTV for long periods are of risk to the harmful perception of their culture and morals. For MTV, it's a teenie bopper world, where most adolescents don't fit in. Psychologist David Walsh notes that", MTV globally reaches 250 million households. Of that MTV is watched by 73% of boys and 78% of girls in the 12 to 19 years of age group. Boys watch an average of 6.6 hours per week and girls watch for an average of 6.2 hours per week" (1). In MTV's defense, they have recently created specials on teen pregnancy, showing the prevalence of teen pregnancies and the harmful effects, while promoting safe sex.

Specials were also created on gay rights and racism in America, portraying the misconceptions associated with the gay community as well as the Mexican and African American communities. These specials give credit back to MTV, but they are not aired as prevalently as music videos or reality TV shows are. Many other forms of media television embody MTV's sex, drugs, and alcohol innuendos, but no other is more relevant to teen culture. No other form of media comes close to the exposure MTV brings to the teen audience. "MTV is the most recognized network among young adults ages 12 to 34" (PBS 1). MTV promotes "real people" when they are in truthfully not, when they are made by producers, stylists, and agents.

Yet, they are the basis for teen culture. MTV has done well in some aspects like Rock the Vote, which was a series designed to help get teens involved with politics while actively voicing their opinions. There are just too many other skewed views on MTV for the positive to weigh out the negative. The worst thing is for teens to hold this as a truth, but it is only a front. The truth does not lay in shows like the "Real World" and the musicians they hold high; these things just hurt teens and deceive them into thinking that it is reality. It holds teens back from being informed about the real matters.

After all, it is only a network. You can decide when to turn it off and you can decide what's real. TV has a tilted view of teen society, only showing the extremes while representing adverse role models. These factors have a negative effect on teens and their culture, leading to desensitization of sex, drugs, and alcohol.

Bibliography

Comstock, George; and Steven Chaffee. Television and Human Behavior. New York: Columbia UP, 1978.
Greeson, L.E. ; and R.A. Williams. "Youth and Society". Social Implications of Music Videos on youth: An analysis of the Content and Effects of MTV. Ed. Albert Tims. New York: Oxford UP, 1986.
177-189. Calfin, Mary". Viewing music-video tapes before taking a test of premarital sexual attitudes". Psychological Reports 72 (1993) 475-481.
Robinson, T.N. Television and music video exposure: The Risk of Adolescent Alcohol Use. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1992.
PBS. org. 2001.
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Walsh, David Ph. D. "MTV". American Association of Media on the Family. 1996 9 Nov.
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