George Gerbner’s Six Categories

Mass Media and Reality
The media can be a powerful force in our society that is capable of influencing our thoughts, emotions, ideals, behavior, and perceptions of reality in many ways. Media in the form of television, music, and the internet have, “done much to shape the way our society is governed… (and has)…changed the way we live” (Jensen, 1998, pg.1). In this sense, the mass media, especially television, offers various “definitions of reality… (that)…lead to perception of the ‘reality’ as normal. The result is a social legitimization of the ‘reality’ depicted in the mass media, which can influence behavior” (Gerbner, 1998, pg.1). In this paper I will discuss the influential capacity of television regarding sex(gender)and race, the depiction of health(beauty)and age, lifestyle(work) as promoted by Mtv, and the prevalence of violence (crime) in computer gaming software.
Television - Gender, Race
One form of media that has affected my views of rea...