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Westview Press, 2009
Is violence on the streets caused by violence in video
games?
Do hip-hop lyrics increase misogynistic and homophobic behavior?
Are
teens promiscuous because of what they see in movies?
Popular culture is an
easy answer for many of society’s problems, but it is almost always the wrong
answer. This innovative book goes beyond the news-grabbing headlines claiming
that popular culture is public enemy number one to consider what really causes
the social problems we are most concerned about.
The sobering fact is that the
roots of poverty, child abuse, and unequal public education are much more
complicated than the media-made-them-do-it explanations. Karen Sternheimer
deftly illustrates how welfare “reform,” a two-tiered health care system, and
other difficult systemic issues have far more to do with our contemporary
social problems than Grand Theft Auto or 50 Cent.
"Sternheimer...unpacks the media's
penchant for sensationalizing and misdirecting public discourse about
the real causes of poverty, disease, materialism, sexual license and
substance abuse. She argues that news coverage engages in misleading
“media phobia”—blaming popular culture for entrenched social problems
by fingering convenient scapegoats (e.g., movies, video games, rap
music) for teen pregnancy, lower educational attainment and violence.
Sternheimer illustrates how reports of children's increased violence
after video-game use are based almost entirely on spurious or
contradictory studies, and how arguments about media phobia deflect
attention away from such basic issues as unequal access to skills,
education, jobs and resources: the “real culprits” and causal links the
media ignores. Revealing how frequently—and perniciously—social
research is manipulated, Sternheimer demonstrates how to hold the media
accountable while addressing the more entrenched and salient problem of
child poverty that she believes is to blame."--Publisher's Weekly
Table of Contents
Introduction
Media Phobia: Why Blaming Media for Causing Social Problems is a Problem
Media Phobia #1:
Popular Culture is Dumbing Down America
Media Phobia #2:
Popular Culture is Ruining Childhood
Media Phobia #3:
Media Violence Causes Real Violence
Media Phobia #4:
Popular Culture Promotes Teen Sex
Media Phobia #5:
Popular Culture Promotes Teen Pregnancy and Single Parenthood
Media Phobia #6:
Popular Culture Makes Kids More Materialistic Than Ever
Media Phobia #7:
Popular Culture May Be Hazardous to Your Health
Media Phobia #8:
Popular Culture Promotes Substance Abuse
Media Phobia #9:
Rap Music Promotes Misogyny, Homophobia, and Racism
Conclusion:
Understanding Social Problems Beyond Popular Culture: Why Inequality Matters
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