1.2.1 Flashcards
Media potray outdoors
To celebrate nature and the outdoors
An amazing film or television documentary about a
particular place or a particular animal will often do this, and of course many artworks also aim
to do this. We might also find a celebration of the outdoors in a media work that is focusing
on something else, such as a film about surfing or mountain climbing where the focus is on the
activity or the adventurer.
Media potray outdoors
To sell an experiance
This is the role of advertising and marketing, and we find
it throughout the media. People are perhaps literally trying to sell a place, or maybe they’re
focusing on tourists and tourism that visits a particular place or a particular experience in a place.
We can even find the portrayal of outdoor places in the selling of other things such as cars, iPads
or ice-cream.
Media potray
to inform
In newspapers and magazines, and across the Internet, portraying the environment
is about informing us in some way
Media potray
To undertand and develop our knowlege
Related to informing, this is the portraying of
environments to educate us. Wildlife documentaries are an example of this type of portrayal.
Media potray
To challenge
Film and television often challenge the ways we see things, and this is one of the
main purposes of artworks. Music challenges us in a powerful way, such as some of the music by
Midnight Oil, R.E.M. and Joni Mitchell.
Media potray
To scare
Creating fear is something that media can do very well. Portrayals of outdoor
environments that scare us aren’t hard to find, particularly in film and television. The film Wolf
Creek (and its sequel) is an example of where the portrayal of the environment can scare us.
Indeed, in many of these types of portrayals, the environment itself is said to almost become
another character in the story that we are watching, reading or hearing.
How are our responses influenced?
How does the media influence our own personal responses? Since our personal responses are emotional
responses, media can influence our responses by tapping into our emotions or influencing them in
some way.
There are many ways media can influence our responses, including:
* motivating – such as inspiring people to care for or about something, or motivating them to go
to a particular place or participate in a particular activity
* changing behaviour – such as moderating the way someone acts in a particular place
* informing – such as educating people about an issue related to a particular place or activity
* influencing – such as influencing people to buy and use the latest equipment and technology.
