Obama vs. Osama

With the introduction of websites like Youtube, anybody can become celebrities or even disseminate their own mass media message; we all have a certain level of control over the distribution of mass media. Let's take a look at a clip posted by the ClipCritics on the ClipCritics Channel on Youtube.

[Click here to play the clip]

As we can see, this video clip touches on very sensitive topics such as the presidential election, terrorism as well as racism.

According to sociologist, Charles Wright, there are 4 media functions: surveillance, correlation, cultural transmission and entertainment. So, what are the media functions of the clip above?

1. Surveillance: The gathering and disseminating of information.
   The information being shared in this video clip may be fictional as this is not a video clip done by a certified media broadcaster, thus, any "fact" demonstrated in this video should be taken lightly.
   
2. Correlation: The analysis and evaluation of information.
   This clip affects the viewers by the "cutting and pasting" of various scenes and photographs to frame the audiences' in the mindset that they want the audience to be in.For example, the portion where they ask if Obama will support the muslims, they showed pictures of muslims as terrorists followed by a snippet from a video clip of Obama saying "Absolutely." This frames the viewers point of views in 2 ways generally: that all muslims are terrorists and that Obama actually answered the question of offering support to the terrorists.
3. Cultural Transimission: The educaton and socialization of the viewers.
   This aspect of mass communication is vaguely touched on by this video clip. It does not deal with the education and socialization of viewers to a large extent.
4. Entertainment: The presentation of escapist material that provides enjoyment and gratification.
   Most of us are caught up in the monotony of the seriousness in life. The main purpose ofthis video clip is to provide entertainment for the masses. Allowing them to laugh at the matters that matter a lot (Presidential Election) to them, they are momentarily relieved from that monotony.

Personally, after watching the video clip and browsing through the comments made by the viewers, I've learnt that the role that the audience play in mass communication may not be so passive afterall. Yes, they will interpret the message the way that the gatekeepers want them to, but they will come up with their own opinions about these messages.

One viewer, "chrisinuae", commented, "Talk about poor taste. Not at all funny, shows why Americans are disliked in most countries. Arrogant,blatant racism,it just goes on and on, doesn't it. Shame on you..Ive never felt so proud to be Canadian and so happy I'm not american"

Apparently, chrisinuae does not find this clip entertaining at all. He criticizes the quality of humor of the Americans (the people who made this clip are American) and their blatant disrespect for the people of other races.

Another viewer who goes by the psuedonym of holla221, says, "LOL!!!! This video is hilarious!!! Man oh man, I think John McCain put himself in a hole by trying the same fear tactic that Karl Rove put on John Kerry. Americans are not falling for it this time. Americans are not scared. Americans will fight!! We are Americans so if these so called terrorist want to threaten us, bring it on!!!
Obama 08!!!!"

holla221 is not influences by the placing together of Obama and the terrorists in this video. Instead, he contines to root for Obama. At the same time, holla221 feels a sens of patriotism, as he rallies the rest of America to fight against the terrorists. These emotions are unexpected if mass media really took upon the powerful effects model where the mass media has the capability to brainwash the public; rather, mass media, as I believe, takes on the or the limited effects theory or the moderate effects theory.

So, what do y'all think? How much does the mass media influence the public?