Entertainment 101: Parental Control, Supervision and Intervention Over What Children Should Watch

THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON HOLLYWOOD SUPERHERO FILMS

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Aside from print and broadcast media, one unique way of influencing people’s lives is through social media. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to mention a few, opens  a vast avenue of interactive and entertaining way of communication among the so called netizens. It allows people or individuals express different types of emotions as well as learn a lot from watching or listening to a variety of news reports from all around the globe and take a break by watching a series of action superhero movies that captures the interest mostly of the young and the young at heart.

In both real and virtual world, the importance of knowing what is true and what’s not is an inevitable challenge not only to parents but to teenagers as well. Everyone should be involved because primarily, not everything read or written on the internet is true. Consider the fact that Hollywood superhero films are based mainly on fiction, which means that the names and events involved in the film-making are purely from the writer’s creative imagination. It may show or depict real life events but somehow, does not totally reflect the opinion of the directors and its producers.

So, what does this imply? It is telling us that we cannot separate or isolate the people or the users from the effects of new social media on Hollywood superhero films on the argument that they are on the frontline by means of regularly browsing the Web and or downloading movies that they prefer to watch at home. In addition, they provide the comments and the reviews posted on every website 24/7 and whether we like it or not, these activities could either make an impressive outlook on the film or end up with a bad rating.

Let us also consider linking the emotional and psychological effects of these movies to very young audiences. Aristotle (384 BC) states that  “ ...mind is in a sense potentially whatever is thinkable, though actually it is nothing until it has thought…?” This is a Western philosophy considering the mind as a tabula rasa ( John Locke, 1632) or a blank tablet, which means that whatever is heard or seen is easily registered on the mind and has potentially a lifetime effect on someone’s life.

We therefore go back to the role of parents in teaching their children good values. Superhero films may entertain children of different ages because of social media but there is a danger that it will create in them some unpleasant memories or worst, turn them into barbaric or savage individuals. Why are we making this assumption in the first place?

It is because the themes in some Hollywood superhero films are offensive to minors. The review on the movie Deadpool (The Marysue, 2016) revealed that it was just a revenge film, nothing more and nothing less.

It directly would alter good values or character when a child learns to despise people and later decide to put the law into his hands and take everything on his own. It can be remembered also that  just this year, thirteen (13) shooting incidents have been recorded  in the US (everytownresearch.org/school-shootings, 2016). Why on earth would teenagers have access to guns or ammunitions in the first place? It is clearly a manifestation of either ignorance or innocence among children and the negligence or lack of concern of the parents.

There is actually a little effect of new social media on Hollywood superhero films on the argument that these unfortunate events are very hard to establish in court because in order for a criminal or a civil case to prosper, there must be preponderance of evidence. The burden of proof lies in the prosecution panel and not on the defense. It’s as if social media now becomes the culprit on most incidents involving juvenile delinquency directly associated from petty crimes to murders or homicides. The sad story is no one has ever been convicted of a serious crime from the entertainment sector. If there is, then it’s only to the point of asking of public apology or paying a huge amount of fines or penalties. What for? As a compliment for those that are dumb?

Social media at this point creates not leaders or heroes we are longing for but rather monsters that would someday devour goodness in every human being, dead or alive.

Listening to the language on social media and that of the movies also seem a little bit disturbing and shocking as well. Unknowingly, there are a lot of obscene and vulgar language used in order for the characters to express their respective roles and personalities. Even though it is by nature conditioned or scripted, it may deliver the wrong message to the public. The public perception, especially among teenagers, may not only be written or expressed on likes and comments on social media but also done or applied in real life scenarios.

The choice of words, inside the house for instance, is a very dangerous factor for innocent children to hear. The ability to imitate or mimic is common among children ages 3 and up and whatever they hear from their parents, friends and even in the movies that they watch, will likely be used or applied in real life situations. One should remember that whatever is in the mind will definitely be uttered in the mouth and will also result to a good or bad actions.

This time, social media becomes a courier of disease on superhero films. There is nothing wrong with entertainment because it is a part of living a life in this so called cruel and uncertain world. What is wrong is the idea of gaining fame, popularity and millions of dollars at the  expense of others. When we say others, we refer to those whose minds are still on the process of understanding the world but now are infected with the deadly virus of fornication, violence and drugs perpetrated by the social media, along with Hollywood superhero film makers.

We are not that dumb to understand that social media brings the glory and honor on Hollywood superhero films but looking at the other side, it brings forth misery and pain to others. What will a loving mother feel if his son is killed by a gunshot and the suspect/s are also minors? Will it not boomerang to the influence of social media and the movies again?

There are indeed shocking revelations that the media can offer and even cartoon or animated movies are not spared from the so called hidden or subliminal messages (  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9m_qRB2vtE) and (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI5-WecHkiU)

Its either a life is lost, or a life is slowly destroyed when there is irresponsible journalism initiated by the media and the showbiz industry of  filmmakers.

There are a lot of reasons why the effect of new social media on hollywood films gains a lot of attention as of today. The industry is using social media as a means of reaching more people, especially those with Internet access and at the same time, expecting a lot of positive comments and reactions from the people. In return, a lot of profit and revenues go to the pockets of the bosses, the role players and all that are involved in the making of a film, especially if it’s a box office.

Primarily, social media and Hollywood films stand on a monetary or beneficial kind of relationship. On the other hand, moviegoers and fans pay a smaller amount of money in order to see a film based on their taste or preference. Since it is a multi million business, a lot of famous personalities are of course connected. Wealthy businessmen, politicians, elite personalities make up the circle and when this is the kind of group you are into, somebody has to beget favor with another favor.

The love of money is the root cause of all evil, as one familiar maxim states. Everything that was mentioned and discussed above would be futile if someone knows whom to go to and approach. A violation on a simple and understandable policy will be ironed out with a sum of money. Needless for us to say that the showbiz industry is untouchable only because someone can bribe another for not allowing a very sensitive news to be public because, somehow, it will destroy the reputation of some very important people.

 Looking at the other side of the coin, we see people suffering from the loss or pain because of this dirty practice.   The actions of these unscrupulous individuals are very hard to trace because it is done  by using a discreet means of communication. Somehow, technology allows unwanted activities to succeed and one perfect example is sending a bribe money electronically.

From another perspective, we look into the possibility that both the social media and Hollywood superhero films are taking advantage of human nature not only to be entertained but also to cling to the positive way of living a life. Watching superhero movies may give the notion that there are still good people in this world and that in times of crisis or difficulties, someone from another planet or someone with a red and blue suit will appear in our midst and fight all the villains wanting to abduct or hurt us.

 Aldous Huxley (1894) revealed that one believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them. It clearly creates a picture that social media and superhero films manipulate people in order to get what they want. The bottom line, therefore is reiterated which is the love of money. Likewise, Edward L. Bernays (1891) confessed that the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in a democratic society. Again, a proof that if there is someone to blame for our actions, it’s definitely, ourselves. Nobody will ever go against us if we don’t allow it. The burden is, how can someone fight the idea of making himself happy for the rest of his life? This is very ironic because using the social media and or watching a film has become a part of our lives and already embedded in our culture and tradition.  This is confirmed by Criss Jammi (1987) saying that in the age of technology, there is constant access to vast amounts of information.” The basket overflows; people get overwhelmed; the eye of the storm is not so much what goes on in the world, it is the confusion of how to think, feel, digest and react to what goes on.”

No wonder why there are a lot of negative events in our lives. It happened because of two very strong reasons: First, social media and Hollywood movies joined forces or connived with each other to reach their end while we, the people never realized that we ourselves allowed it to happen, unconsciously. From this point of view, we could say that media and the industry on filmmaking become the key players in placing us in some situations we are facing today.

It is very clear now that either social media or Hollywood superhero films is using us to earn a lot of money and gain fame or popularity. We may have enjoyed watching superheroes clad in colorful costumes and were made to believe that they are always on the good side, but, all of these are fleeting and transitory. Things that we see on screen are not meant to be taken seriously because in the world of showbusiness, it’s just purely theatrical, and the actions or words of the actors and actresses we idolized does not really define who they are in the real sense.

In contrast, there is also misuse of technology on the part of the viewers and followers. Their failure to identify the distinction between what is truly happening and what’s not going to happen allowed them to just shrug their shoulders without realizing that not everything that social media or superhero films depict may be beneficial physically, emotionally and intellectually.

Moreover, there is also a case of abuse for both the key players and the followers. The constant and repeated production of superhero films would mean that people will always be looking forward to go to the cinemas in order to have another temporary relief from the difficulties they are experiencing from personal and family problems including but not limited to relationship problems and work related stress.

The question is: does this habit help in solving our problems in life? Or will just add up to all our burdens right after we are not happy or satisfied with the outcome of the screenplay. Since  it is impossible to personally speak with the people behind the movie, we vent out our anger, frustrations and disappointments through social media in the hope that our circle of friends will like whatever we say or even agree on our sentiments by also giving positive or negative comments about what we posted.

An intelligent analysis of these foregoing events tell us that among the moviegoers, the social media and the superhero films, all of these are following a cycle, which means that there are no new and surprising changes which could make a difference in our lives.  Clearly, there is no point of argument when we say that we cannot isolate or separate people or the users from the effects of new social media on Hollywood superhero films.

Since much has been said about the topic, we now come to the point of resolving the issues by conducting a research, using the topic of this article as our working title. To make this research simple, we will use the quantitative approach in writing a research paper. To give a clear direction on what you are going to do, let us examine some important definitions of quantitative research. Aliaga and Gunderson (2002) defined it as an inquiry into a social problem, explain phenomena by gathering numerical data that are analyzed using mathematically based methods (i.e. particularly statistics),

For Bryman and Bell (2007), quantitative research method  is adopted because it allows the researcher to get the facts and not abstract about  the aim of a dissertation. In addition, they said that the choice of research method is influenced by an epistemological stance: positivist which implies a cause-effect approach based on measurements.

Moreover, the choice of data collection approach  is always influenced by the individuals philosophical preferences.

The first strategy in writing this research paper based on the working title is to identify whether there is a problem involved on the effects of new social media  on Hollywood superhero films. This part of the paper will be answered thoroughly right after you have gathered all the necessary data to prove either your alternative or null hypothesis. This part should be included in your findings, recommendation and conclusion.

Secondly, as an inquisitive researcher, you must look into the idea of exploring ideas from other related studies in your Review of Related Literature. You just don’t simply say something without the supporting statements or ideas coming from experts in the field. Make sure you use the correct format given by your professor so that there will be no ensuing problems while you are writing and finalizing your draft for submission.

Third, you must also remember to connect or relate your research with the cultural and ethical standards so as not to degrade nor insult particular ethnic groups with respect to their own beliefs, culture, doctrines and traditions. Remember that your research aims to give a positive impression amongst the people and not as something that implies racial discrimination.

Moreover, there will always be a chance to state your research question based on your chosen topic or subject. Since you will be writing on the effects of new social media on Hollywood superhero films, you can use the following questions to further develop your inquiry:

1. Is there any important link between the new social media and Hollywood superhero films in relation to how people use it for fun and entertainment?
2. If there is a link, how does it affect the behavior of children, teenagers and adults at home, school or in the community?
3. To what extent or degree of importance will this link improve the socio-cultural foundations of education?
4. Does this link aid in modifying one’s social and cultural behavior in general?
5. How will this topic affect the economic status of people from all walks of life in terms of budget management? If so, how much should an average family spend a portion of their income for fun and entertainment?

A lot of intelligent inquiries can be made and it will surely open a lot of opportunities for a systematic gathering of data. One simple way is formulating a survey questionnaire, where questions are related to the topic you are writing. By the time you are done writing your questions, you should have identified the proponents of your activity. When you say proponents, you refer to either the male or the female proponents. Since your working title is the concern of almost everybody, you could make a random survey by age group, socio-economic status, educational background and entertainment choices or preferences.

If you were able to identify your proponents, the next challenge now is dividing them into two specific groups. In research, they are called the experimental group and the controlled group. Todd Helmenstine, in his online article entitled: What is the difference between control group and experimental group?  http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryterminology/a/What-Is-The-Difference-Between-Control-Group-And-Experimental-Group.htm, simply answered that one group is exposed to the conditions of the experiment and the other is not. He further added that an experimental group is the group where the experimental procedure is performed and where the independent variable is being tested and the changes observed and recorded.

On the other hand, he further elaborated that a control group is a group separated from the experiment where the independent variable being tested cannot influence the results.

To test the reliability and the validity of your data, you must limit the number of people for your experimental group and your control group.

For example, using your survey questionnaire suggested earlier, you were surprised to see that the  number of kids who voted for Superman is equally the same number of kids who also voted for Batman as their favorite superhero. Assuming that your proponents are 100 kids, whose age bracket is between 9 to 10 years old and already divided into the experimental and control groups respectively.

What is now your position in writing your research paper if you have this kind of data? Is there any significance why you chose two distinct superheroes as part of your research question? What are other methods or strategies have you prepared in order to come up with valid findings and recommendations based on your chosen topic or subject?

You must be able to settle all relevant questions and concerns before you can say that you are done already with your research paper and was successful in defending your position as the researcher.

In conclusion, we should look into the idea that the effects of social media on Hollywood superhero films is not at all independent. It is because not only social media geniuses or talented and creative directors have the right to live a happy and a contented life. People or individuals who serve as followers or subscribers have the right to be protected from commercially being taken into advantage by greedy and selfish individuals.

Why do we use the terms greedy and selfish? It is because the platform of social media has been an arena of conflict and trouble because people can freely say or post anything they want without considering the language used and its effect on minors. It is where some people express their grudges and bickerings or childish petty quarrels.

On the other hand,, movies that shows a lot of graphic violence and are suggesting or insinuating fornication  and the use of prohibited drugs should likely be carefully evaluated and rated accordingly in order to protect the interest of the people and not the interest of some wealthy and influential producers and film owners.

Based on the research and studies elaborated as part of this essay, we can conclude that the effect of social media on Hollywood superhero films is destructive in nature especially among children and teenagers. It is therefore recommended that stricter legislation on print, broadcast and social media including but not limited to movie companies and independent films, be implemented so that the future generation may inherit the legacy of peace not violence, the value of honesty, not deceit and the miracles of love not the painful memories of hatred.