Radio Development

            As time goes by more and more progress is made. Within the last century and a half the technological evolution has greatly shifted the way that society runs, a major invention and catalyst of that is the radio.

            The way in which our society was running led to the creation of mass communication and the radio industry. As technological advances furthered the radio became a standard item in the common household. While new inventions trickle into the American society they become a standard item. An example of this process is the computer or cell phones, and more recently smartphones. Technology has evolved into a necessity for our community. In order to stay up with modern developments and be considered a regular part of society one must possess the most recent trend.  The radio became a part of our community rapidly as the general public strived to fit in.

            Gugielmo Marconi is the master of the radiotelegraph. In 1912 when the Titanic had its epic demise the radiotelegraph saved lives. The device allowed the news of the tragic iceberg hit to reach forces on land who then saved the lucky passengers who escaped in the lifeboats. This technology then became more common and seen as a necessity. David Sarnoff then developed the “radio music box,” which was then mass distributed and a common piece to households, thus starting the radio industry. Because of the way radio became a household item, stations became geared towards the “common” American family.

Social Learning

The fact that the media heavily influences our society today can be a scary thought. Television characters and strong movie protagonists are often a teenager’s role model. As less and less censoring constricts the media, people are raised to see more and develop faster while their rate of emotional maturity continues to slow down.

            Social learning is the concept of trends following what the media exposes. Such as the movie Juno exposes how lenient society has become towards teen pregnancies. By expressing a certain ideal in any form of media the onlookers view the topic as a typical part of life, unless it is too outlandish. If a new principle is consistently applied in various media venues it unknowingly appears to be a regular part of society. If one action is showed enough the public will unknowingly partake as well.

            Facebook’s concept as a whole contributes to social learning. When a user ‘likes’ a certain product or company they give permission for that company to post advertisements to see along with friends’ statuses. The typical posts a person reads from their friends’ statuses influence others. If your friend likes a certain activity and discusses it on facebook a person is more likely to try the activity because of that short conversation Sue posted. Sue says that she had a great time rafting the river and her friends chime in about how exciting it is. After seeing the conversation you decide to try it yourself. The same concept is applied to corporation pages. Simple questions such as “how do you eat your frosty?” evokes thousands of interesting responses, all of which make you want to have a frosty. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people are commenting in different ways makes a frosty that much more appealing with the concept of ‘fitting in’ when consuming one. Having a frosty becomes more of a way to fit in society and be like others.  If the concept were reversed and almost nobody likes a frosty then a person is less likely to continue consuming the product due to the strong want to be an average person.

Prompt #1

The Coca-Cola advertisement helps me interpret hegemony by making a broad statement. While the scene is what Americans consider normal, the main focus is outlandish and draws attention due to that fact.

Hegemony is the dominant force in society. It is what the populace accepts without a second thought because it occurs persistently through society. The dominant ideology of our culture has become common sense to the typical person in everyday life. Most hegemonic ideals have been created from a struggle in our history, the winning concept becomes expected, such as the struggle for the freedom of slavery.

This specific Coca-Cola ad gives the scenic view of a standard beach during the summer. The people in the picture are laying out at the beach while couples walk along the tide and families play and splash in the water. The audience’s focus is automatically drawn to what is bizarre and definitely not a social norm, in this case it is a penguin who stole a man’s Coca-Cola. The bottle appears to be frozen, making it all the more appealing to the penguin. This ad attempts to create another hegemonic idea, that Coca-Cola is cold and refreshing in the summer heat. In order for the circumstance to come off as hegemonic the rest of the picture is natural to the American eye. The white sand also contributes to the effect because it appears as ordinary to the penguin who would typically be on ice that looks a lot like the color of the sand. The company is pushing the soda to the general public through the ideology that Coca-Cola is positive and refreshing in the summer.