Media Lessons to Learn and the Effects of Television By: Jaime Alemán February 3, 2021
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s a growing adult and uncle, growing concerns about the “effects” of watching television have become an issue more relevant to me. As I observe my nephew watching cartoons and movies, I notice the effects it can have on his developing brain. The positive effects are noticeable just as much as the negative effects. The positive effects include vocabulary and broad concepts, while the negative effects range from bullying and stereotypes. Teenagers seem to have a little different circumstance with watching television because they are slightly more developed, but they also tend to have an interaction with the television that definitely effects different aspects of their lives. Adults can feel confident about recognizing bad effects from watching television, or even try to avoid television, but also end up effected by the screen (tv, movie, or phone), both good and bad. Observing my family of mixed ages, mostly girls, interact with each other and the tv is a spectacle, because we are a family that always gives voice to our opinions. A normal Sunday afternoon, closer to evening, we usually all sit in the living room to watch a movie. We all vote on the movie after each person shows a trailer of what they want us to watch together. Because some are in elementary, no rated-R movies are allowed. Some days there are exceptions, like when the kids are swimming is one example of when the movie will be rated-R. The mix of ages is what makes the evening more interesting. As the movie begins, the behavior is usually the same always. It starts with every one paying attention and focused on the beginning to be able to form an opinion about the movie. Based
Spring 2021
on the first few minutes, I note the interest level of everyone. Mostly, the majority shout out a general evaluation about the movie. Something about if it is going to be good or an idea about it being sad makes the older sisters want to get more engaged with the movie, because they love to cry during a movie. For them, it is a sort of therapy. When the interest level is high, this can make them behave like school-girls because the chatter is notable. The boys in the room act more serious until something is funny. The boys enjoy comedy and a comedy movie makes us want to interact more with each other or bring up a funny story of the past. Some tell others close to them about an actor or actress they seen on another movie. Some like to tell the whole group. Others will agree, or sometimes challenge the validity of the movie the actor was in. Someone always pulls out the phone to look on IMDB (Internet Movie Database) or Google to prove them right or wrong. After this, the typical list of other movies that actor was in, or the other movie the director made and about how good said movie is. The comparison of the other movies is typical in my family. Furthermore, interaction with the television can involve betting on these discrepancies because everyone believes themselves as a “Siskel & Ebert” (past duo movie critics) that know the facts about all movies. Sometimes things get so serious that the movie or channel gets switched over to YouTube to see if the fact is true. Once, two sisters argued and bet against each other over Salma Hayek, the Mexican actress, who acted in Quentin Tarantino’s “From Dusk til Dawn”. The bet needed to be settled right then and there. One sister said the
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