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Study On Ethical Problems Of Mass Media In Idols Shaping

Posted on:2011-11-30Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:J F YinFull Text:PDF
GTID:1118360305463834Subject:Ethics
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Idols play an important role in human life. Each past dynasty attaches great importance to create idols. On account of the different social situation, the main forces of idols shape are different. In traditional society, the official has been the main force to shape idols, but to the modern information-based society, the mass media has risen being the main force to master the supremacy of shaping idols. The mass media played an active role in shaping the modern idols, but there also have appeared many burning problems, such as materialization, entertainment, vulgarization and even degeneration, moral character and ideals'deficiency.That the idol was materialized as the leading symbol of consumption, with the idols of consumption function as a subversion of traditional moral and spiritual symbol of idol benchmark, it would result in material desire to dominate humanity, the human mind lacking of humanistic spirit witnessing, encouraging money worship, pleasure-seeking, individualism and other undesirable trends. When the idol is shaped as entertainment tools or playful objects, and their moral character, moral values and dignity are ignored and trampled, it will lead to the digestion of seriousness and grand narrative, classic and sublimity being deconstructed, entertainment and frivolousness as fashion, vulgarity and degeneration instead of elegant. Over time, people's spiritual world will become very decadent, nothing empty. Their narcissistic satisfaction will crowd out the rational transcendence and criticism, and their life faith and moral ideal will be thrown to the winds. The ultimate situation would be that in this society, a model becomes the pronoun of "ignorance", and a hero is a lonely loner. It is hard to find a coordinate as the spiritual backbone, cultural and benchmarking icon, which impacts tremendous on the socialist core values and socialist spiritual civilization construction. This article will place the issues appearing in the mass media idols shape under the multidisciplinary perspective of ethics, communicology, journalism and sociology, carry out a comprehensive interpretation and analysis, and raise the coping strategy. This article is divided into three parts, seven chapters to the above issues.The first chapter is the first part. This chapter traced the source of the traditional idols shape and the idols shape at the beginning of 30 years, which showed the traditional idols'moral education and spiritual support functions, as well as the traditional images'significant affect on the construction of people's belief systems and value systems. The first chapter also reviewed the situation of the mass media idols shape in the 30 years since reform and opening. It regarded that the mass media held the hegemony of idols shape in contemporary society, deconstructed gradually the idols' mental function in the course of shaping idols, and molded the idols into entertainment symbols and consumption tools, which made a macro-explanation to background for the later analysis of the problems appeared in the mass media idols shape. The second part is Chapterâ…¡to Chapter VI. This part analyzed the symptoms of idols shape, interpreted the underlying reasons and criticized the negative impacts.Chapter II analyzed the materialized idols problem. Using the feeling strategy of pleasure and fantasy and the psychological strategy of conspicuous consumption, the mass media molded modern idols into consumption icons and materialized them as tools guiding consumption and fashion. However, those spirit idols who could not guide consumption were left out. The mass media, under the control of the instrumental rationality, disregarded extremely the emotional and spiritual value of idols, lacked humanistic care on the idols, and lacked witnessing on the human soul. Idols also internalized the materialized awareness into conscious awareness gradually. Their ontological status in the cultural and artistic activities was lost, and their self-totality and personal independence were gradually losing.Chapter III discussed the homogenization problem in idols shape. Human individuals and social development require diverse icons, but the mass media is only interested in the text of entertainment type, and creates homogenized entertainment idols. One hand, they molded performers into the entertainment stars, and allowed them access to diversified development, to stimulate the entertainment economy and benefit themselves. On the other hand, employing the entertainment strategy, they shaped the distinguished, the spirit icons or the cultural elites from other industries into the " stars " with entertainment effect, and expanded social recreational resources. In this way, spirit power, moral values, cultural charm, belief and pursuit become bleak in entertainment landscape. Entertainment idols have monopolized people's spiritual world. People, indulging in the pleasure and delight, will gradually loss transcendent and critical dimensions, and become a "one dimensional man"Chapters IV and V analyzed respectively the vulgarization and degeneration problem in idols shape. Degeneration is an extreme manifestation of vulgarity. In modern multi-cultural background, society needs not only idealized idols but secular ones. The mass media could "disenchant" idols'divinity to endow the modern idols with secular morality. However, they employed secular alienated manifestation-vulgar ways to speculate privacy and focus on pornography. They shaped idols as vulgar individuals of character distorted, dignity missing, and lack of spirit appeal, gave birth to the disease of idols and the public regressing from human to animal, leading to chaos of people's value and belief system, their spiritual world into nothingness, and eventually holing up in their individual world starting narcissism. Collective narcissism becomes the times' symptom. At this point, only extreme " ugly" can arouse narcissistic people's enthusiasm to pay attention to media content. Therefore, the mass media supplied the various morbid, weird, rebellious, ignorant, decadent and ugly idols for people to taunt, ridicule and tease; and they employed ways of parody, funny and jokes to deconstruct cultural icons and moral heroes, mock and banter loftiness, perfection and divinity. In the process of manufacture "ugliness", the mass media did not lead people to comment and criticize the "ugly" rationally, but guide people to enjoy and appreciate the "ugly", leading the "ugliness" in idols shape towards the "degeneration". While people obtained the pleasure of excitement, outlet and carnival in the process of the "ugliness", they were lured gradually to recognize the ugly, morbid and vulgar values, aesthetic tastes and behavior.Chapter VI discussed the issue of the moral character and ideal missing in idols shape. The mass media only follow the economic principles to shape idols, while ignoring the moral principles; they focus on the economic value of idols, ignore to excavate idols'spiritual and moral value, disregard idols' misconduct problem and neglect the shape of idols'moral personality and the guidance of idols'moral ideal. The mass media will not condemn the idols that lack independent moral character, or have psychopathic personality, but to help them hype and raise their prestige; they also show great tolerance and love to those idols that lack moral responsibility and break the moral bottom line wantonly. The mass media's deficiency of moral ideal in molding idols is embodied in not only ignoring to guide icons to set moral ideal, but also lacking enough enthusiasm to shape a moral idol that reflect the high moral ideals and superior moral goals. The third part is Chapterâ…¦. This chapter proposed some principled proposals based on objective analysis and deep study above problems:I. The mass media should establish correct righteousness and benefit view. When justice and benefit are in conflict, they should make correct value choice, adhere to morality and justice and boycott the temptation of "benefit"â…¡. The mass media should employ "new rationality" to replace the tool sense of human domination, bring humanity elements, such as value, art, ideals, ethics, into idols shape, to achieve both tool sense's utilitarian purpose and value connotation of value rationality, namely obtaining economic interests balance on humanistic contemplation on idols, avoiding materializing idols as consumption idol only having economic functions and consumption functions.â…¢. The mass media should establish social responsibility consciousness. When they shape idols, they should take responsibility of morality, supervision and culture communication, avoiding abusing press freedom rights.â…£. Whereas moral power's special role in social regulation, the mass media should pay extra attention to moral responsibility in idols shape. They should mold idols having noble spirit and excellent morality, guide idols and the mass long engaged in the activities that can reflect good moral scenes, like social charitable activities, and achieve the goal of prompting people to form correct values, wealth concept and socialist honor and constructing the moral and belief system which keep up with the times. V. The mass media should shape pluralistic idols like moral heroes, industry elites etc, let moral heroes and cultural idols reproduce their moral cultural charm, and make industry elites radiate moral fiber and force of examples, to break the homogenized situation of idols shape, and finally to break the situation that entertainment idols monopolize on people's spiritual world. Only in this way, the mass media idols shape may guide people's moral spirit, enrich people's cultural life, promote economic prosperity, and make active contribution to socialism core values and construction of socialist spiritual civilization.
Keywords/Search Tags:Idol, Idols Shape, Ethic, Mass Media
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