Kristen lambert's blog

The Cultural Diamond: Beyond the Mass Media Matrix

As citizens, we are held to standards set by society. Society tells us what we should do based off a stereotype. The cultural diamond includes the relationship between the social world, the cultural object, the creator, and the receiver. Culture can be referred to like the way we market products. The cultural Diamond is used to demonstrate how the social world which is society as a whole, and how it is affected by the creator, who is responsible for making the products and the receiver who ask for the products, and the cultural objects which is the way cultures demand and set guidelines. In every situation, there are “freaks” and there are “normal” people. What differentiates the two is the fact that freaks typically Identify as the minority group related to race, gender, ethnicity, and disability. Meanwhile, normal people tend to fall under the group of privilege.

What sets the groups Apart? Well first off Minority groups are represented much less in the prime time television industry. For example when characters are broadcast-ed of minority roles such as disabled characters, females, and characters of non-Caucasian ethnicity. They tend to receive less screen time compared to characters who are “normal”.

What makes Someone a good citizen? Well, a good citizen can be defined as someone who fits the following three characteristics. First of all, someone who is honest, when dealing with conflict or just stating the truth, however, many companies and individuals working for companies would not fit under this category as they commonly use false or misrepresented information to influence consumers. The next quality is respect. Individuals in society often have their own opinion, beliefs, or personal values which may not match up with others. As a consumer, you may see a movie represented to a specific target audience or it may be something that is nowhere near your interest, however, a good citizen would respect the cultural differences and hesitate from making negative remarks. Lastly, a good citizen is responsible. In this course, we learned about the different methods of ethics, despite ones individual beliefs individuals are all held responsible for their own actions and should always tell the truth regardless of the consequence based on the to Kant duty-based ethics. Individuals on all ends of the cultural diamond are held responsible for their actions.

In the pop culture Industry wether, you are interested in television, music, or other forms of entertainment there is commonly a lack of misrepresentation in the entertainment industry. For example, a disabled character tends to receive less screen time on prime time television shoes compared to a nondisabled character. Minority groups such as African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans all tend to serve as supporting charters rather than Leads. Females are cast as supporting characters in television shows, and In shows, they tend to rely on male characters to solve issues. Lastly, the LGTBQ+ community receives a low percentage of screen time in the prime-time television industry. All the minority groups are often misrepresented compared to the proportion there is in society.

A citizen can be defined as someone who contributes to society in a positive manner. A good citizen is someone who is respectful to others, one who is able to form there own opinion but civilly disagree on a topic. As members of society, we are often tested through our daily lives. An important topic to remember is citizenship education, we are responsible as adults to educate children on what it means to be a citizen and how to enlighten them to be a positive contribution to society. A question to ask your self is how you as an individual can contribute to society?