I have once again been reminded of the argument that seeing/reading something portraying violence/sex will promote violent/sexual actions of a negative kind. That reading a violent book will make a person more inclined to commit a violent act.
I hate this argument as it denies any personal thought to the actions and places complete blame on the media rather than the individual.
By this reasoning the world should have a lot more Ginsu Knives sitting around in kitchens, and everyone should smell like a perfume factory, etc, etc...
What I am getting at is that advertising is a media which tries to convince us of something, that we want item X, and sure it is successful sometimes. But we have a conscious decision to follow that advertising to its conclusion and go out and pick up that thing we `need' or pick up the phone and order that `turnip twaddler' (apologies to Berke Breathed) or not to follow that advertisement.
In the same way, we have a conscious choice as to whether or not to emulate other media that is put before us. Do we want to join the army because we watched Navy SEALS, or GI Jane depending upon your preferences...?
Do we want to become a musketeer because we read the book (or waited for the movie, but the one with the great lines):
Porthos: Champagne?
Athos: We're in the middle of a chase, Porthos.
Porthos: You're right - something red.
(I love that quote).
Do we want to do serious damage to ourselves because we happened to glance through a copy of the Kama Sutra? .... ok, bad example.
Are computers bad because some people use them to create malicious virii?
Are magnifying glasses bad because some people use them to burn ants?
I remember the big controversy that arose from role-playing games, specifically D&D (which I happen to loathe because I find it too narrow in terms of character creation and atmosphere) which promoted witchcraft and satanism. Or even Harry Potter which promotes witchcraft... all I found they promoted was my imagination and enjoyment of a creative environment. In fact they expanded my horizons because RPGs involved history and that got me reading more of various historical periods.
My point is that everything we experience influences us, but it doesn't take control. To cut out those influences is to eliminate freedom of experience, freedom of choice, freedom of will.
All when the problem is not with the experience, but with the way the experience has been internalized.
"The media is the message" -Marshall McLuhan
Maybe some of us just don't understand the messages correctly.
Is that the fault of the media?