My Views on the Current Media

In a perfect world, media would also be perfect. Representation in all its forms would be realistically balanced in terms of race, sexuality, gender, religion and others; the able-bodied would not blot out the existence of the disabled and the distinction between romantic and sexual orientation would be a topic so thoroughly explored it would be obvious to everyone. Furthermore, overtly and humourlessly cliché or socially insulting media would, if not cease to exist, then at least lessen in number. Flat-out false or obnoxiously sensationalist articles both in physical and digital print would cease being published, and governments all over the world would cease to have any kind of monopoly, no matter how slight, on the news industry.

However, the world we live in is far from perfect, and the idea of perfection itself is a flawed construct (if you'd pardon the sheer pretentiousness of the statement). As a result, the media is full of negatives (as well as positives, of course), simply because media is a reflection of society, as well as a tool for shaping it. The fact that change in media causes change in the real world is a distinct, passionate belief that I hold simply because I've experienced the influence of media outlets both second and, more importantly, first-hand. As a result of this, I aim to be an avid but increasingly aware consumer of the endless films, TV shows, animation, comics, music and articles available to anyone willing to look (and able to pay).

Until about 3 years ago, it had been impossible to entice me to turn on a TV and watch it for longer than an episode of the average cartoon would last. The only reason I am so interested in television shows today is thanks to the internet community, which made me aware of the possibility of online viewing using outlets such as BBC iPlayer and Netflix. Also, I happened to be printing homework on the living room computer one day whilst my mum was watching "Downton Abbey". Seeing the single reoccurring queer character of the show, Thomas Barrow, cry over the loss of the friend he was in love with is genuinely all it took for me to spiral down into a pretty horrific obsession with mainstream television shows that only reverted back into a regular hobby perhaps half a year ago. That said, through watching and rewatching popular titles and reading an extensive amount of social and professional commentary on them, I greatly widened my understanding of media. In the end, my pallet extended from my humble beginnings with "Downton Abbey" (which I watch to this day even though in my opinion it has gotten progressively more unrealistic and badly written) to include titles such as "Sherlock", "Doctor Who", "Supernatural", "Merlin", "Hannibal", "In the Flesh", "Orange is the New Black", "American Horror Story", "Orphan Black" and "Game of Thrones". Conclusively, I love both terrible and fantastic television programmes, not least because I recognise moments of brilliance and moments of terribleness in them all.

In comparison to TV, film neither interests me as much nor do I know as much about it. My favourites therefore include predominantly animated titles (from Tim Burton's "Coraline", to Studio Ghibli classics such as "Howl's Moving Castle" and "My Neighbour Totoro", to new-era Disney films such as "Up", "The Princess and the Frog" and "Tangled"). Other than that, I enjoy most Marvel movies, the Pirates of the Caribbean series (even if they are mostly just milking the franchise for money at this point) and most films based off novels that I enjoyed in their original book format. The only time I venture outside this framework is when I find a particularly brilliant actor, in which case I start greedily consuming all movies with their work (in this way I discovered the brilliant Danish film "The Hunt" thanks to Mads Mikkelsen, for instance).

Music is probably the medium closest to my heart, and the one that I feel most comfortable about, perhaps because I understand very little about music and simply stick to what I think sounds good. Due to my interest in writing and poetry, lyrics are of great importance to me, sometimes greater than even the tune itself. I am indiscriminate in my listening; I have no particular genre that I stick to or singular artists all of whose work I love. I have over 700 downloaded songs, the foreign side of which contains 80's Russian rock, German screamo, atmospheric/alternative French music, Korean pop and Japanese songs produced by the singing musical computer programme "Vocaloid". In terms of English-speaking (English-singing?) artists, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift live alongside Twenty One Pilots, Bastille, Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy and Nirvana. All music that isn't offensive to minorities or enforces oppressive societal ideas is basically great, in my opinion.

As to media outlets that I use little; those include podcasts and radio, even though at one point I did listen to Kerrang Radio almost every day, and I still listen to "Welcome to Night Vale" on the Podcast app on my phone whenever a new episode comes out. I sadly have little time for video games, even though I enjoy them immensely and own a truly inordinate amount for someone who's so bad at them. I don't read newspapers or magazines mainly because the information they give is all accessible from less subjective sources on the internet, as well as because a lot of newspapers are either very cheap or free and as a result end up doing little other than causing a litter problem on the tube. For the last year or so, I've even avoided most news programmes, simply because the amount of skewed journalism and misinformation about world issues seen in them made me deeply upset. When it comes to phone apps, I am equally fairly inactive; the most I use is a few for social networking (Facebook, yes, but also regrettably Tumblr, the vortex of which has had me in its grasp for far too long) and a handful of popular free games. Aside from that, my most useful download has to be a countdown app that keeps me motivated and looking forward to things such as holidays, birthdays and new episodes of TV shows.

I could talk infinitely more on all the above, but I am very conscious that I have already talked too much. With that in mind, then, my final thought is this: although I try to be as aware as possible of the influence of media on my life and opinions, writing this post has made me realise that this influence is even more prevalent and important in my life than I previously thought.

DY