The video that we watched in class was about a younger college student that went missing. The student traveled far from home when he was only a young teenager and was a shut in due to the fact that everyone was older than him and he had a hard time making friends. When he was found, instead of the main concern being the mental health of the kid, everyone decided to focus the blame on a game called Dungeons and Dragons. Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy role playing game and it was accused of being satanic and corrupting children for some reason. With all of the drama circling around a board game, a new phenomenon revealed it's ugly face. And it's name was Media Phobia.
According to Karen Sternheimer, Media Phobia can be defined as a fear of pop culture and it's "social problems" that people think it creates. Instead of focusing on the problem itself, people try to find the thing or the person responsible for it. Another great example of this would be The Columbine Shootings and the blame that was put on musicians like Eminem and Marilyn Manson. A lot of the blame for that tragedy was shifted toward the violence and anarchy that these artists portrayed in their songs. Marilyn Manson had quoted in an interview " The president has been shooting bombs over seas, yet I'm a bad guy for singing some rock and roll songs. And who's a bigger influence; the president or Marilyn Manson. I'd like to think me, but I'm going to go with the president." People need to understand that pop culture has nothing to do with the problems that we create for ourselves. If anything, pop culture has been the one showing us that their are problems going on in our world that need to be fixed. Instead of going on this which hunt with who is to blame, lets just focus on the actual problem instead.
I like the different perspective you took on this video, about thinking about the mental health of the kid rather the blame of the game for his disappearance. I agree with your statement about how people are not focusing on the problem itself but try to find someone to blame or who is responsible for this. Rock and Roll and rap music has always been accused for being the problem as to why kids are acting out or causing commotion in society when this isn't the case at all, people blow these things out of proportion and the media encourages it, so good point. I like yours last statement as well about how people are still to blame pop culture but its really something that should be bringing peoples attention the things that should be fixed.
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