Media, Cultural Diversity: Key to Social Integration - Essay Sample

Introduction

Media, as a powerful social system, plays a significant role in creating a sense of reality for individuals in society. Media acts as a loudspeaker that magnifies power relations; hence it can either expose or reinforce those who have political and social power in the community. Culture is learned and transmitted from generation to generation; therefore, an integrating mechanism that holds together a diverse group of organizational members (Geertz, 2017). Media and cultural diversity are interconnected since the level of understanding cultures, especially in the USA Society influence media content as well as media content and platforms have a significant impact on learning and day-to-day activities.

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Cultural diversity is evident in the media context. Perfect example applies to the media piece by Bryan Stevenson about We need to talk about Injustice" Various events revolve around this piece that tend to relate to cultural diversity. First Bryan talks about power of identity and given that he grew up in an African-American home it seemed to be dominated by Matriarch .He had a powerful grandmother who was a daughter of people who were enslaved hence the experience of slavery shaped the way she perceived things .Criminal Justice system issue has tackled in the piece with diversity evident .Mass incarceration is experienced in the United States and people of color and poor communities are more vulnerable as they are shaped by the outcomes .One out of three black men is in prison as compared to the whites .The criminal Justice system encourages diversity through for instance the imprisonment of many black people as compared to the white population .The justice system tend to treat rich people better as compared to the poor communities which is an aspect if cultural diversity. The state deprive individuals with criminal conviction history right to vote especially in Alabama and this applies to 34% of the black male population. Another important issue is the aspect of race, whereby in many poor communities people feared of being lynched and bombed hence the threat of terror shaped their lives. Segregation and racial subordination is evident .For instance in Old South state execution of people takes place and the death penalty of the black victim is higher as compared to the white victim. The issue of life imprisonment of children exists and a 13 year old client is certified by a judge to stand trial as an adult .The issues clearly relates to cultural diversity in the aspects of race, color ,age and social class of groups in the communities.

Theoretical perspectives promote understanding of the diversity concept; they include; conflict perspective and culture of poverty perspective.

Conflict Perspective

Conflict theorists generally view social structure to be a proponent of inequality based on power differences due to diversity issues like social class, gender, race, and age. Culture initiates explicitly the problems of privilege for certain groups of people based upon gender race and even type. For instance, women tend to strive for equality in a male-dominated society, especially in employment opportunities, as depicted in the media piece. Women are assigned low-status jobs, whereas men tend to occupy positions of management and supervision. Power has been stipulated in the perspective as senior citizens try to protect their rights from the lawmakers. As well an advocacy group like ACLU is working to ensure the protection of rights of all ethnic groups and races in the United States. Cultural beliefs and norms create inequality within society as they tend to benefit some people and hurt other individuals. Cultural diversity has been valued in the United States, but many people frown in situations of interracial marriages. Society system as a high impact on the culture as less powerful individuals have less ability to adapt to cultural change. Concerning the above media piece for example in the Criminal Justice system poor communities and people of color are in despair for instance the incarceration rates for black men is high as compared to their white counterparts. As well one out of three black men between ages 18 to 30 is in prison which applies to the age factor.

Culture of Poverty Theory

Poverty is a social problem experienced in many societies around the globe. It refers to a lack of necessary material resources like food, shelter, and clothing. Hence the culture of poverty theory proposes that poverty is caused by people's norms and cultural beliefs in society. This implies that the poor have cultural values that are different in the community as, when an individual grows up in a low-income family learns certain norms that shape life and opportunities in life. People tend to internalize and conform to the values and thus grow up poor and often remain poor. According to Oscar Lewis, living in conditions of poverty leads to the development of a poor culture, which is characterized by high levels of dependency, helplessness, and powerlessness (Lewis, 2016). The poor people are less valued and do not have a voice in society. According to the media piece chosen culture of poverty exists, for instance, in case of unemployment opportunities to women in the newsroom.

The culture of poverty theory has a significant impact on the United States policy towards the sparse population. It concentrates on the Negro family that is the black family due to family breakdown hence the decline of the male-headed household. A sense of powerlessness is stipulated as the family breakdown failed black males to succeed, including their generations. Reduced generation live in a world which they all see is poverty and desperation and do not have the interest to acquire news skills to rise above the poverty level. Parents thus teach their siblings to accept the circumstances rather than to strive and change the existing conditions. The cycle of poverty rotates, and although whites no longer own slaves, they feel superior to people of African origin. In regard to the above media piece, it clearly states that our system is distorted by poverty and a clear example is the justice system that treats people differently in such a way that you are treated better if you come from a high social class as compared to people from low social class.

Robert Merton identified four ways of prejudice and discrimination that people undergo in day to day activities and this can relate to the above Media piece. For instance Prejudice-Discriminators category is a perfect example as individuals do not believe in equality of any available opportunity and tend to discriminate against racial and ethnic minorities. With the above piece its evident that Prejudice-discrimination takes place even to the state level by focusing on the criminal justice system .The black is the minority group that is experiencing negative outcome in all aspects of life. The following include types of discrimination for minority people

Discrimination in the Workforce

The United States has been a significant target for job opportunities around the globe. However, many immigrants have had difficulties accessing legal documents required in the immigration process. The workforce has been ethnically diverse, and although discriminatory employment practices are prohibited still, discrimination is experienced. Immigrants are discriminated in instances whereby they are not considered for employment opportunities, yet they meet the qualifications. Racial discrimination is a prominent experience among minority groups in the United States society as 60 % population experience some form of discrimination. Policies to more deportations and family separation have been enacted. As the media calls for mass removal, it leads to fear and stress among the undocumented youth immigrant in society. Nevertheless, 25% of the population faces interpersonal discrimination attributed to race and ancestry. Based on the data, social policy has had an impact on the minority groups, especially after the election of 2016, as President Donald Trump actively promotes racism culture through his speech and plans.

The above media piece portrays discrimination especially in employment opportunities whereby the percentage of black employees is low as compared to white employees.

The content in the media piece has some elements of power influence. For instance in the criminal justice systems the state stipulates conviction laws like in the case for Alabama state. This implies that the minority groups would be vulnerable as they are powerless and cannot be able to defend themselves .As well social class relates directly to the powerful class in the society and in relation the media piece the white have a high social class in the society as compared to the black population. Another example is for the young boy aged 13 years who faces severe sentences as the Judge certify him of adult being. The judge seems to be powerful than the victim hence power is a factor that directly related to the above media piece.

Statistical data support the tenant of the media piece.

From the above statistics, it is evident that diversity in the media is for all people of color and shapes (Dhoest, Cola, Brusa & Lemish, 2018).

Media is an important institution that portrays diversity by aspects of gender, race, ethnicity, age; sexual orientation .Discrimination is evident in employment positions, gender specifications and race consideration. For smooth running of the society and policies for equality should be stipulated to create a conducive environment for every person so as to ensure that equality is achieved.

References

Dhoest, A., Cola, M., Brusa, M., & Lemish, D. (2018). Studying Ethnic Minorities' Media Uses: Comparative Conceptual and Methodological Reflections. Communication, Culture & Critique, 5(3), 372-391. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-9137.2012.01124.x

Jones, Q., & Soylu, A. (2009). A Continuous Struggle: Employment Discrimination. The Global Studies Journal, 2(2), 35-44. doi: 10.18848/1835 4432/cgp/v02i02/41001

Lewis, O. (2016). The Culture of Poverty. Scientific American, 215(4), 19-25. doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican1066-19

Geertz, C. (2017). Common Sense as a Cultural System. The Antioch Review, 33(1), 5. doi: 10.2307/4637616