Disney Or Dat Knee? Disney Bought Part of Fox News!?!

-
     Today, the Disney corporation purchased a huge portion of the Fox network for $52 billion. This is a huge change, and news sources like the BBC BBC Analysis say it's an attempt to rally against streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. The strategy is understandable, but with the instability of the staff and the uneducated bias of the network, Disney's true values become questionable. Yes, they do need to branch out to reach a whole new audience and market, but at what cost? Besides the $52 billion, their investment could leak Fox content barf into Disney creations. Their purchase only includes 20th Century Fox, sports networks, and some subsets, but its not like Fox News doesn't touch any of this. Besides the possible poisoning of Disney content, the same goes for the other side. Franchises such as Avatar and The Simpsons are at risk too. The content we love could soon be a vessel for advertising, ready to make us consume more at the sake of our welfare.

    Disney's advertisements reach audiences all over the globe, gaining fans and money every day. With this new expansion, we could see a lot more Madison and Vine (product placement) in our favorite movies and shows produced by 20th Century Fox. Suddenly we could see Elsa talking about Basketball stats or we may drown in mountains of merchandise. Content will probably begin to churn out at rapid speeds, with a minute amount of quality. The worry that come with this quantity over quality mindset, is that our media will lose its authenticity. The shows that carry the messages that shape our identity could be tampered, and we might only be influenced by one stream of creators, rather than a whole world of them with all their differing ideals and messages to share through their art. When we lack diversity in our media, we lose our ability to evolve socially.

Criminal Minds, CBS
     Darwin's model of evolution states a species must have variation in order to survive. This is similar in our media, as differing ideologies and histories make their way to peoples minds through media. This variation that is so abundant in our lives is helpful because we can then improve ourselves with new knowledge, and try to come up with better solutions for society. When companies swallow up  other companies, we lose this diversity that so badly needed in order to evolve society. When Disney takes up Fox, that's a lot of content all mixed up into one ball. There's no predicting how Disney will restrain the creators and their freedom, or how much they will influence content, only that things will change whether we like it or not. More companies means a wider variety of ideologies and mediums that will be broadcasted, but when you lose more and more individual corporations, you gain a uniform company that controls everything we absorb. Uniformity is reform's kryptonite, and we have to try and stop this constant absorbing before it's too late.

Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 17, 2017 at 2:35 PM

    While I agree that letting a single company monopolize media is a dangerous thing, I wonder if uniformity will ever exist in modern media. As I see it, the sort of diversity that you seek is merely an illusion - while they may seem seperate, all of the different programs serve one purpose: to create obedient consumers. Disney, Fox, Nickelodeon, they are all just marketing schemes in their respective disguises. To this end, I wonder if it is more productive to abandon the system altogether, instead of attempting to reform it through diversifying the forms of marketing we are subjected to.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"When Will My Reflection Show..."

-
Image
     If I've obtained anything this semester, it has been a whole new point of view on the media and how manipulative the industry is. My whole life I've been consuming, from T.V. to radio, newspapers and now the digital plane. Now, I can really see through their obscure messages and underlying control, and analyze how I have been completely influenced! Today, I spend way to much time on my phone, mostly Snapchat and just texting in general. This addiction has effected my focus, and changed even my relationships due to the power of suggestion held over my head by social media. You can always keep tabs on people, but is it always a good idea to constantly know when people are ignoring you on purpose or doing regrettable things? It's similar to a discussion on superpowers, you want something that will allow you to have an edge, many people like invisibility due to the possibilities, malicious or other wise. They could eavesdrop, steal, play pranks, but people cannot s...
Read more

The Fault In Our Youth Culture: Okay? Not Okay.

-
Image
Entrance to the Aokigahara Forest      Recently, YouTuber Logan Paul uploaded an insensitive vlog exploiting a man who had hung himself in Japan's Aokigahara forest. His friends and him are in shock, and instead of using the off button, they continue to gawk at the sight and share snickers because for some reason respect is not a trait they are familiar with. Even after filming this and editing the video, he didn't seem to ever think posting the video was a bad idea. The video reached the top of the trending charts on YouTube before it was taken down, and an army of pre-pubecent teens had seen the graphic imagery and the horrid reaction of the vloggers. Paul's reaction to what he found has been seen as disgusting by all (and it is), but is it all that abnormal?     In the film, Merchants of Cool , they cover the whole premise of the "mook." This obnoxious, insensitive character has been perpetuated for decades by the media, creating endless enter...
Read more

Media and I: a Relationship

-
Image
     As the famous Ross Geller of Friends said, "We were on a break!" That's what I need from media, as its firm grip on my life may enrich me but it hinders my productivity and livelihood. Binging seasons on Netflix has at least subsided since summer, but I'm haunted by little hearts and twitters, ghosts that for some reason need sunglasses. I use media every day, from listening to the radio in my house 24/7 to the stories curated by Snapchat. of course a constant flow of information saves me from poisonous ignorance, but there's a cost for every commodity.Up late nights doing homework is my kryptonite, and while there is blame to be had on the loads that burden me and practice everyday for my side passions, at least an hour or two are victims of procrastination, induced by the allure of that blue-lit screen. Heavy eyes, reading the latest headlines or gawking over photos of my idols. Its debilitating and tiring to keep up this relationship, where I seem to be g...
Read more