Effects Of Mass Media On Yoruba Culture And Tradition

1.1 Background of the study

In the world today, there are many different factors that can change the way a person feel or thinks. These external factors can cause a person to act in a certain way that may even be out of the norm for their usual character traits. One such factor is the media. The media can change the emotions that drive a person to react and this is present in advertising, news broadcasts and even Hollywood productions. These factors have changed nearly every aspect of the present way of life and have caused what many would call a moral decline in the upcoming generation, but in all truthfulness, this is not a new situation. 

The ancient world was not saturated by the media like the current world is, but they did have the many of the same situations to deal with. When it came to influencing people no one was more prominent than the clergy and a lot of time they were corrupt in their way of life, focusing only on what would cause them personal gain. Kings of old often manipulated the religious figures to best suit his own needs and unfortunately this meant the general population, which was predominantly illiterate and relied on the teaching of these religious figures to know what the Bible said, would often find themselves in a state of confusion. So the power to change the known world and what was acceptable and unacceptable was often in the hands of the incompetent, which focused ignorantly on personal gain. That sounds awfully familiar to the current state of things in more than one nation. The illiteracy of the ancient world hindered them from seeking out their own answers to more than life’s greatest questions, it prevented them from bucking back at the authoritative figures in their lives, which was exactly what the literate wanted. When education moved forward of the back burners and more people were able to read and write, there was a new surge in life itself. People were more able to be expressive and in that more people were able to understand others mindsets. As the literary movement took hold, so did a sense of wonder, majesty and self-identity. People began to buck back to the people that were the sole source of knowledge in the past and this sparked a whole new culture.

Since the time known as the proto-literate period (3400-2900 BC), there has been some form of media and as it is now the media was always bias to the powers of the day. When a pharaoh had the hieroglyphs depicting his exploits made, they usually seemed to make him out to be a godlike figure. With this type of publicity, it was no wonder that people began to think of many rulers as being divine. It is not much different in the present world with the way celebrities are portrayed on television, tabloids and advertisements. When they make a mistake it seems to be magnified, even if it is something that everyone already does. The same is true for when they do something good. When things are magnified and it seems like the entire nation is praising someone just for doing a common good deed, the regular person that has gone out of their way and truly given of him or herself may feel discouraged for getting little or no recognition. Though it is true that good deeds are supposed to be just for the greater good of humanity and not for personal recognition, it is nice to know that what was done was appreciated. With the media putting such importance on being recognized, it is no wonder why people shy away from helping others in need and have become consumed with personal gain and image and frankly the biggest influence in media is television.

With the invention of photography media was better able to stimulate their audience. Photography took the imagination out and provided a visual record. No longer would the reader be required to challenge his or her mind to create the picture to fit the story they were reading. Photography was a giant step for man’s achievements, but it was on a stepping-stone for what would come next. Video recording would replace still photos. Photos were able to capture single moments in time, but video would push the boundary and capture entire memories. In 1969, media completely changed the world as they broadcast live footage of the first of mankind walking on an extraterrestrial planet. Neil Armstrong took one small step from the landing craft, but he forever sealed it as a giant leap for mankind. The video media has been a great asset in advancing the world, but it is not always for the good. The Vietnam war was the first of its kind, sure people living during WW1 and WW2 could have picked up a newspaper and read about what was going on overseas and even see a picture or two, but Vietnam was broadcasted into the living rooms of the American people. For the first time ever the civilian word was watching as the troops sacrificed their time, lives and mind to fight a vicious battle against a ruthless enemy. It was devastating to America. It stirred more peace movements than ever and brought hate and anger into the hearts of the general public. People who have never fought in battle were crying out against it. This single event showed the entire world what they needed to do to control the people and that was to control the media.

“Television is one of the most powerful influences in the culture” (Stated by Albert Mohler in Popular Culture: Opposing Viewpoints, Greenhaven Press of Thomas Gale, Farmington Hills, Michigan, 2005 Page 163). With television being in nearly every home in America, it is no wonder why it is so influential. The shift that culture has made in recent years can be almost completely blamed on what was at one time, very appropriately called, the tube. In the recent years there has been a major shift in the acceptance of sinful acts and lifestyles. People are less concerned with meeting their to be spouse as they are with meeting someone for a random sex encounter. Sex has become so much a part of life that the age in which children begin to take a role in pleasing the opposite sex has gone down. Many times children are dressing inappropriately in general, but when their age is added to the equation, there is only one question. What are their parents thinking, letting them dress that way? This is not only limited to females, but males as well. The image of what is considered to be sexy, hip and acceptable has become downright ridicules. Girls dressing in revealing outfits with no sense of moral shame or personal self worth and boys wearing clothes that are either so big that they are falling off or so small that they appear to be wearing their little sisters pants. These fads are influenced by what the idiots on television do. If it’s on TV it must be cool. 

There is a new openness to the homosexual lifestyle that has all but destroyed the sanctity of marriage and even the male to female relationship. In 2003 television took a turn towards promoting homosexuality as an acceptable way of life. Shows like Ellen DeGeneres, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Will and Grace and Queer as Folk have spun the acceptance in a detestable sin to be a common way of life that has to be accepted. Even now they are calling for equality in marriage and demanding the right to be married and treated as equals in marriage. The issue of homosexuality is not a new one, look at Sodom and Gomorrah or at Romans 1:27, “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet” and even further back, Leviticus 18:22’ “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” The issue is not new, but putting it in the homes of everyone has changed the fight on it. Television has created the ability to easily access anything that can be imagined and has downplayed the Christian way of Life. God has been removed from most things that could cause a person to feel convicted. Take for instance shows like Family Guy, Southpark and GCB (first titled Good Christian Bitches then Good Christian Belles before being shortened to GCB), these types of shows push the people out of the churches and into the streets. The arms of atheism are there to try to scoop up the Christians that get chased out of church and evangelicals should be overly joyed that the so called, “new atheistic movement” has practically died with Christopher Hitchens. These anti-God and anti-Semitic TV broadcasts have caused more people to loose faith, by convincing them that there is no reasonable explanation for serving God or even in the existence of God in general. The stage is set for the antichrist and it was set by television.