Adolescents and the Media - Informal Tone + Structure

I like this piece. It's nice to see a change from the mundane paragraph after paragraph approach. Sometimes, bullets can work just as well. Since the editorial was meant to be informal in its tone and structure, I find it safe to let the criticizing fly out the window and read the piece mainly for its content.

The writer covered many debatable topics that have found a home in the media. They are present day after day, delivered to the audience show after show - not to mention the intervening advertisements every ten minutes. The writer (Victor) also uses statistics to give his opinion some backbone. The writer categorized the content into what people know and do not know, breaking it down for people to have an easier time browsing through the information.

There is one thing I would like to comment on. Victor (the author) said:

"Parents may also buy into the Hollywood myth that television and movies are merely fantasy entertainment."

I feel that many groups of people, institutions and research centers in today's society are wasting their time pointing fingers at an acceptable scapegoat whenever possible. For example, many have accused Hollywood of polluting virgin minds at home. In turn, Hollywood may cast the blame towards parents for being unable to control what their children watch. The parents, then, may look towards the media (TV primarily), blaming them for running inappropriate content. And the cycle can go on and on .. and on. And on.

Of the four pieces examined, Henry Jenkins and his essay on Virginia Tech and media violence grabs first place, while second place goes to the "informal tone and structure editorial". Third place goes to the article about Tom and Jerry (I forget its author and name - sorry), and number four would go to the first piece examined. This is my preference, however. I'm sure there is someone who disagrees with my order.


Sahil