Asia Graduate School of Theology Course: Cultural Issues of Education Professor: Grace Shangkuan Koo, Ph.D.

Student: uel !. Cha"e# $e%ruary &, '((&

eaction Pa)er * + $ro, )eo)le )o-er to ,ass hysteria: .edia and )o)ular reactions to the death of Princess Diana

The student has threefold goals in this reaction paper: overview of James Thomas article, response on two points identified by the researcher, and connecting Thomas research to his reading on Constantino (19 ! and "oliongco (Constantino, 19#1!$ James

Thomas article e%poses the power of media to e%aggerate and to e%ploit death and suffering for specific ends$ This study aims to investigate the significance of media manipulation of such events in &consensus'building and national politics( (p$ ) *!$ Thomas research unveiled the suppression of ma+ority dissenting public opinion in favor of the constructed minority but influential opinion$ ,t also shows the focus of media on creating celebrity culture$ Commerciali-ed emotion and conformity to media manipulated public opinion are the two ideas that the student would li.e to e%press his reaction$ Thomas basing on the opinion of /estrovic (1990! identified this commerciali-ed emotion$ The former described our generation as &a post'emotional era in which mass'produced, /c1onaldi-ed emotions rather than real ones are routinely stimulated by a growing industry around death and suffering( (p$ )02!$ 3or me, , consider it alarming if this description can be generali-ed as the e%act picture of the post'modern age$ This would mean that we are loosing something, which is very important to humanity$ 4nd this is

done in public through the e%ploitation of media$ 5e cannot go on fabricating unrealistic emotion without doing long'term damage to public conscience$ The second point is about conformity to the media promoted public opinion$ Thomas states, &6umerous studies in social psychology have discovered that people will publicly conform to perceived social norms, tending to conceal views if they feel they are in minority7( (p$ )01!$ 8e also 9uoted one observer saying, & :, did not e%press my views in public for , reali-ed that , was a lone voice ( (p$ )0*!$ , thin. this is not only true in matters of e%pressing opinion concerning death and suffering$ 4s far as my personal opinion is concerned, , believe this also happening even in discussing other fields li.e religion, education, truth, and morality$ , find this observation true to my own e%perience$ , have heard and seen people who are holding personal convictions but voicing different opinion in public$

The last section in this paper attempts to connect Thomas study to the ideas of both Constantino (19 ! and "oliongco (Constantino, 19#1!$ ;oth of them discussed

sub+ects related to mass media$ Constantinos opinion was aired more than forty years ago$ ,n the case of "oliongco, his career as a +ournalist lasted from late forties to 1901 (p$ iii!$ 4dmitted that the issues they raised were dated and that the media tool they employed was newspaper but , still find relevant ideas that describe the current condition of mass media including the use of television$ "oliongco mentioned about media as mirror of society and employed as a tool to create images of influential people such as politicians and business tycoons (p$ *2<!$ 8e even asserted, &news is oftentimes manufactured by public officials or by prominent personages to pro+ect themselves in the best light possible( (,bid$!$ Constantino confirmed "oliongcos criti9ue by stating that there were paid press people to do the business of selling something or someone (19 ,

*9!$ They could be a political agenda or influential personalities$ Constantino identified the elite as the ones who had the capability to do such media manipulation$ Though , could not appeal to any empirical evidence, my mind is +ust wandering whether such practice still e%ists in present society$

4nother issue raised by "oliongco, which described the situation of media during his time was the e%istence of a gap between the public and the press (p$ *1*!$ 5e find this true in the case of the death of =rincess 1iana$ ,nstead of representing the ma+ority feeling and thin.ing of the people, the media is selective and controlled by a particular agenda$ , find this true in my first'hand encounters with national events li.e the =ayatas tragedy, the /t$ =inatubo eruption, and the denied >dsa )$ 5hat is reported in the public does not reflect the actual event$ ,f you happened to as. people of =ayatas who witnessed the actual tragedy, you would hear different story from that of the news$ The same thing is true with =inatubo eruption$ , happened to as. a group of 4etas in ?ambales living at the foot of =inatubo before its eruption and they shared a different story not .nown to the general public$ /oreover, those who actually attended the >dsa ) could testify that in terms of numbers theirs is greater than that of the first two >dsas but either denied or hidden by the news$ , was +ust toying the idea that perhaps the reason for the absence of media coverage of the actual event of >dsa ) was the difference in terms of political goals from those of influential personalities who controlled power and media during that time$

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>%cept for the news, , would li.e to e%pand this reflection to other areas touched by the power of television$ @eflecting further on Constantinos statements about the power of media, , find it portraying a different world and promoting a culture of instant success, luc., and social apathy$ There is e%ception of course but , thin. this describes the general landscape of media at present$ 4s a common observer, , find that most popular television shows are fantasy films, films borrowed from other countries, and movies that do not reflect the lifestyle of the ma+ority of our people$ The popularity of this fantasy shows li.e 1arna, Aagambino, 1yesebel, /ulawin and others could be perceived on the one hand as a display of ingenuity of 3ilipino filmma.ers$ Bn the other hand, they could be interpreted as symptomatic of a mindset of escapism from the social realities in the land$ , am +ust thin.ing, is this not an indication of social hopelessness and that is why we are resorting to non'e%isting realities with superheroes as the saviors of the oppressed against wic.ed enemiesC 8ow about the borrowed moviesC ,snt this also an indication of mental stagnancy of scriptwriters and directorsC 4re we ashamed with our own films, which plot of the story is already predictable from its very beginning and almost the same with previous films e%cept for the title and actors and actressesC 4nd why is it that most popular evening shows do not reflect the common life of the peopleC The setting with all its props li.e private pools, furniture, food and others are far from what we actually see among ma+ority of 3ilipinos$ 4nd if there are scenes showing the life of poor people, they are most of the time misrepresented$ 4gain, isnt this an indication of a psychological and social gap between filmma.ers and the common peopleC 3inally, my comment on the cultural influence of media is about the prevailing

acceptance of entertainment and game shows by the public$ ,t is my personal opinion that such shows cultivate a culture of social apathy, instant success, and luc.$

eference: Constantino, @$ (19 !$ The Filipinos in the Philippines and other essays. Eue-on

City, =hilippines: /alaya ;oo.s ,ncorporated$ Constantino, @$ (>d$!$ (19#1!$ Soliongco toady: A contemporary from the past. Eue-on City: 3oundation for 6ationalist "tudies$