Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id RAA22642 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 23 Mar 2001 17:48:07 GMT X-Originating-IP: [209.240.221.78] From: "Scott Chase" <ecphoric@hotmail.com> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: RE: Fwd: Survey connects graphic TV fare, child behavior Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 12:44:12 -0500 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Message-ID: <F26sHACWVTiYZvkxEAO0000e3b6@hotmail.com> X-OriginalArrivalTime: 23 Mar 2001 17:44:12.0949 (UTC) FILETIME=[DF664C50:01C0B3C0] Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk>
>Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
>Subject: RE: Fwd: Survey connects graphic TV fare, child behavior
>Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 10:23:42 -0000
>
>Yes, I think media literacy is a key factor to deal with some of the worst
>responses to media content.
>
>I think Paul Marsden's line is similar to what you're suggesting here, in
>that media coverage of some issues, in some ways both legitimates and
>reinforces peoples' tendencies to behave in certain ways- your road rage
>example might be a good one here. I'm still not sure about this myself,
>but
>something's going on.
>
I've wanted to explore the psychological factors in the road rage
phenomenon, but never got around to delving into any extant literature. It's
amazing how people seem to change when they are behind the wheel of a car.
Someone who might be friendly if met in a situation like a party or shopping
mall might be a total thug if you're doing the speed limit and they are
right on your rear bumper giving you the middle finger (an expression of
body language that signifies something quite nasty in the U.S.). I just had
an encounter in the past fifteen minutes where I was driving through a
residential neighborhood at 25 mph (whatever that converts to in metrics)
and some younger kid was riding my keister. In my rear view I could tell
they weren't amused to be riding behind me. At least I'm cognizant of the
possiblities of little kids on bicycles or scooters or whatever darting out
in front of me. I wonder how much twisted steel and broken bones and
fatality has resulted from mere impatience and rudeness.
I had a pet hypothesis that NASCAR and INDYCAR could be to blame for some of
the problem. Hmmm....
My previous car had fifth gear burned out for a while, so I was pretty much
forced to drive close to the speed limit on the highway. I really noticed
the rudeness that comes out in people when you are taking up space on
*their* road. I realy love when someone cuts you off when they are passing
without even the courtesy of a blinker. I guess I get upset too. Two wrongs
don't make a right...
With road rage, this impatience and rudeness escalates to outright hostility
and violence.
>
> > ----------
> > From: Chris Taylor
> > Reply To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> > Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2001 4:18 pm
> > To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> > Subject: Re: Fwd: Survey connects graphic TV fare, child behavior
> >
> > > most readers of women's magazines criticise them for their
> > mis-representation > of "ideals" of femininity, and yet they still
> > routinely buy them. What's going on
> > > there?
> >
> > I think its the "I hate this but what can I do" thing - i.e. they have
> > to keep up because it isn't as bad as not keeping up, but is worse than
> > if there was no issue at all. Also, as well as passing peer muster,
> > there's the aspirational thing (which is much more sophisticated and
> > insidious for women - 'be a bit like her' - as opposed to the men's
> > which tends to be more just 'be like him' [and get a shag]).
> >
> > As for the media thing with violence / antisocial behaviour / general
> > views of reality, I'm not of the opinion that these robots soak up memes
> > and rush off to express them (and I know that wasn't your precis of what
> > I wrote), but neither do I think that it has no role. This whole thing
> > is bloody complicated (sage, sage). There's a nice example of a meme
> > taking the direct route though - US freeway carjacking crimes were
> > reported on the British news, then there was a few of them over the next
> > few weeks here (although I'm not saying the news report bred criminals,
> > it added to their stock of memes). Road rage is another bad one - it
> > gives people an easy way to legitimise an illegitimate behaviour (sort
> > of like the French plea of Crime Passionale, or however the hell you
> > write that). I wouldn't ban the news, I wouldn't censor (much), but we
> > should be concerned - immunise immunise immunise (to go for the
> > Blairism). That way, just as with live vaccines, the resistance will
> > actually spread. Actually that is not so much immunisation as biological
> > control!
> >
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Chris Taylor (chris@bioinf.man.ac.uk)
> > http://bioinf.man.ac.uk/ »people»chris
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >
> > ===============================================================
> > This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
> > Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
> > For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
> > see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
> >
>
>==============================================================This was
>distributed via the memetics list associated with the
>Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
>For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
>see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
>
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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