I come home from a hards day work, and quickly grab the remote control. With a flick of the button my day is forgotten, and the television embraces me with love. Literally, in seconds, I get absorbed into the land of radiation. It has been a hard day, and to tell you the truth I do not even know what I may be watching at times. Does that mean I am not conscious of what I am absorbing? The brain is like a sponge, and even though I may not be aware of what my eye is seeing, my brain is participating in the exchange between the tv and myself.
The media has a great influence on us. Television, especially, has a great impact on our lives. The following report is about the portrayal of various driving behaviors through television, movies, commercials, and other types of media. We as citizens of a driving dependant society have to be aware of how driving is depicted. Through movies, and television shows alone, there is a vast array of reckless, and dangerous driving scenes. Although, they were written for entertainment purposes and is mere fantasy, it is up to the viewer's interpretation of what is real, what is not, what is safe driving, and what is not.
This report covers different examples of "bad driving" and are discussed further. Each observation will be described in the fullest detail. Following will be an analysis, an evaluation, and an overall rating of each driving incident. The rating scale focuses on three main areas. 1. Prominence: how important, and how much emphasis is placed on the incident. 2. Riskiness or danger: the risk and danger involved in scene. 3. Realism: Is this something that another person might imitate in real life? The scale will use a 1-5 rating scale. 1 being the worst example of bad driving. Additional sources of information include three reports written in the past generation. All three reports cover bad driving portrayals, and support my idea that bad driving on TV may be the cause of the many accidents on the road today.
Kristy points out, in her report, that people find role models
to identify with, especially kids. Many times, the television are
the child's parents, because they are too busy doing other
things, and just sit the child in front of the set to occupy
them. During those times, the child is subjected to countless
hours, and that is when the child begins to discover which
program he/she likes and dislikes. Soon, the child begins to base
themselves after their favorite television program. With the
absence of the parent, the child has no idea that some shows are
fictitious, and thus thinks it is real. She concludes with the
idea that television definitely has a great impact on the way
that people in our society view driving.
Kristin brings up a good example of bad driving being
reinforced. NASCAR racing, a dangerous but exhilarating sport. It
doesn't look hard does it? Thus many drivers try to copy what
NASCAR drivers do, and "race" friends, or even
strangers on the road. Unfortunately, we tend to forget that
NASCAR drivers are professional and are on a race track, while we
are on the regular street, with non-participants of your
concocted race, and of course, we are not professionals.
Jennifer used four types of media sources, commercials, cartoons, movies, and television shows. She argues that bad driving and aggressiveness is not part of everyday life, like everyone thinks. All her 10 examples are excellent examples, and has a very diverse list of sources.
Description
In beginning sequence of the Simpsons, Marge is shown driving her car, with her youngest daughter, Maggie in the backseat. She is in a child's seat with a toy steering wheel attached to it. Maggie begins to steer, and it seems as if Maggie is driving the car. Each time Maggie turns the wheel, the car jerks in that direction. Maggie beeps her horn, and then so does Marge. The sequence proceeds for approximately five seconds, which is quite prominent, because that section was dedicated to introducing Marge, and Maggie. In the last few seconds of the opening, you see Marge pull up into the driveway, and brake suddenly, scaring her husband Homer, practically running him over.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) In the several seconds, it encourages the viewer to think
that Maggie, a baby, is driving the car. Children may be aware
this is a cartoon, but the several seconds insist that Maggie has
control over the entire car.
b) Maggie seems to be patterning her mother's driving technique,
which includes beeping her horn, jerking on turns,braking
suddenly, and barely running over other people. If this was real,
the child is probably absorbing all of this without the mother
knowing. When Maggie drives, she will think all these behaviors
are acceptable, since she has grown up with it.
c) It turns the idea of driving recklessly to be tolerable, as
long as you do not hurt anyone. This is a bad message we are
giving to our youth, especially since this is a popular
children's television show, and not to mention with adults.
Rating
Prominence: 2
Riskiness/Danger: 4
Realism: 3
2. Adventures of Batman and Robin
Description
The scene begins with Batman getting into his notorious Batmobile. He zooms out of the infamous Batcave, and drives amazingly fast down stretches of road, and hairpin turns. When he reaches the city, he continues to speed through the streets, although no one is around, looking for his enemies. His enemies find him, and begin chasing him. The scene quickly turns into a cat and mouse game, and Batman is leading the chase. Zooming around impossible turns, and being shot it, he ignores them. His car is built to withstand almost everything, including bullets. His foes throws a grenade overhead and causes an explosion, which Batman accelerates, and crashes through the fire. Escaping his enemies once again, with the aid of his fantastic mobile, he is safe again. The scene time is approximately five minutes.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) Batman is a role model for many young kids, and he
glamorizes his escapes with the Batmobile with daredevil stunts
in the car. It may seem stretching the bounds of reality is fine,
since he is driving an fictitious vehicle, but it does not convey
any message to us from attempting those daring turns and cuts
through traffic.
b) As Batman drove in the city he continued to drive in a
dangerous manner, with the potential of hitting an oncoming
pedestrian. His lax attitude showed no respect for anyone else,
and gives us the impression this superhero really shouldn't be on
the street, when he does not even try to protect the everyday
pedestrian.
c) His turns and sometimes narrow escapes are virtually
impossible, but made to look real. Once again, his driving has an
exciting attractiveness, thus tempting us to at least try his
stunts to a small degree.
Rating
Prominence: 2
Riskiness/Danger: 2
Realism: 3
3. Sailor Moon
Description
Serena, or Sailor Moon in her transformed superhero state, is being driven home by a classmate. What she does not know is that he is an evil villain for the Negaverse Empire. He begins to accelerate down a long street at a very high speed. At once Serena is alarmed, and begins to scream. It is apparent that her enemy is trying to kill her in a car accident. Her quick thinking takes her to grab the wheel, but instead of controlling the car, she sends it out of control over a cliff. The car tumbles down into a valley. The car seems to be fine, besides structural damage, and both exit the car with a few minor scratches.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) Absolute no regard for other drivers, and pedestrians that
are on the road or sidewalk.
b) When Serena grabs the wheel, it only encourages other people
to grab the steering wheel, when panicked. Her mistake might
encourage others to do the same in her case, and try to take over
the car, when people should not interfere.
c) After the car tumbles down the cliff, it is highly unrealistic
that they are not killed, and the car only suffers minor damage.
Including themselves, who escape with minor scratches. Even after
all that Serena is able to transform herself into her super
being, and heal the driver and break the spell the Negaverse has
on him. Though it is a cartoon, the two narrowly escaped death,
telling our children that even in impacts like that, you can
survive. It gives our children a false sense of reality and
security. On top of that, the experience of death and near-death
is mocked.
Rating
Prominence: 3
Riskiness/Danger: 2
Realism: 2
Description
The Pink and Red Ranger are driving a Mitsubishi Mighty Max truck on their way to meeting the other three Rangers for a camping trip. Suddenly the Rangers' nemesis, Divatox, sends her troops, the Piranatrons, to capture the Pink and Red Ranger. The scene transform into a chase scene between the truck and the Piranatrons on motorcycles. The driver, Tommy, makes a sudden turn onto a dirt road. Speed is apparent, from the tires kicking up a dust storm, and the rapid camera action. Meanwhile the chase is going on, the camera switches to the campsite, where the other Rangers are worried about them. This happens several times, so the chase sequence is broken into increments of ten to fifteen seconds each. Piranatrons shoot their laser weapons and sets the car on fire. Tommy crashes, and is unconscious in the driver's seat, and Kat is pulled out of the car by the Piranatrons. The car continues to burn as Kat has to fight off the soldiers. Eventually Tommy is taken out of the seat, because the intent was to kidnap him. By that time, the car is almost burnt to a cinder, and is all black. It is a fabulous chase scene down a one lane dirt road. Dust clouds shield the Rangers, and they swerve side to side avoiding the shots, until they finally crash.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) The entire show is based upon this chase scene. Thus this
scene is very prominent, and its behaviors are throughout the
entire show.
b) It encourages aggression against others that are chasing you.
When the right way to act is to avoid the situation, and walk
away. Children think it is exciting to be involved in a chase
scene. Stop, get out, and then beat up the person that was
causing you trouble, when that is totally the wrong message.
c) Once again, it glamorizes driving recklessly to escape people
that you do not like. Besides aggression, driving recklessly
endangers everyone around you.
d) Total lack of dedication to safety, instead the chasing scene
persists. What they should have done is to stop the car and
continue their battle. No need to include the car. People
watching this may be prone to think that stopping and fighting is
a way to solve highway-related feuds.
e) No one is injured, but in a fantasy television no one ever is
hurt. If this took place in the real world, the risk of hurting
yourself is quite high, and kids do not see that.
f) After the show, the Rangers themselves, talk about the show.
What they should include is the driving scene, and put an
emphasis on how it was filmed and is not real. I hope this
message gives the watchers some sort of reality check. I give
credit for the show to include this portion, but I'm skeptical
that watchers, at very young ages can comprehend the message. It
is aimed at adults, and to hint to the supervising adult to
explain this to their child. Let's just hope there is a mature
adult present when the show is on.
Rating:
Prominence: 2
Riskiness/Danger: 1
Realism: 4
2. Beetleborgs Metallic
Description
Another children's television show, it is very similar to the Power Rangers. The main characters are three children approximately eight to twelve years of age. Towards the ending of each show, the three Beetleborgs transform themselves into metallic armored beings. Additional help is provided with the Beetleborg Battle Base. The base stores their artillery, and defense vehicles. It is inevitable that they use their vehicles each time. The Beetleborgs drive, and one flies, in their All-Terrain transportation to the scene of the fight. Each vehicle is of unrealistic enormous size and all have a specific set of weapons, and look somewhat like beetles. They use their weapons to destroy the monster or flying planes.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) The cartoon stretches reality, as does the Power Rangers.
The final scene always takes place and thus the entire show is
based around this scene causing prominence to be high.
b) The scenes could contribute to children thinking that driving
is relatively easy, since other children their age can do it.
c) The combination of fantasy does not have enough impact on
children, convincing that this behavior is superficial, and
should not be repeated.
d) Driving is portrayed as a very easy task, and that anyone can
do it, including children. We know that driving takes a lot of
skill, and training. Even those with licenses do not have the
needed experience to drive alone. The period of gaining
experience is very dangerous for the driver and others, and those
drivers must exercise caution when behind the wheel.
Rating
Prominence: 2
Riskiness/Danger: 2
Realism: 4
Description
In a superficially based world, Cher is the queen of fashion, style, and snide remarks. Her character is popular, beautiful, typical teenager in Beverly Hills. Her father has just given her a Jeep Wrangler, which is her learning car, as she stated. She describes the car in a very clueless fashion, telling us she has a nice stereo, and side airbags (which is not possible on a Jeep, since there is practically no door). The first scene that includes the car, Cher is driving to her best friend's Deion's house. They approach a stop sign, and Cher rushes past it. Deion glares at her friend, and Cher nonchalantly responds, "I totally paused." Another scene includes her and her driving tester, she is attempting to get her license. During her test, she fails to see a biker, and almost runs him over, and later sideswipes a parallel parked car. "My bad," is all that Cher has to say. As you have guessed, she fails her driving her test and she is "totally bummed".
Analysis and Evaluation
a) It is apparent in several scenes she is not concentrating
on her driving and on her personal life. Drivers, especially new
drivers, need to put their 100% on the road in the beginning.
Later an "automatic self" takes over since you have
performed the task so many times. She gives us the sense that
anyone can drive, even her, a total "airhead".
b) She portrays driving as a fun, very simple task, and not a
very serious issue. In one scene she adjusts her date's parking
mirror to see herself rather than let the driver see the road.
This is negligence to the safety issue.
c) She fails to learn how to drive properly, taking it upon
herself to learn how to drive, and driving the way she wants.
There was not one scene about any class called Driver's
Education.
d) Not entirely her fault, the father is partially responsible.
He shows no concern for her safety, and her learning how to
drive. He only encourages her once to concentrate on learning how
to drive, but very casually. His laid-back attitude of driving
will probably have an affect on the audience, particularly the
fifteen, sixteen year olds.
Rating
Prominence: 2
Riskiness/Danger: 1
Realism: 2
2. The Saint
Description
I had the opportunity to view this movie in a home theater, and was able to watch the scene with greater detail. Val Kilmer, playing a spy, is chased into a parking lot, where he steals a Volvo C70 for his getaway. He races out of the parking structure, causing the car to bounce, due to the acceleration. He races onto the empty the street, continued to be chased, and tries to escape them. Narrow roads, and sharp turns make the scene very exciting, and eye-catching. He seems to be a professional driver of some sort and can maneuver the car excellently. Through his skill he is able to outrun his chasers.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) An unrealistic scene, the character pays no attention to
oncoming traffic pedestrians, and anyone else. Many movies
including this one makes us believe the road evolve around your
car. The truth is, that you are sharing the road, with cars and
pedestrians, and need to give attention to all of them.
b) His calm, lax attitudes makes us believe that he is not being
chased, but taking a leisurely drive.
c) I do not recall him putting on a seatbelt, since he was
preoccupied with getting away from his chasers. If I noticed it,
probably others will to, and decide to not put on a seatbelt
until driving at high speeds.
Rating
Prominence: 3
Riskiness/Danger: 2
Realism: 2
3. Golden Eye
Description
Among the opening scene for this movie, James Bond is in a classic silver Mercedes, with his lady friend, speeding down a mountain side full of hairpin turns, against a well-dressed woman in a current Ferrari. The hairpin turns pose no problem for the two, while they engage in a humorous exchange of smiles. James Bond pulls a fast turn, causing his passenger to scream for her life, and takes the lead. The Ferrari, instead of taking the same turn, takes a shortcut through the dirt. The scene continues with James Bond forcing the woman off the road, causing her to "spin out" of control. She goes through a series of 360 turns, and regains control of the car. After about five minutes of this, camera zooms in on the upcoming traffic. A group of cross country bikers are coming up the two-lane hill. The Ferrari tries to pass James Bond by driving on the opposite direction lane. The bikers do not see the Ferrari until it is too late. The driver of the Ferrari sees the bikers and accelerates narrowly missing the bikers, but causing a biker to lose balance, causing a domino effect. The ten minute scene ends there.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) A very dangerous but exhilarating scene very typical of a
James Bond movie. The scene has a sense of being purely fantasy,
and "something only James Bond could". But, this may
not be enough to stop the "daredevil" type drivers out
there, and provoke people to attempt his stunts.
b) Laid-back attitude at such high speeds shows no responsibility
or concern for anyone, including the road. Another James Bond
attitude, that seems "cool" to everyone, and we admire
him for those traits.
c) James Bond glances over to the opposing driver for a
considerable amount of time, not paying any attention to the
road, while driving way beyond the speed limit. It gives us a
false sense of safety, thinking it is fine to look over and talk
to our passenger for such a large amount of time without looking
at the road. Every time this type of behavior happens I cringe
because if this was real, and I was the passenger, it would make
me responsible for looking at the road for the driver.
d) The Ferrari's shortcut and spin out stretches reality, making
us believe that a car can actually be able to keep control on
dirt, and regain control after spinning three full circles.
e) During the entire scene, James Bond's companion is screaming,
and putting her hands over her eyes, too afraid to watch. James
Bond pays no attention to his passenger, totally disrespecting
her.
f) In the final moments of the scene, the bikers and the car
narrowly escaped death. The Ferrari going at very high speeds,
just misses the first biker by inches, but causes enough force to
knock him over. This provides even the viewers with a adrenaline
rush, and may possibly promote "street racing".
Rating
Prominence: 3
Riskiness/Danger: 1
Realism: 4
4. Casper: A Spirited Beginning
Description
This movie is a prelude to the Casper Movie produced in 1995. At the end of the movie, the main character's teacher, and father need to stop the detonation of a bomb in an old mansion. The militant is unwilling to give it up, and the teacher decides to use her car to knock the man out of the tree. She backs up her car, revs it a few times, and steps on the gas pedal. The car plunges forward, and impacts the tree causing the man to fall onto the hood.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) It is surprising to me, to see a teacher engage in such
dangerous behaviors, since she is a role model for her students.
She acted rashly and acted on a whim. This may destroy the
teacher-student modeling relationship. It is not surprising
students find teachers their mentors. What is a student to think,
when the teacher acts so impulsively, and dangerously.
b) It was apparent that she had no seatbelt on, paid no attention
to bystanders that were behind her when backing up, and nearly
ran the main character's father over in her crusade. Her few
second adventure promoted many bad behaviors to the viewers.
c) The collision left her and the man unharmed, which is not
possible.
d) Since it is a children's movie, it promotes a sense of
invincibility, especially coming from a role model, like a
respected teacher.
Rating
Prominence: 4
Riskiness/Danger: 2
Realism: 4
5. Breakdown
Description
Kurt Russel, or Jeff in the movie, with his wife are moving across the nation due to a new job. They take the scenic route, and decide to travel by car. The entire movie is about the two traveling state to state. While Jeff is driving, he pays less and less attention to the road, when making a turn he nearly crashes into a truck. He barely apologizes and immediately puts the blame on the truck. In the next scene we find him at the gas station refueling, and the thugs in the truck approach him about the incident. Jeff apologizes, but the truckers do not believe it is authentic, and that is when the trouble begins. Jeff and his wife leave, and after driving for an amount of time, all the dashboard warning lights flicker and the car dies. An oncoming big rig truck offers to take Jeff's wife to a nearby cafe to call triple AAA. After his wife leaves, Jeff finds the problem and fixes the car, to reach the diner, and not find his wife. His wife has been kidnapped. The kidnappers want Jeff's $90,000 dollars in the bank.
Analysis and Evaluation
a) The entire movie is based between Jeff's car and the truck.
There are many chase scenes one including Jeff ramming through a
fence to escape the truck. To the audience it looks like an
everyday experience for Jeff to go barreling through a fence.
b) The first scene where he does not pay attention and narrowly
escapes a big car wreck, he was looking at his wife and talking
to her. Again, the viewers will begin to think that talking to
your passenger is ok, even when you see no oncoming or nearby
traffic. Pedestrians and cars sometimes pop out of nowhere, and
Jeff would not have been ready.
c) The last scene involves the big rig forcing Jeff's truck off a
bridge. The brake is on, but the big rig is stronger, pushing the
truck inch by inch. This provides us with a sense of
impossibility, besides being ridiculous. The driver of the big
rig ends up falling over the bridge. To end the movie Jeff's wife
releases the brakes on their truck, sending the big rig smashing
the man head on. Another scene of impossibility, but gives us
entertainment value.
Rating
Prominence: 1
Riskiness/Danger: 1
Realism: 3
I have always considered myself as a "good" driver. I may speed, but I go with the speed of traffic on the freeway. When an irate driver decides to cut me off, I have no qualms about it. I let him/her go, and go about my own way. I have learned that getting upset helps no one, and may even endanger my life, my passengers, or innocent bystanders. I have been driving for three years now, and I can still remember how I used to drive. I was one of the "Racer boys" that everyone hated. Driving excessively fast, cutting in and out of lanes, trying to get ahead. Racing friends to a destination was my favorite.
One year ago, an incident happened that would change my life forever. On two simultaneous days, two of my friends got into accidents. Both involved racing, and I was in the first day's race. I sped past my friend, and lost sight of him. Thus I was unaware that my friend immediately got into an accident, he had lost control of his car at the high speeds. The car flipped onto its back onto the median. Fortunately no one was hurt. The next night, around the same time, around the same place, my other friend lost control of her car when an apparent racer car with all the stripes tailed her. She desperately tried to escape, and eventually lost control of her car, hitting the left wall, then swerving 180 degrees to hit the right way, bouncing back to hit the left wall again. Airbags deployed, and smoke filled the cabin, fortunately again, no one was hurt.
Modeling is a very powerful tool, children can learn good behaviors from this technique, as well as bad. Bad driving behavior on TV may seem harmless, but no one knows the effect it has on the viewers. Movies are viewed once or twice, commercials are short but repetitive, and cartoons are very appealing to children. Children look for role models, and in this day and age, when parents are absent, the TV becomes their pseudo guardian. Children gather information, and learn many behaviors from the television. Children pick their favorite show, and character and model after them. Besides their favorite characters, children have their favorite moments and scenes. Massive car wrecks, where no one is hurt, gives the child a false sense of reality. Glamorizing driving badly, and escaping alive also provides the child with wrong information.
This report has brought up these unpleasant memories, and reminds me everyday to be aware of how I drive, and how my driving affects others. I hope that this report goes beyond my peers, and everyone on the Internet will read it and benefit from my experience.
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