older generations and the media by Sarahi

older generations and the media by Sarahi - August 2013 Scholarship Essay

The most interesting lesson I have learned in class was how the media and entertainment used to have a meaningful impact on society more than it does now. This year in my history class we analyzed old songs to extract its meaning and the effects on society at the time. Most of the songs spoke harshly against the Vietnam War or other kinds of war as well. A lot of people especially young people were against the war and these popular songs by bands like The Beatles or Pink Floyd served the youth as anthems for what they believed in and fought for. This lesson made me realize how our music industry for our generation influences young people in all the wrong ways. Back then it spoke about fighting for peace and the hardships of the soldiers, it is a shame that music today talks mostly about sex, drugs and alcohol. This made me realize that this generation is very lucky to not live in times of an unfair war like the Vietnam War but it also made me very angry as well because artists nowadays are not using their music to inspire us the youth, the future of this nation, to be better. Maybe that is why there is so much bad in this world, because we are not inspired to fight for good.