Yeah @Skadoosh that’s been my conclusion as well. But I think it boils down to personal responsibility and emotional maturity maybe. But like you said it’s not simple, it’s really variable.
Anyway I’m no expert on the subconscious and I could be completely wrong, but I don’t believe it is the passive sponge it has come to be treated as. If it was, anything that bypassed your critical factor would work. ZP wouldn’t be necessary, this company wouldn’t be necessary, we’d all probably be either making our own subliminal affirmations or riding high on free youtube ones. But as you all know that’s not the case. People still struggle with change.
So my thoughts. Why would media be any different? There’s still subconscious filters and processes that digest material taken in from the outside world. It seems like the influence would be heavily reliant on pre-existing ideas and concepts that it is compared against.
When I was younger I listened to a lot of gangster rap from the 90s. Commuting to college, lounging around, skateboarding, whenever. It’s what partly got me into producing more. I can’t recall at any point in my life this music impacting me in anymore of a negative way compared to all the mental shit I was going through. If anything it got me through rough times.
I’m not here to defend gangster rap, more than anyone I know how violent it can be. But it’s a recounting of reality that some people go through. Something that does happen or is happening in the world. Are the stories embellished? Could be. But at the end of the day I don’t see it having as strong of an influence as it’s been portrayed. Are we really reacting to the music itself? Or are we reacting to the idea that this music has an influence? Cuz there’s always some panic around stuff. I remember when the GTA game first came out moms were convinced children were gonna turn into thugs and become criminals. Or for that matter any rated M game was going to ruin the moral fiber of any child that played it. How much of that little seed is sticking around in some people’s heads?
News however yes. Screw that noise. Bottom feeding, fear mongering, manipulative narratives that do nothing to inform you. There’s intention there. A rapper recounting his days in the ghetto, it just is, he’s not trying to convert you or influence you he’s just telling you his side of the story and the reality he’s been a part of.
All this to say. I don’t feel particularly troubled by what I choose to consume media wise and living in a cautionary state of “how is this going to influence me on a subconscious level?” is not my idea of freedom.
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Right on! ]