Personal Statement

As a parent, the direction of popular culture and media messages are always of concern to me. I am a constant filter for my children when it comes to media messages. It has been my experience that just because a new movie is advertised to children, the content may have messages that I find inappropriate for my children.

As my children have matured, I have allowed them to experience a broader range of media with me acting as their filter. Often I find that I must neutralize messages or simply discuss the fact that a particular message does not fit with our family’s belief system or moral code.

As for my own experience with media messages, I find that I tend to be a member of that "obstinate audience." I must confess that the genre of horror films is not my favorite and I have seen very few of these films. So, when I approached The Exorcist, I did so with a very "obstinate audience attitude" - reminding myself that the film was a work of fiction.

My greatest concern with this type of film is for the very young and naive audience members. It is these viewers that can be most affected by media messages because of a lack of maturity as well as a lack of understanding the differences between reality and fantasy. These viewers may not always realize that media always has a message and to understand what the message may be. Without an understanding of message - audience members can be greatly affected and influenced.