Halloween

Halloween as we all know it can be recognized as one night of celebration where pretty much anything goes. The question is; what is this door-to-door tradition' Generally speaking, it is an annual tradition constituted by the Celtic Festival in which eventually established into a folk culture. It is interesting to see how the media potentially shapes the thoughts and views of individuals of different age sectors living in the contemporary society. For instance the article in the Toronto Star headlined Angels and Demons, shares a few tips on how to make “Halloween” drinks called Demontini and Angeltini. Something to consider; is how relevant are these alcoholic beverages, to this door -to-door celebration merely based on trick-or-treating, and handing out candy' It’s pretty ironic that most teenagers along with young adults potentially view Halloween as an excuse to go out with friends for a drunken good old time. I wonder why! Perhaps articles like these along with other forms of media are contributing to the idea that the ‘celebration’ is affiliated with the culture of booze and partying. This inflicts ethical concern on safety issues, which may have an effect on a large sector of people. Another analysis on behalf of the media’s conniving manifestations is the quality and provocative style of costumes being promoted by Hollywood figures especially among women. The Star posted an article about Miley Cyrus’s younger sister dressing up in a not so decent manner. The 9-year-old star in the making is perhaps a role model to many young girls out there. This is setting a bad example to the younger generation as it is dissecting the overall essence of Halloween and adding strain to the world of creativity. Hollywood figures can be seen as the powerhouse of the trendy popular culture. It seems that the media is promoting scandalous costumes which brainwash a huge sector into thinking it will be considered “hot” if they dress that way. Girls just seem to want to dress up as provocative as possible in order to feel they must fit in. This inherits an ethical concern about the younger generations to come. Is it ethically correct for a 9-year-old to be dressed scandalously wandering the streets' Perhaps not, so something to question is why is this “scandalous” culture being promoted so abruptly by our media figures' Also, Halloween stores get a lot of their advertising done in the newspapers, and other forms of media making the sales apparent to a wide variety or people. In order for such stores to make profit they must sell what the public wants and what will be “accepted” by the general opinion of the mass media. This all in all contributes to the promotion of the “scandalous” look coined by big names in Hollywood. Once again, media attention has caused a deviation from the original purpose of a cause. Halloween has been a way for children all over the world to enjoy candy and to exercise their creativity with costume making with family and friends. Today, this has been somewhat exploited and exploded into a corporate playground for profit and once again the media has been the force behind this corporate manipulation.