Media images represented the external reality?

In our daily life, we are exposed to many media images, such as advertisement and news. But are you sure these advertisements are really telling the truth and showing the full picture? I don’t think so. Many of them are somehow misleading the recipients’ thinking and perception.

For example, one of the advertisements by Maxims demonstrates their newly introduced Korean food to the public. As the advertisement demonstrates, male customers are classified to be the lovers of beef with spicy rice, which is of more concentrated flavor; and female customers to be the lovers of fish with fried rice, which is of mild flavor. However, it is not always true that male and female customers to be identified as the lovers of particular dishes. This advertisement actually tries to lead the recipients to think in the way that the marketers has set when designing this advertisement, which does not represent the reality of male and female choices.

(YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2DVmJRyr1Q)

Another example is an online news talking about the architectural characteristic of Hong Kong buildings, with photos inserted to prove the article’s objective of “Architecture of Density” in Hong Kong. The followings are the photos they have used:

extracted from the online article

However, are the above photos telling the full picture of the architectural style in Hong Kong? Is the article exaggerating the situation? I believe everyone of you coming from Hong Kong or has been to Hong Kong know the truth.

The aforementioned examples show us the media images we have accessed to do not guarantee to have represented the external reality. Therefore, we should have our own judgment towards things around us.

Student: Lai Hoi Ying, Ada