Journal Article Analysis:
Movies, Model Ts, and Morality: The Impact
of Technology on Standards of Behavior in the Early
Twentieth Century
Melissa E. Weinbrenner, the author of this article, provided detailed information on the behavioral changes as technology advanced. This article was directed towards a general audience and would be considered educational and informative. This analysis will provide a summary of the article, the main ideas presented, the style of the writing and the key idea that I took from this article.
Subject-Specific Theories and Concepts
The overall essence of the article was providing concepts and theories about how technology is thought to have influenced society’s behavior and thought process changes. Some examples of these theories include the evolution of the automobile and how it closed the gap between middle and high class society. Another theory was that machine users had changed their thought behaviors because of the repetition of handling the machine did not challenge a person’s intelligence. Movie theatres becoming popular influenced society’s view of reality. Movies were not filtered and immoral acts were allowed to be viewed.
Article Summary
This article gave insight to how technological advancements may have influenced the changes in people’s behavior, thought process and morals. The author explained how automobiles were made affordable to the middle class which not only closed the gap between the classes but the closed vehicles providing privacy for people to do as they wish without being seen or judged. Immoral acts and crimes were concealed behind the doors and windows of the vehicles which, according to the author, were bittersweet to the elite. On one hand, the higher class folk could no longer point the finger at a lower class for immoral or criminal acts, but on the other hand the elite, themselves, could perform the same acts without affecting their own. Another way that vehicles affected the morality of the people was the attendance in church declined. It was suggested that people were driving for pleasure instead of going to church.
Another reason for the decline in church was the increase in the number of people going to watch movies. Since censorship was void, moviegoers were freely inducing the attitude of divorce and extramarital affairs as acceptable. What was once considered a personal, behind-closed-doors affair; sexual acts were applauded on the big screen. This also led to people accepting open discussions of sexual content being socially accepted.
The article also described how the use of machinery inhibited people’s thinking. Basically, if a machine user repeatedly assembled one piece of a product, then they would eventually stop “wondering” how the rest of the product was put together. The youth of this era was also subject to the evolving technology. The youth was learning the new advancements and so they “old” ways of doing things were becoming null and void. Younger people’s views of society were being molded to fit the ever-changing world and the ways of their elders were becoming less important and less acceptable.
Style
I felt the article was logically organized, to a point. It seemed that the opening paragraph summarized the latter part of the article. The author went into the second paragraph talking about studies that had been done and went through the findings for the first half of the article. The main ideas were clearly presented even though the flow of the article seemed, to me, to be obscure. The text and article, overall, was very easy to read and rather interesting.
Main Points
I found this article rather enjoyable to read. I never realized how the simplest advancements would influence behavior and how people mentally and socially engage. After reading this article I would have to say that I agree with the author’s main points. Without the in-depth information, I probably would not have originally agreed. However, after reading the supporting material I can see a correlation between the behavior patterns and the changing technology.
I think this article is important because it provides information that would be essential in predicting social attitudes towards future technology. Analyzing behavior and reactions to new products is key to inventor’s success.
Key Idea
The key idea that I took from this article is that technology influences the attitudes of society in a way that what was once considered immoral or impractical is acceptable and almost expected. Technology strives to make life easier. Unfortunately, it is sometimes at the sacrifice of our conscious.
References
Weinbrenner, M. E. (June 2011). Movies, model ts, and morality: The impact of technology on standards of behavior in the early twentieth century. The Journal of Popular Culture, 44(3), 647-659.
