All Lives Matter, By Nikita Carney Essay

Race in the media is a very sensitive issue now a days. When it comes to minorities we can still see that the media portrays us in a bad light. The image of blacks in the American media has changed over the past two decades with the civil rights movement, changes in attitudes towards minority groups, and increased sensitivity on the part of those who and project these images. An examination of the image of Blacks in the articles and advertisements to show attitudes subtly represented, and these attitudes can be linked to historical and social realities of the time.

In today’s society mass media has major influences on the beliefs/perceptions one may have on certain ethnicities or controversial topics. Media outlets have the power to shape certain situations and place people in an image that may not always be accurate. As stated in an article by Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, Communication research and theory suggest that the mass media is an important source of information about African Americans and media portrayals contribute to public perceptions of African Americans(2008). Further, it was mentioned that media outlets such as television may cause viewers to conceive, alter, or even reinforce their beliefs and opinions about African Americans ( Punyanunt- Carter, 2008). For Instance, in the Netflix documentary called “13th” Media outlets consistently used the word “Super predators” when describing the numerous African American men who were being arrested in the 80’s during the war on drugs era. The constant use of the word super predator can persuade viewers to believe that ALL African American men are super predators when that is not the case! Just because there are a few African Americans who are seen on Media outlets committing heinous crimes does not mean that all African Americans are criminals. As stated in a scholarly article by Tony Weaver, Media outlets create a narrative that portrays African Americans as lazy, violent individuals, who are prone to crime. The Misrepresentation of African Americans in media has

“I turn on the news each night and what do I see again and again? African Americans alleged to be killing, raping, mugging, stabbing, gangbanging, looting, rioting, selling drugs, pimping, ho-ing, having to many babies, dropping babies from tenement windows, fatherless, penniless, and Godless” (Moore 59). The media has devoted too much time and space perpetuating these negative views of African Americans and far too little time describing the background problems of African-American communities. “What is not a crisis is not usually reported and what is not or cannot be made visual is often not televised” (Racist America 154). The news media respond quickly and with keen interest to the conflicts and controversies of racial stories. For the most part, “they disregard the problems that seep beneath the surface until they erupt in the hot steam that is the live news story, ‘The suspect is a black male’ we’ve all seen it” (Racist America 154). The media has not studied important events in the African-American community today. Issues such as urbanization, education, and poverty, just to name a few that have and will continue to have a

The authors, Yarimar Bonilla and Jonathan Rosa chose disciplines with the background in communications, sociology, and public affairs. These three disciplines are not only present in this article but also represent the issue as a whole. Social media reflects communication, society’s behavior portrays sociology, and the political viewpoints symbolize public affairs. Key concepts like ethnography, police brutality, social media, and activism are all exercised in the article to help determine if a hashtag could become a field site. Research methods such as communication research and content analysis are evident throughout the article. For example, the article discusses a numerical description by stating, “during the initial week of protests, over 3.6 million posts appeared on Twitter documenting and reflecting on the emerging details surrounding Michael Brown’s death” (Bonilla & Rosa 2015). The article does not directly state any key thinkers nor key theories but Black Lives Matter founders Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi all encourage the content of the article and the supported sources.

The media makes the nation feel guilty and sympathetic towards the family of the victim, and feel hatred and loath towards the family of the accused. However, if it were two African Americans that were the victim and culprit, the media would never report the story, let alone have it as a headline. After the murder of Trayvon Martin, the public exploded in rage, demanding justice for the Martin family. President Obama stated that if he were to have a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin. Yet, when another young African American was in the headlines, the same could not be said. The media made the nation biased by only reporting what they knew would erupt America into a

It is seen multiple times throughout the events in Ferguson, Missouri that the media held onto very biased views on the events. Not just one media source, but majority of the media was taking the side with the public throughout the riots. Some members of the media even marched through the streets of Ferguson protesting what had happened. The media standing with the people of Ferguson was a loud voice, showing that the media was trying to “mete out social justice” (Rothman 22). It was understandable to many why the media was

The black community is strongly impacted by the media as it controls Americans’

Racism and discrimination continue to be a prevalent problem in American society. Although minorities have made significant strides toward autonomy and equality, the images in media, specifically television, continue to misrepresent and manipulate the public opinion of blacks. It is no longer a blatant practice upheld by the law and celebrated with hangings and beatings, but instead it is a subtle practice that is perceived in the entertainment and media industries. Whether it’s appearing in disparaging roles or being negatively portrayed in newscasts, blacks continue to be the victims of an industry that relies on old ideas to appeal to the majority. The viscous cycle that is the unconscious racism of the media continues to not only be

Today’s American media continues to be in constant denial of the modern day genocide carried out against black citizens. Police brutality and discrimination against blacks is just as prevalent today as it was during the 1960s when the Black Panther Party, a target of racism, fought to expose and eliminate these atrocities. White Supremacy media continues influencing and manipulating the hearts and minds of un-educated American people against Blacks.

Public opinion and media talks about the coverage of incidents by the mass media and surveys that confirms the continues existences of racism and bias in America despite the social progress and awareness of higher levels of black incarceration prompt a great support among whites for prison programs and tougher

The media plays a huge part in society in the twenty-first century and it seems as if people cannot live without the internet. The Dallas shooting was a massive shooting against the police. Police officers believe that multiple shots were firing from all sides. Dana LeBlanc is an American citizen that understands the social problems in her country because of the news and police. She explained to me, "I do believe there is racism in the United States but we should look at everyone

The media sets the tone for the morals, values, and images of our culture. Many people in this country, some of whom have never encountered black people, believe that the degrading stereotypes of blacks are based on reality and not fiction. Everything they believe about blacks is determined by what they see on television. After over a century of movie making, these horrible stereotypes continue to plague us today, and until negative images of blacks are extinguished from the media, blacks will be regarded as second-class

Does the media accurately portray African American in our society or do they present an image that is skewed and does it affect them? There has been many films, music videos, movies and social media that prove the image they present today in media is very much skewed. The media bias has not only negatively impacted blacks relationship with law enforcement and the judicial system but also stretches out to how blacks are perceived in society. There has been a continuous pattern of between black males and females and criminality, especially in the news where they are not only portrayed as criminals but shown to be “threatening” for very obscure ways.

“We have unscrupulous men and organizations working in opposition to us. Some trying to capitalize…some are trying to set [us] back from seeing the hope of [our] own liberty. But [we] know what propaganda means.” -Marcus Garvey (The Future As I See It, 1923) Thomas shows the major role that media propaganda plays in highly publicized, controversial cases. She addresses the elephant in the room when it comes to media coverage and the portrayal of victims at the hands of police brutality and other unjust killings. Thomas asks the question: is an unarmed person’s killing justified because of the person’s socioeconomic status, at-risk label, or troubled past?

This week in the media the negative images are at an all-time high. Television, satellite radio, and the internet you are being bombarded with negative images relating to the shootings of two unarmed black men and the five officer killed in the line of duty in Dallas, Texas. These two incidents have become the foundation for protest that have become violent, and for innocent people to get injured because of some individual’s private cause. Instead of the media focusing on stories that are positive in nature, they are following suit and pushing negativity for ratings purposes.