preview

Berreby's Rituals And Traditions

Decent Essays

Black Lives Matter is an international group of individuals who are fighting against systematic racism and oppression towards black people. This photo was taken at a Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Alton Sterling had been recently shot by an officer. Over 100 protesters were arrested during this rally, but in this photo one protester was seen who took a different approach. She stood her ground proud and tall, allowing herself to be arrested along with her peers by doing absolutely nothing. However, the officers in the photo surprisingly didn’t arrest her. A witness told an interviewer that “it wasn’t very violent. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t resist, and the police didn’t drag her off” (Bachman, sub-quote) …show more content…

The two groups in this photograph are clearly seen as Black Lives Matter protestors and the Police force. Although they have many differences, you can tell both groups are equally afraid of what the other might do. The hierarchy of police over the public is in turmoil, and this picture clearly shows this. This photo is symbolic because it appears to turn the power balance upside down, where the girl appears to have power over the police, despite her willingness for arrest for protesting. Continuing this idea with Jeffrey Cohen’s “Monster Culture”, he explains in one of his many theses that a monster will try to convince us to question our culture, and our traditional beliefs. In reference to this photo, a ‘monster’ attempts to skew the idea that the purpose of the police is to serve and protect. That monster can be identified as popular media. The photographer who took this photo is indirectly demonizing police officers by making them seem powerful in their numbers. The woman appears to have power over the officers through her very upright posture, and height. However, outside of the power struggle between them, an unseen force is right in the middle of both the woman and the police, showing a clear divide and symbolizing that media is in the center of this issue: The camera. Although it may seem like a stretch, there is more truth to …show more content…

This essay is not attempting to push the ideology that the main issue isn’t because of them. However, the fear and hatred that is driven behind everyone on both positions is being perpetuated by the amount of negative coverage that this issue is receiving. In psychology, there is a term called confirmation bias, which is used to describe a mindset where people will only seek out information that conforms to their preconceived notions about something they believe to be true. (Fontinelle) Because of this, those who are in that mindset will be unlikely to be convinced otherwise that they are wrong. The fact that police are generally only talked about negatively in the news will almost force an individual who keeps up with mainstream media to see only negative things about police officers, and start to believe that police officers are not as trustworthy as they should be. This creates an immediate confirmation bias in people’s mind, which is a problem when the issue is already heated. Statistically speaking, the majority of officers are not the same as those being covered in the news. Good officers, alongside bad officers, have been seen as problematic because of the excess police brutality coverage, which in return negatively affects the entire police

Get Access