Negative Images In The Media

In “Teaching Resistance: The Racial Politics of Mass Media,” bell hooks focus her message on the role of the media when depicting black and white characters, how it negatively makes an impact on the public, and how white and black people see each other. Although racism began centuries before mass media could spread stereotypes, media’s artful approach to the masses has been useful to continue what has long existed. Mass media’s contents are so subtle and morphed into jokes and entertainable means, that the public becomes easily distracted and over time, they unconsciously absolve stereotypes and false ideas. The fight against these channels has long ago started, and as hooks states in her article, people should turn to “low-risk small acts that can become major interventions.” She suggests boycotts and protest letters that will bring awareness and will be used to gradually deconstruct the negative ideas media strongly built.

In the world we live in today, racism and police brutality are raising concerns that society needs to be aware of. Beginning from the mid 1900s and on, racism was an ongoing problem that many individuals acted on from day to day. Whether it was mainly whites who hated blacks or vice versa, there never seemed as if a solution would ever come about. Based on this article about racism and police brutality, it talks a lot about how brutality following the Rodney King incident has change and is more exposed due to updated technology. Racism is not a thing of the past, it exist in this day and happens everyday in front of our eyes. Another point from this article is how the media portrays black as intimidating and scary which often times is the reason why police officers act the way they do when they are encountering a black male. Today’s society is taught to be afraid of black men because they are dangerous and unpredictable. The media account is a short video of how police brutality is caught on camera and how the police are portrayed because of these videos. Because of the new technology officers are no longer able to get away with brutality and not having to answer for there actions. This media account is more of an awareness video of how if someone sees the police physically abusing someone, they should take there phones out and record everything that is going on. Today’s camera phone as said to be the police’s kryptonite because they capture everything that is done by the

However, the media also plays a major role in promoting some negative effects and stereotypes in our society. A good example of stereotypes is the way African American males are described. The media normally depicts them negatively as violent, cruel, criminals as well as having other antisocial behavior that the causations don’t have. These negative representations of dark guys are promptly obvious and passed on to general society through the news bulletin, films, music features, realty TV and other programming and manifestations of media (Abraham & Appiah, 2006). As a result, the media has created a crooked and damaging perception of black African Americans in the public’s eye thus promoting hatred and racism which all affect the lives of the blacks (Holt, 2013). This

Media bias is displayed repeatedly in news coverage of black tragedies and in the persecution of black bodies. From protest following the non indictments of cop killing unarmed black men to the uninformed persecution of the BlackLivesMatter movement, mainstream media is constantly standing in opposition to anything that threatens the status quo. My five articles assessed said media bias, and if that bias whether negative or positive affected the African-American community.

Since people are mostly only able to participate in catastrophes such as this mass shooting at a distance, news media is the primary source of information, which therefore creates the audiences’ reality of the events that occur.(Wheeler 80) With this, the mass media has the control of what people are exposed to, and the choice to amplify awareness to what they choose as important. In an interview conducted with Sarah, an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she recalled her exposure to the news of the shooting: “The only reports I had access to, was what I saw in the news”. When asked how she thinks the media had an effect on her perception of the shooting, she stated: ”Well I believe that since the only information I was able to get was from news sources, what I saw in the news is what I believed. So I really do think the media had a strong effect since I was exposed to mainly what they chose to present to me.” With this, media messages, such as the reporting on the Las Vegas shooting, exert a strong influence on audiences and the cultivation of people’s perception. The frequent exposure to these stories of mass shootings and the use of descriptors based on race are fed to the audience and become a common knowledge. Ultimately, the promotion of racial stereotypes through the disproportionate representation of perpetrators of mass shootings influences public opinion and perception.(Lankford) With the strong effect that media has on the people, it is

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 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

Has one ever felt disheartened watching the news and the headlines says that there was another minority victim in an officer related shooting? Has one ever wondered why race versus authority is such a huge problem? Has one ever asked how did society get this far as to physically harming law enforcement? The answer is the media has allowed it to get this far. Race relations and authority has been a deep rooted problem since the founding of this nation. By enslaving Africans and other ethnicities, wealthy white forced them to long hard toils under the sun. Fast forward to the middle 19th century and those enslaved have been set free yet those people are still being oppressed. Fast forward now to the middle 20th century where one hundred

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

Undoubtedly the most controversial topic in the recent past is police involved shootings. Although not specific to a police officer, the Trayvon Martin case in 2012 gained national media attention surrounding Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law. The case of Michael Brown Jr. sparked the 2014 riots, protests and civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri when shot and killed by Officer Wilson. Areas of the country witnessed the same response by large populations supporting inaccurate facts and circumstances involved with these cases. An instant gratification society coupled the court of public opinion and widespread media coverage yielded disastrous results in many of these cases. Community relations are hugely impacted while investigators attempt to

“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?

The story of Freddie Gray’s death and the subsequent trial against the six police officers being held responsible calls into question how the relationship between the American police force and the American citizenry is evolving. Gray died on April 19th, a week after he was arrested and sustained severe injuries while in the back of a police van. The difficulty of obtaining objectivity in journalism shines through in the barrage of coverage of his death and its aftermath across different news platforms. The way that a story is portrayed is of critical importance — it influences readers to make decisions that affect the world around them, and with an upcoming trial, it is crucial to ensure citizens have access to the truth of a situation as the press can best uncover it.

Unfortunately, society is not receiving all of the information, which has resulted in riots and the Black Lives Matter campaign. These riots are aggressive, resulting in the destruction of communities and an overall disregard for societal safety. By analyzing media coverage, this paper will reveal how the