Podblanc: Digital Community

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.

As the most globally known form of communication, social media outlets has continuously contributed to the dehumanization of African American males for decades starting with propaganda stereotyping the black men as the “black buck” to justify their domination and labor exploitation under chattel slavery in the mid-19th century(Herd 2014). To a hyper sexual rapist possessed by the over desire for white women during the era of wide spread lynching’s, helping to fuel the disenfranchisement and ideological support for extreme anti-black terrorism (Herd 2014). Ultimately providing the public with the idea that the black man is to be feared. From this historical backing of anti-black ideology by the system with laws such as black codes and segregation

I was watching the news, when the footage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster came on. The news reporters were showing a black man walking in flooded waters near a market with a bag full of food and labeled him a “thief”. Social media in the United States has portrayed people of different racial backgrounds differently and unequally in recent years. In the essays “Theories and Constructs of Race” and “Loot or Find: Fact or Frame?” the authors discuss in both essays about issues with racial equality in our world today. Authors Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe discuss in the first essay racial schemes are created through prejudices and the telling and retelling of stories. While, authors Cheryl I. Harris and Devon W. Carbado discuss in their essay about the issue of “colorblindness” in social media. Holtzman is a professor of communications and journalism at Webster University, while Sharpe is a professor at Webster as well. Similarly, Harris and Carbado are professors at UCLA’s School of Law and have addressed widely on race, gender, civil rights and constitutional issues. Both essays do a good job at explaining their ideas and supporting them with evidence of racial discrimination in our world today. The authors from both essays organize their ideas and summarize them, which helps understand the main idea of racism, discrimination and racial inequalities in today’s society.

One aspect of life for black people in the United States of America that has always remained consistent is white racial hostility. A history of slavery, segregation, unequal protection of the law, and second class citizenship inflicted by a white power structure that dominates on a national level has created a harmful reality for black people. Every aspect of black public life must either be under the control of or in opposition to white supremacy. Every state-sanctioned institution works to use black bodies as tools for the production of capital in any form, yet simultaneously exploits and maltreats black people so that they cannot fully participate in and benefit from the systems which they are indoctrinated to invest in. White America leverages its money, comfort, and tyranny on Black America. It is for this reason that separate spaces are not merely essential to the viability of black counter-publics but inherent to their existence, since black involvement in white spaces and systems typically leads to black assimilation or marginalization. Within these black counter-publics, hip hop and mass connection through new media forms direct attention and allow for personal expression which shapes black worldview and public opinion, but this simply makes black people more comfortable with their oppression and less involved in politics.

Nikita Carney’s “All Lives Matter, but so Does Race: Black Lives Matter and the Evolving Role of Social Media” assesses the role of social media as a public sphere, capable of influencing public discourse and the evolution of social media as a platform for discussing racial injustice. Carney uses twitter as her subject and analyzes the opposing discourse surrounding hashtags “#BlackLivesMatter” and “#AllLivesMatter” occurring after the non-indictments of white police officers in the killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. These hashtags represent opposing ideology about police brutality and the persecution of black bodies. Carney begins by establishing Twitter as a place for marginalized youth of color to engage in meaningful discourse about their experiences of racial inequality. Carney notes that “different groups viewing the same media coverage interpret issues of race and police violence in drastically different ways”, proving the existence of confirmation bias on social media. Millennials have

In past century, optimists have predicted the post racial utopian after new technology brought in virtual lives online, however, in “ Inequality: Can Social Media Resolve Social Divisions?” Social media scholar Danah Boyd argues that social media has not erase the social or racial divisions that are deeply rooted in our physical schools and communities, on contrary, it extends offline social divisions including racism and bigotry virtually online. Boyd develops her idea by in-depth interviewing numerous teenagers with different racial and social backgrounds and analyzing various sources regarding social networks and their effect on teens lives. She shows concern and frustration towards the fact that race-based dynamics of

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 world we live in today is surrounded by media. The media goes anywhere from the television set in your living room to the browser on your cellphone, and even the radio in your car. In short, we cannot escape the media since it has become a natural part of our everyday lives. This five letter word seems so insignificant, yet it is so powerful. Since we are in touch with media everywhere we go, we always seem to believe everything that is shown to us. Many things are shown in media but that does not necessarily mean that they are always true. There are times in which certain ethnic groups are falsely portrayed. An article from 1998 titled, “No Chicanos on Tv” by Cecilia Alvear, talks about the lack of diversity that one might find in the media. In this case, she mentions that Chicanos are hardly ever shown in the media and that when they are, it is not in a positive way. Alvear mentions that they are only shown when they are being arrested or when there are illegal aliens fleeing. The media as a whole is responsible for the stereotypes,discrimination, and violence minority groups may face due to their portrayal of these races.

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.

‘Media discourse is the main source of people’s knowledge, attitudes and ideologies and although media coverage might not generate racism, it can certainly reinforce it. One-sided portrayals and news articles could easily become the reality in the minds of the audience’ (Van Dijk, 2000, pp. 36).

Journalists, politicians and other interested groups acknowledge this aspect and are quick to render hate crime as an epidemic. The Social Construction of a Hate Crime Epidemic attempts to deconstruct the claim that the United States is experiencing a hate crime epidemic. Additionally, it focuses on the roles of the media, politicians, and scholars in fostering the belief that a hate crime epidemic even exists (Jacobs & Henry, 1995-1996

With the popularization and expansion of the internet in recent years, America and other Western countries have found themselves developing into media-dominated cultures. Social media platforms, forums, and other types of online interaction are becoming primary forms of communication between people with similar or differing views, bringing political topics into daily discussion. However, the implications of such a broad and unrestrained network lead to negative outcomes. Whether it be in the form of a direct slur used on Twitter or a slight jab in a discussion board, the ongoing presence of racism on the internet cannot be denied. Although some forms may appear more indirectly, the effects are not diminished; implicit forms of racism are just as impactful as direct attacks. This paper argues that the internet serves as a carrier of racism by allowing racism to thrive through forms of racial microaggressions and cloaked websites. Toward the end of the essay, possible solutions for this issue will be discussed as well.

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

This book excerpt, written my Marshal McLuhan, begins by acknowledging how far the Western world has come in terms of innovation and development. It takes notice of the fast pace in which media is now spread. Before, one could post a video, and some may not hear about it for days, even months. Today, once a video has been posted, it has the potential to instantly go viral. McLuhan then goes on to speak of the social and political awareness that is now attached with the use of electric media. Due to our effortless access of social media, several social groups now have a voice both nationally and locally (Negro, the teenager, and some other groups.) We are living in the ‘Age of Anxiety’, where everyone has an opinion and everyone feels that

Contemporary social movements such as Arab Spring and Kony 2012 use the Internet and social media as potential tools towards change. But why are some more successful than others. This paper argues that when news outlets see the potential for change, they “premediate” (Richard Grusin) its possibilities, and make that change ever more possible in their coverage. On the other hand, extant stories that are more reactionary do not get the same amount of new exposure, and remain static. In other words, our media - not just social media, but news organizations - play a great role in shaping current events. I will compare and contrast the unfolding of the Arab Spring story, and how little changed regarding Kony 2012, as cases in point.