by Helina Samson
People of color have
played an incredibly active role in debates that erupted in both mainstream
media, as well as in our everyday lives. How the media frames these movements
on these social media sites however, impacts the ways in which America views
these activists. Although the platform that is Black Lives Matter is heavily
centered around progressive, modern day civil rights, many have turned this
movement into a racial nightmare. This struggle to form discourse around race
and racism is evident in popular forms of media like twitter for example.
Focusing in on
twitter, the ways in which “tweets” impacted the movements in the “streets”
(Kidd, 2017) are greatly attributed to the immediate reaction of
#AllLivesMatter. When #BlackLivesMatter first came to trend on twitter, it was
a call to action. A way of saying Black lives matter, too. However,
conservative media got a hold of the hashtag and attempted to silence Black
voices out of reasons of comfortability. Not only was #BLM silenced through
twitter, but also on national television. Certain news channels like Fox, aired
only the footage of the protests that made #BLM look chaotic. They chose
headlines that made #BLM seem like a radical black nationalist group, all while
pushing their agenda that not only should black lives matter, but all lives
should.
You may be asking, where did all of this even begin? And why is this such a big deal in media? Who cares how things are framed if people know what is real? #BlackLivesMatter all began when a 17-year-old African American boy was murdered for simply walking back home. The man who killed him, George Zimmerman, felt “threatened” by this young black boy, a rhetoric created and further implemented by stereotypes in modern day media. As seen in the picture below, news channels like Fox News, demonized Trayvon Martin by using a photo that feeds into the “scary black man” excuse and used a photo of George Zimmerman smiling to evoke innocence. They then use words like “reportedly” and strategically say “filed against George Zimmerman” as if he is the victim in this situation.
Many users of social media, take a color-blind racist approach to tackle the glaring racial disparities we see in today’s society. “As opposed to Jim Crow era racism, color-blind racism appears egalitarian on the surface with its assertion that all people are the same” (Carney, 2016). By stating that #AllLivesMatter, the façade of a frame representing “inclusivity” is in fact framing an underlying layer of inherent racism. Twitter for example, erupted in backlash which all had a common theme of equality. However, these same sources of media who claim they want equal representation are the same ones turning a blind eye to the non-indictment of George Zimmerman.
The ways in which media frame our opinions on topics like race and racism, is so evident, yet still sways the opinions of millions of followers. We choose to ignore the obvious lenses of bias for reasons of wanting to defend our identities and societal existence. Media outlets make it much easier to see only what you as a consumer want to see, thus creating strategic political separations. The main point of this blog was to emphasize how in a world where white voices usually control the discourse and marginalized voices are usually unheard, the Black Lives Matter movement was an attempt to reverse that rhetoric. However, the biased framing of certain news and media sources, only further separated the gap between the oppressed and the oppressors.
References
Carney, N. (2016).
All lives matter, but so does race. Humanity & Society. 40(2), 180-199.
Kidd, D. (2017). Social media freaks: Digital identity in the network society. Boulder: Westview Press
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Helina,
ReplyDeleteThis is a fine post. You focus your essay on the central (but not exclusive) role media plays in amplifying and legitimizing racism and racist discourse.
Equally important, you make good use of the concept of "framing" to illustrate how news media shape public perception of (black) activism, such as #BLM. In future, be sure to consult some of the scholarship on this topic, especially as it relates to representations of race and racial politics.
Apart from a few minor issues with formatting – probably the result of the difficulties you had with placing the image in your post – and few issues with APA references, this post does a fine job of stating the problem and providing a vivid illustration.
That said, I urge to work on clarifying some of your thoughts. For instance, up top you write of "the struggle to form discourse around race and racism..."
I get it. But this can and should be stated with greater force and clarity. The same with the discussion of reaction to BLM "out of comfortability." Seems you are pulling your punches here. It's not simply discomfort that drives this pushback, but racial animus.
On a different note, you suggest this "rhetoric is created by the media." Again, I get it. But these sentiments exist in daily lives and everyday conversation. The media echoes, amplifies and all too often, justifies this rhetoric.
The concluding paragraph seems to be getting at the notion of "information silos" or "information ghettos" where news and opinion reinforce existing prejudices and perceptions. Here again, you might clarify this important dimension of the problem you've identified throughout.
In sum, this is a very fine start. I encourage you to continue to develop and refine your writing.
28/30 pts.
Helina,
ReplyDeleteI found your post not only impressive, but very informational. I loved reading about the Trayvon Martin story and the facts you supported on how the news had it all wrong. In this day and age, people portray news only in the way they want to see it. The sad reality of this is is that this is rarely the actual case. News stations across the country get paid to portray the news how they are told. That is their job. In all actuality, half of the things they say aren't factual evidence. I think you did a fantastic job of taking a step back from the news and diving into a certain situation just a little bit deeper. Overall, awesome job.
Helina,
ReplyDeleteYou did an excellent job taking on such a broad topic. Media's framing of black activism is certainly a large undertaking to examine, but you were successful in creating a narrow focus while still giving an brief overview of the issue at hand.
One suggestion going forward is to take a few sentences to explain concepts that may be unfamiliar to some readers. In this case, the essay would be stronger if you had provided a brief explanation of what you understand "framing" to mean.
What stood out to me in your post was that you were able to touch on both mainstream media framing, as in the Trayvon Martin case, and everyday media framing, such as on Twitter. By discussing both, readers walk away with a more complete understanding.
ReplyDeleteHelina,
I applaud this post for many reasons. First, this is a topic that could be discussed in so much length, but you did an excellent job of condensing it to the number requirement. Not only did you do this, but it was done with success. The post was clear as well as informational and it was laid out very nicely. Media framing is a very large subject, but you applied it very well to your subject, and I appreciated the information pulled from Kidd's chapter that we had read in class. I especially thought your image was very powerful when combined with your post, and really hit home the claim that you were making. Overall, a very good job and a very good post!