Media Writing Lab

By DaBreonna Doss When doing scholarly research, scholars have this term called “coding”. Coding refers to the ways in which language is used, but underneath this language coded images pop up in our heads about what something is or looks like. For example, when you think of the words like American, nail technician, ghetto, etc you already have a preconceived notion of what these terms mean. Now, what if we take this coded language and apply it to the word “prisoner”, or more specifically “mentally ill prisoner”? Scholars Schilders and Ogloff (2014) in “Review a point-of-reception mental health screening outcomes in an Australian Prison” states that 32-42 percent of the prisoners in the criminal justice system are mentally ill. This is close to half the prison population, and we must look into how these prisoners’ lives play out within the system. The question I would like to explore is, within the criminal justice system, are government agencies providing the needed care that mentall...

 By: Destiney Davis Eighteen-year-old Sam Gardner is your typical high school boy who loves his family, sports etc. except there’s one thing that makes him slightly different. Sam is on the autism spectrum (ASD). Atypical , it is a coming of age Netflix series that takes its viewers on a wild ride with Sam Gardner and his daily struggles with being a high school student with autism. The first season begins with what any teenage boy enjoys, girls. Sam Gardner begins asking advice from father about girls and dating and is welcomed with loads of advice from his father, Doug. But from his mother, Sam receives almost complete resentment and negativity when bringing upon the idea of dating. But why? Why is such a normal teenage action being turned down simply because of a mental disability? According to the National Institute of Health, about 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with ASD. Disabilities are quite difficult to discuss whether it be in our own communities or the media...

By Tess Weigel Note: This blog post contains words that some readers may find offensive. In 2009, popular rhythm and blues (R&B) artists Chris Brown and Rihanna were involved in a physical altercation which resulted in five years of probation for Brown. As the story developed, news reports shifted the blame onto Rihanna for Brown’s actions against her. One report falsely claimed that Rihanna tweeted, “I admit it. I provoked Chris to hit me…#I'mSORRY” (Edgar, 2014).  This shift toward blaming the victim, especially in high- profile couples such as Rihanna and Chris Brown, may be due in part to the rhetoric deeply ingrained in classic R&B hits. R&B music implies “black men as uncontrolled, violent, and threatening and women’s sexuality as dominating, dangerous, and unsupportive towards black men” (Edgar, 2014). I am not asserting that R&B music causes abuse and victim blaming. Rather, I argue that there is a correlation between the racially stereotypical rhet...

By Cailey Griffin The importance of mental health is not widely discussed in modern society. Even less widely discussed is the unique manner in which different ethnicities approach the topics of both mental health and mental health treatment. Often times for Black Americans, there are several obstacles when it comes to accessing mental health treatment. The HBO show Insecure explores the obstacles faced by many Black Americans when seeking mental health treatment options. In the article “Mental Health Care Access and Treatment Utilization in African American Communities” written by Babe Kawaii-Bogue, Norissa J. Williams, and Kameron Macnear, the obstacles facing Black Americans when seeking mental health treatment options; as well as, the relationship between Black Americans and mental health in general, is further explored. The first obstacle addressed in the article, and what I’d say is usually the most prevalent obstacle, is the sense of stigma or shame that Black Americans feel whe...

By Sydney Secuskie Classic rock ‘n’ roll has often been considered a genre full of male dominating groups, with women in the background. Let’s face it, the common phrase “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” has undertones of misogynistic issues and references in just the four word saying. When we delve deeper into the lyrics and backgrounds of this genre, many problems come about with the portrayal of women in the genre. Historically, this category of music has placed women as sexual objects that belong in leather pants, tight tops, and high heels to the sky in order to please the men serenading them. Lyrics, style of clothing, and music videos all give representations of women as objects, rather than just human beings. In an article written by Jacob Turner, Turner explains that “music video content from the 1980s and the 1990s was sexy”, but also suggested “sexual innuendos”. This study holds true for many classic rock ‘n’ roll bands in the videos they produced for their audience...

By Colleen Kelly This thematic series has begun to establish that female sexuality is an aspect of the music industry capable of crossing genre barriers. Country music has traditionally been labeled the genre with the least emphasis on female sexuality because of its socially conservative themes (Aubrey & Frisby, 2011, p. 477). I challenge this notion with my assertion that sexuality has always been present in country music but has undergone a change from a form of feminist liberation to a tool to objectify women. In the history of country music, particularly visible in the 1990s, there is a long-standing tradition of female artists using their music to advance feminist ideals and reclaim their sexuality (Berlatsky, 2014). Let me be clear that I am not asserting that these musicians are the long-awaited saviors of women. Rather, these female artists utilized the media to challenge societal norms surrounding gender and sexuality. Shania Twain was not only one of the biggest ...

By: Sarah Selzer When armchair theorizing political activism, pop-culture has been noted as the driving force of political change. However, this notion truly comes to life when we look at the history of how hip-hop could be considered the voice of our generation, specifically containing the critical area for the emergence of hip-hop feminism. Concerning political movements that stemming from the base of hip-hop music influence, female artists not only used their platform as a form of sexual and artistic expression but to highlight problems within Grassroots- Black Community politics (Collins, 2014). Primarily Black and Latino youth were denied access to basic education, decent housing, recreational activities, and music lessons stemming from the early to mid-1900’s (Collins, 2014). Instead of feeling defeated, young-female black youths took the time to create new art forms of music that challenged the stereotypes of being born into poverty which ultimately gave them opportunit...

By Yongjie Li Rhonda S. Black and L. Pretes (2007) quoted Farnall and Smith that individuals have more positive attitudes towards real physical disabled people when they watch positive depictions of them through movies (p.79). It is more acceptable for young people who consider movies as a popular platform, thus, movies can be a tool to build right standards with unfamiliar experiences especially treating with disability people. In general, previous movies focus more on individual personalities and ignore causes, but to underline disabled people personalities is a stereotype. It is because disability defined by social conditions instead of themselves or medical certifications. The reason why people categorize disabled or ordinary people is that individuals regard disabled people as out of normal people type (Kidd, 2014, p.172). The trend which leads people feel blameless originally changes gradually emphasizing the social structure which calls for senses of guilty, especially the ...

By Graham Jaeger Mental Health has played a major role in schools across the country for over the past decade. Each and every year, students feel more and more pressure as they have to adapt from their summer into new school routines (Suldo, Shaunessy, Hardesty, 2008). Students suffer from mental health largely because of stress, but other factors such as addiction, rape, and even school violence are heavy contributors as well. A perfect example of mental health issues within high school students is displayed in the Netflix television series titled 13 Reasons Why . Throughout this show, you see depression take over kids lives which ultimately has a huge impact on the rest of the students in the show. 13 Reasons Why received a lot of criticism because suicide rates in teens rapidly increased after the show was released. Many say it was due to the connection they could feel with Hannah throughout the show, and others felt like they were in her position where they felt it was the only...

By Pia Ocvirk When Rita Ora announced her new single “Girls” earlier this year, the song was initially intended as an anthem celebrating both bisexuality and female empowerment. However, when the song was released in May, it proved to be the complete opposite (Kheraj, 2018). Both the lyrics and the music video were yet another example of pop culture misrepresenting women, queer women in this case, while fueling the male gaze. While both the song and Rita Ora quickly received backlash, Ora is not the person to blame. The entire music industry has been fostering hypersexualization and objectification of female artists for decades. At midnight on August 1, 1981, MTV was born and music suddenly became a visual medium. Aware of the degree to which their sexuality was being evaluated in music videos, female artists started to create powerful hypersexualized personas in response to male domination (Donze, 2011). The 1980s saw the rise of multiple pop divas, many of whom owed part o...