The media uses Euphemism
to sugar coat things. During
hurricane Katrina the media tried to use Dysphemism
to portray the African Americans as thieves. The media suggested that African Americans
were stealing everything such as electronics, food, water, and clothing.
Basically the media said that they were stealing anything they could get their
hands on that was worth value. The problem with the media was that they
neglected to report the other ethnicity that make up the populist area that was
hit by Hurricane Katrina. They only reported on the negatives of the African Americans,
when they failed to report the hurricane assistant. The government did not
assist those who needed help the most instead they only tried to shine the
light on the few families they did help. The media challenges you by only
reporting what they want to report, which forces you to find alternative ways.
When watching the news or any media reports remember to always check their sources.
I think you brought up a very good point that the media does report what they want us to hear as opposed to at the information we should here. They do twist word and generalize certain situations like such in a way that would make their story much more interesting other than factual. It is strange to me that the media would limit or bend the facts they give out, while back when the media first formed, the media intended to uncover lies and secrets the government or corporations had with the intention to keep the people informed and exposed. Now, I feel they are a part of the government and corporations, only giving us information they want us to see.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the pictures of the white people and the African American doing the same thing, yet having very different captions, I felt disgusted. I never really thought about it but I bought into the media's tricks. Words used can be very persuasive and you made a strong point that we need to check sources. With checking sources we also need to determine how we are being influenced. Miss Summer also made a very good point in that the media used to be against government and corporations, but are now very much a part of them. I also am glad you used the key terms from the book in a way that reminds us of the definitions.
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