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ultrajonlewis-blog · 6 years ago

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The Work of Representation...Does It Really “Work”?

In “The Work of Representation”, Hall provides definitions, history, and his own insight on the word “Representation”. He touches on topics such as culture, language, meaning, power, and knowledge. He recounts different theories and other authors’ works in reference to his own thoughts on what representation means and how it is used to establish meaning in our world. Hall takes simple words that we take for granted like “representation”, “meaning”, and “language” and breaks them apart into complex, almost overwhelmingly specific fragments. These words mean so much more than we know and he dissects them with fine precision. My commentary will focus on the differences in interpretations that we may fall victim to, due to the nature of our own awareness, knowledge, and exposure. I will also focus on the interesting concept of us, humans, applying meaning to things that may or may not have any tangible meaning, which is brought up by Hall. In the world we live in today and in the world of those that came before us, Hall’s words ring true in every aspect of the media and of its audience, especially in regards to the portrayal of the race through this medium. This analysis will serve to attempt to find associations between black people and their communities in our society and Hall’s ideas.

Hall makes clear what the systems of representation are: Concepts and Language (17). Very quickly after the book begins, Hall describes the way in which these systems play a role in how we interpret and understand things. To take this point one step further, I would like to draw attention to how language is used to create the meaning that is around us. Although Hall keeps his approach very objective and focused on the words, it should be emphasized that much of history, of course in reference to black history, was desecrated due to language. The language of the masses had impact. It didn’t just create meaning in the formal sense; it warped meaning, which could be considered just more meaning. But language didn’t just warp language, there had to be something else involved. This was what Hall called “system” (17). In this respect, all people brought something different to the table. Everyone had their own system of classifying words. Green was a color and table was a thing off which things were ate or upon which something could be placed, etc. As Hall put it, “…the conceptual map which I carry around in my head is totally different from yours, in which case you and I would interpret or make sense of the world in totally different ways” (18). One word or a set of words could mean one thing to one person and a completely different thing to another. And I wonder, “How?”. To put it bluntly, how could a news article say “black person commits crime” and one person could feel disheartened and disappointed, yet still empathize with the person in question, while another person could be struck with fear mixed with feelings of disregard and affirmation of their ignorant stereotypes? I can’t help but wonder how we got to this point in history, still battling with words. It’s bad enough that people have to deal with poverty, starvation, war, etc. Now people have to deal with words?!? I couldn’t help but reflect on the impact this holds on the world while reading Hall’s words.

Hall’s word not only apply to the world today, but also played role in our predecessors lives. The black press established over the 19th and 20th centuries was for just that: a war of words. Everything white America was saying about the black community had to be watered down by words from blacks themselves. White America had to be denounced for the ignorance in their words and so the black press turned those words upside down, turned those stereotypes backwards, and produced media to portray blacks in the proper lighting. Figures like Wells, Trotter, and Du Bois not only spoke out for their people, but set up institutions which would facilitate language that could warp the negative meanings attributed to their culture. People…black people…were changed with words. Human beings were given meaning. Human beings were given superficial meaning with words that were interpreted the way the reader saw fit. Depending on who the person was, the word “black” was different, it meant different things, and it held a different power. Hall’s statements really just stood out to me, making me wonder “why?” and “how?” this concept is/can be applicable to humans. How are we not all “smart” enough to understand each other? Even with common language and words, we still don’t understand each other.

Hall also brings up a “code” that some of us share. In “The Work of Representation”, Hall expresses that nothing really has meaning; words and things are not inherently expressed as a “meaning”. “The meaning is not in the object or person or thing, nor is it in the word. It is we who fix the meaning so firmly that, after a while, it comes to seem natural and inevitable”, states Hall (21). This is such an interesting point to me. We all know what a particular item is and what words are used to describe it. Hall uses the example of a tree, but I’ll use a car as an example. If someone says car, a particular image comes to mind. If I point at a car and say “look at that car”, even if there happens to be a person standing beside the car, most people will still know what I was pointing at because I said “car”. We know this to be true because we are taught what a car is. We are taught what it does. We are taught how to say it, spell it, read it, write it, and so much more. We as people gave a thing meaning; meaning that must be taught. And this point is the most fascinating because almost everything in this world is taught. We are responsible for what those after us learn. Hall’s point is so perfectly applicable to black history and black portrayal on a national and even global scale. What we learn is taught and black history, black culture, etc. is no exception to this rule. The codes that Hall refers to are just place holders. They are intangible ideas that come together to give meaning to something and we’ve seen the disastrous effects this has had on the black community. Hall’s words just serve to explain the reasons that we have seen the black community portrayed so poorly in the US. We’re all either taught or have been taught to attach specific meanings to the black community. Depending on so many factors (socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, upbringing, parents, school, etc), we all attach different meanings to the black community (of course, we attach meaning to everything but this is the focus here). Some associate negative ideas to the word “black”, while associating positive ideas to the word “white”. Why? It can only be because that is what someone was taught. For no other reason do we hold ideas to be true. Even with all the evidence, facts, and proof that physically exist in the world, the only reason people know anything is because they are taught. And there is no absolute truth, especially not when it comes to people. How can one generalize populations? How can one stereotype based on skin color? There is no science behind that. It is social constructs that govern our minds without our knowledge. Ideas are pumped into our heads from birth, ranging from the alphabet or long division to hatred and prejudice.

From the 13th Amendment that keeps slavery alive today in the prison system to simple news stories on television every night, these social constructs we humans have created, negatively impact the black community. Singular words don’t mean. People don’t mean anything, we give them that meaning. If anything or anyone has ever been falsely described as negative or unworthy or inferior or distrustful or dangerous or unequal because of something so insignificant as skin color, it was a human’s fault. It was not nature, the universe, or a religious deity that proclaimed any one thing to have a particular meaning; it was man. Hall’s words only serve to emphasize how unfortunate yet overwhelmingly powerful that realization is.

Hall simply goes into detail about words. It is that simple. Hall analyzed words. But in those words were so much meaning. Incredibly precise details about a few words that we rarely ever think about on a critical level, to me, related so heavily to the current world in which we live and to the world in which our predecessors lived. Words like “representation” and “meaning” are concepts that serve to explain everything that we know. Nothing around us has mental value or becomes a concept in our mind until we give it that quality. Of course tangible items do exist, but they would remain only tangible items if we did not apply meaning and value to its being. I wouldn’t even be able to say it was a tangible item if we did not create meaning. To apply Hall’s statements to black society is to essentially come to the realization that humans are responsible for every word, idea, concept, thought, assumption, rumor, etc. ever attributed to the black community. Human beings created and taught our society ravenous ideas about other humans just like themselves. The only difference between these bodies of flesh filled with bones was the pigmentation of their skin. And it was simple words that put the white man above the black man. A thought came to life through a human mouth and became an intangible frequency that rang in the ears of so many and continues to sustain a tune of hatred that bellows loudly for many to this day. Hall made statements and portrayed concepts that mean so much more in the context of the world and our society. Representation and meaning matter. This affect people’s lives and what I took away from Hall…how I can apply Hall’s words to my life…was simply: we need to do better and choose our words wisely.

References

Hall, Stuart. “The Work of Representation.” Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices, edited by Stuart Hall. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 1997. pp. 15-74

0 notes

ultrajonlewis-blog · 6 years ago

Text

The Work of Representation...Does It Really “Work”? (Revision)

In “The Work of Representation”, Hall provides definitions, history, and his own insight on the word “Representation”. He touches on topics such as culture, language, meaning, power, and knowledge. He recounts different theories and other authors’ works in reference to his own thoughts on what representation means and how it is used to establish meaning in our world. Hall takes simple words that we take for granted such as “representation”, “meaning”, and “language” and breaks them apart into complex, almost overwhelmingly specific, fragments. These words mean so much more than we know and he dissects them with fine precision. My commentary will focus on the differences in interpretations to which we may fall victim, due to the nature of our own awareness, knowledge, and exposure. I will also focus on the interesting concept of humans applying meaning to things that may or may not have any tangible meaning, which is brought up by Hall. In the world we live in today and in the world of those that came before us, Hall’s words ring true in every aspect of the media and of its audience, especially in regards to the portrayal of race through this medium. This analysis will serve to find associations between Black people, their communities in our society, and Hall’s ideas.

Hall makes clear what the systems of representation are: Concepts and Language (17). Very quickly after the book begins, Hall describes the way in which these systems play a role in how we interpret and understand things. To take this point one step further, I would like to draw attention to how language is used to create meaning that is used for immoral purposes. Although Hall keeps his approach very objective and focused on the words, it should be emphasized that much of history, of course in reference to Black history, was desecrated due to language. Language, as Hall sees it, didn’t just create meaning in the formal sense, but language also warped meaning. Language made what was already established meaning and turn it into something else (for the wrong reasons, I might add) But language alone didn’t just warp meaning; there had to be something else involved. This was what Hall called “system” (17). In this respect, all people brought something different to the table. Everyone had their own system of classifying words. Green was a visible color and table was a thing upon which something could be placed because that it was we as a society have deemed appropriate. However, with many complex subjects, what was once understood to be one thing could be considered something completely different based on the individual interpreting whatever that thing is. As Hall put it, “…the conceptual map which I carry around in my head is totally different from yours, in which case you and I would interpret or make sense of the world in totally different ways” (18). One word or a set of words could mean one thing to one person and a completely different thing to another. And I wonder, “How?”. To put it bluntly, how could a news article say “Black person commits crime” and one person could feel disheartened and disappointed, yet still empathize with the person in question, while another person could be struck with fear as well as disregard and affirmation of ignorant stereotypes they may hold to be true? I can’t help but wonder how we got to this point in history: still battling with words. It’s bad enough that people have to deal with poverty, starvation, war, etc. Now people have to deal with words?! I couldn’t help but reflect on the impact that Hall’s words truly holds on the world. Although he is simply articulating what already “exists in nature”, Hall does so very well.

Hall’s word not only apply to the world today, but also played a role in our predecessors lives. The Black press established over the 19th and 20th centuries was for just that: a war of words. Everything White America was saying about the Black community had to be watered down by words from Blacks themselves. White America had to be denounced for the ignorance in their words and so the Black press turned those words upside down, turned those stereotypes backwards, and produced media to portray Blacks in the proper light. Figures like Ida B. Wells, William Monroe Trotter, and W.E.B. DuBois not only spoke out for their people, but set up institutions which would facilitate language that could warp the negative meanings attributed to their culture into something positive. The same way that White America warped what it meant to Black, Black journalists and prominent leaders in the community tried to warp those meanings into something positive. Unfortunately, people…Black people…were changed with words. Human beings were given meaning, which in this case was not good. Depending on who the audience was, the word “Black” was different. It meant different things and it held a different power. Hall’s statements really just stood out to me, making me wonder “why?” and “how?” this concept is/can be applicable to humans. Even with common language and words, humans did not understand each other then and we still don’t understand each other.

Hall also brings up a “code” that some of us share. In “The Work of Representation”, Hall expresses that nothing really has meaning; words and things are not inherently expressed as a “meaning”. “The meaning is not in the object or person or thing, nor is it in the word. It is we who fix the meaning so firmly that, after a while, it comes to seem natural and inevitable” (Hall, 21). This is such an interesting point to me. We all know what a particular item is and what words are used to describe it. Hall uses the example of a tree, but I’ll use a car as an example. If someone says car, a particular image comes to mind. If I point at a car and say “look at that car”, even if there happens to be a person standing beside the car, most people will still know what I was pointing at because I said the word “car”. We know this to be true because we are taught what a car is. We are taught what it does. We are taught how to say it, spell it, read it, and write it. We as people gave a thing meaning; meaning that must be taught. And this point is the most fascinating because almost everything in this world is taught. We are responsible for what those that come after us learn. Hall’s point is so perfectly applicable to Black history and Black portrayal on a national and global scale. What we come to know in this world is taught and Black history, Black culture, etc. is no exception to this rule. The “codes” that Hall refers to are just place holders. They are intangible ideas that come together to give meaning to something and we’ve seen the disastrous effects this has had on the Black community. Hall’s words just serve to explain the reasons that we have seen the Black community portrayed so poorly in the US. We’re all either taught or have been taught to attach specific meanings to the black community. Depending on so many factors (socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, upbringing, parents, school, etc.), we all attach different meanings to the Black community (of course, we attach meaning to everything, but this is the focus here). Some associate negative ideas with the word “black”, while associating positive ideas with the word “white”. Why? It can only be because there us meaning present which was taught.

From the 13th Amendment that keeps slavery alive today in the prison system to simple news stories on television every night, these social constructs we humans have created negatively impact the black community. Singular words don’t mean. People don’t mean anything; we give them that meaning. If anything or anyone has ever been falsely described as negative or unworthy or inferior or distrustful or dangerous or unequal because of something so insignificant as skin color, it was a human’s fault. It was not nature, the universe, or a religious deity that proclaimed any one thing to have a particular meaning; it was man. Hall’s words only serve to emphasize how unfortunate yet overwhelmingly powerful that realization is.

Hall simply goes into detail about words. It is that simple. Hall analyzed words. But, in those words were so much meaning. Incredibly precise details about a few words that we rarely ever think about on a critical level, to me, related so heavily to the current world in which we live and to the world in which our predecessors lived. Words like “representation” and “meaning” are concepts that serve to explain everything that we know. Nothing around us becomes a concept in our mind until we give it that quality. Of course tangible items do exist, but they would remain only tangible items if we did not apply meaning and value to its being. I wouldn’t even be able to say “this is a tangible item” if we did not create meaning. To apply Hall’s statements to Black society is to essentially come to the realization that humans are responsible for every word, idea, concept, thought, assumption, rumor, etc. ever attributed to the Black community. Human beings created and taught our society ravenous ideas about other humans just like themselves. The only difference between these bodies of flesh, filled with bones was the pigmentation of their skin. It was simple words that put the White man above the Black man. A thought came to life through a human mouth and became an intangible frequency that rang in the ears of so many and continues to sustain a tune of hatred that bellows loudly for many to this day. Hall made statements and portrayed concepts that mean so much more in the context of the world and our society. Representation and meaning matter; this affect people’s lives. What I took away from Hall and how I can apply Hall’s words to my life can be summed up in a simple phrase: we need to do better and choose our words wisely.

References

Hall, Stuart. “The Work of Representation.” Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices, edited by Stuart Hall. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 1997. pp. 15-74

0 notes

ultrajonlewis-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Breaking News: Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated today, April 4th, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was residing at the Lorraine Motel. Suspect James Earls Ray was captured with a Remington Model 760 and is currently being held in custody. Martin Luther King Jr. was 39 years old. May he Rest in Peace.

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ultrajonlewis-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Breaking News: Media Coverage Belittles Millions

The maintenance of inequalities is not something that is hard to do. Change is difficult, but maintenance is more easily handled. The media plays a big part in maintaining the inequalities that we see in our everyday lives. The media is an indefinitely expanding entity that broadcasts a wide variety of different ideas to the general public. The media ranges from everything on cable to social media plus everything in between. The billboards we see in big cities to the small signs seen out in the countryside, all of it can be the media. And all of it, without a doubt, shapes minds and opinions like no other force on the planet. Everything we see on TV, Instagram, newspapers, radio, etc. is all a range of ideas and messages being thrown at us, whether we are aware of it or not. This either reinforces our ideas as we know them or forces us to view things from a different perspective. The way we interpret media is either a result of our mindset or a contributing factor to how our mindsets are shaped. Again, whether we know it or not, messages pertaining to race, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. make their ways into our brains. This shapes the structures and institutions that we build in society. They provide the basis or foundations of these institutions, directly and indirectly. Furthermore, bell hooks provides some interesting commentary on the unique subject of the perspective or gaze of Black females, which is quite relevant to the conversation of media presentation and its effects on the public.

To be frank and possibly simplistic, the media is a huge contributor of the information we receive. Yes, the parents and teachers of society provide a bulk of knowledge for future generations. However, what happens in between the time spent with parents and teachers? Adults, teens, children, and even toddlers now have access to information like never before. The learning never stops with the pervasiveness of technology in this day and age. TVs, phone, tablets, laptops, etc. are widely accessible. Even at exorbitant prices, people manage to purchase electronics, all of which have the power to show you some form of media. Children watching cartoons on TV can take the shows they watch with them wherever they go, learning valuable lessons about sharing and caring wherever their parents take them. Teens continue scrolling through all platforms of social media from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed. Adults watch the morning news while getting ready for work, hear news while they commute, have their phones out all throughout the workday, and can end the day with nightly news. Movies and shows are made available to the public for indulgence at all hours of the day and night with services like Netflix and Hulu. There is a nonstop barrage of media we are able to consume in 2018 and it is only still the beginning of this massive technological revolution.

With all this media surrounding us at all times, it can absolutely have a negative impact on the institutions we have set up to enhance and enable the smooth flow of societal necessities. Additionally, it can have a negative impact on the mental health and schools of thought of many in the general public. When this does occur, we have individuals in society that are shaped by the on-goings of the world and this does not only affect those individuals. They bring this thinking to work, to school, to anywhere they take themselves and if they are notable individuals in places of importance (schools, business, prisons, media) they can harm others mentally, emotionally, even physically with their anomalous ways of thinking.

Let us take a broad example, a trend per say, of recent media coverage of politics that may (and does) reinforce or shape ways of thinking that can potentially (definitely) affect peoples’ lives in more ways than one. I will analyze here potential direct and indirect effects of this media coverage on an individual’s life. So, how can media coverage on politics directly effect a person’s life and maintain the inequalities we see every day? A “caravan” of migrants has been a big story in the media recently. The biggest development in the ongoing story has been the mention of US troops going to the United States/Mexico border to stop this “invasion” as it has been referred to by many. Regardless of what the story is about, talk of troops “protecting” the US automatically enables a sense of fear and subliminally identifies an enemy. Media coverage that describes troops protecting this country, no matter what it is from, objectively identifies a hero (troops) and a villain (something bad). This plays into the vilification of Mexican immigrants that has been ongoing for much of US history but has been very prominent and overt in recent years. So how does this directly affect the average American? Well, let’s take the case of the average Latinx-American who has to see these heartbreaking messages of people with whom they may identify. This not only affects their mental health directly but affects the way they go through the world. Within the workplace or at their school their race/ethnicity becomes overly apparent to them. They become hyper aware of their belonging to the “other”. They become the anomaly. They become a representation of the villain. At work, coworkers bring their thoughts on the matter in with them, and some are not too pleasant. At school, other kids make racially-charged jokes, whether they know how much of an impact that has or not on the Latinx in this example. Just because of media coverage, some people are introduced to ideas or have ideas reinforced that are neither conducive to a healthy society nor happy individuals. A person’s life is both directly affected by what they actually see for themselves and indirectly affected by the ideas or actions that other people may present to them.

Regardless of the type of media or the topic the media is covering, this example is analogous to so many situations. Whether it’s the topic of race in “Dear White People” (Netflix Original show), the coverage of the #MeToo movement in the local newspaper, or Breitbart posting something political on Instagram, media portrays a message and that message truly stays with people. That message can linger for an entire lifetime and this is a powerful sentiment. These messages shape individuals and therefore shape the institutions of which they become a part. This has drastic consequences on how some live their daily lives, and can unfortunately add to the inequalities many deal with all the time. Today, this isn’t something that can be turned off. It affects people 24/7. How can one not internalize these messages? If a person is told something enough times and/or for long enough, they will start to believe it, no matter how offensively outlandish that message might be. The media has the power to eat away at individuals if left unchecked. Even with all the good the media does, the negative side can absolutely have long-lasting negative effects on peoples’ psyche and well-being.

A notable and relevant reference to this commentary is bell hooks and thoughts on “The Oppositional Gaze”, with specific reference to Black female spectators. As stated by Manthia Diawara but mentioned by hooks, “Every narration places the spectator in a position of agency; and race, class and sexual relations influence the way in which this subjecthood is filled by the spectator” (117). Here, we have this ever present idea of media affecting the minds of individuals and that individual’s mind perceiving media in very distinct ways. Furthermore, hooks references “rupture” or the resistance of “complete identification with the film’s discourse” (117). I think this can be applied more widely, specifically to the resentment man feel toward many forms of media. This is again all part of the negative effects media may have on the general public. If you are told to believe something negative, perhaps many in society will refuse to accept this and shy away from media consumption or a particular message being portrayed. When hooks dives deep into that opinions of Black women she writes “[Black women] testified that to experience fully the pleasure of that cinema they had to close down critique, analysis; they had to forget racism. And mostly they did not think about sexism” (120). I think this is so relevant to the times; people can become so jaded by the negative role media may play (direct/indirect) in their lives that they may reject it altogether, in order to live peaceful lives. Unfortunately, this ushers in the thought of “ignorance is bliss”, which may not always be healthy. But this is the unfortunate reality with which many live. hooks continues by adding, “[Black women] consciously resisted identification with films that this tension made moviegoing less than pleasurable; at times it caused pain” (121). The relevance this has to my fictitious, yet very realistic scenario, is spot-on. The overwhelmingly affect media can have on one’s life truly is something awfully spectacular. It can really cause so much hardship for an individual, especially when these message of inequality are floating through the airways nonstop.

I do not know if there is a remedy to all this negativity. Somehow, throughout history, in the face of negativity people have found a way to resist and provide social change in this country. Classes such as AFS 363, for example, serve as a way to educate motivated individuals to create a more informed society. Other classes on race, gender, economics, politics, and so on also serve to better society and produce individuals more equipped to bring about change, even if that change is something as simple as one person providing their friend with just a little bit more knowledge than they had prior. Media that provides fair and moderate coverage or perspectives on very polarizing subjects, in light of much bipartisan frames of thought, also serves to push society toward a more fair and equal world. Still, we live in a time where media is a never-ending production of information that can affect people’s lives in so many different ways. We must be the change and further advance the change to eliminate inequality and internalize more positive messages about ourselves and others.

References

hooks, b. (1992). The oppositional gaze: black female spectators. In Black looks: race and representation (pp.115-131). Boston, MA: South End Press

0 notes

ultrajonlewis-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Breaking News: Media Coverage Belittles Millions (Revision)

The media plays a big part in maintaining the inequalities that we see in our everyday lives. The media is an indefinitely expanding entity that broadcasts a wide variety of different ideas to the general public. The media ranges from everything on cable to social media and everything in between. All of it, without a doubt, shapes minds and opinions like no other force on the planet. Everything we see on TV, Instagram, newspapers, radio, etc. is all a range of ideas and messages being thrown at us, whether we are aware of it or not. This either reinforces our ideas as we know them or forces us to view things from a different perspective. The way we interpret media is either a result of our already established mindset or a contributes to how our mindsets are shaped. Again, whether we know it or not, messages pertaining to race, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. make their way into our brains. This shapes the structures and institutions that we build in society. They provide the basis or foundations of these institutions, directly and indirectly. Additionally, bell hooks provides some interesting commentary on the unique subject of the perspective or gaze of Black females, which is quite relevant to the conversation of media presentation and its effects on the public.

The media is a huge contributor of the information we receive. Yes, the parents and teachers of society provide a bulk of knowledge for future generations, but what happens in between the time spent with parents and teachers? Adults, teens, children, and even toddlers now have access to information like never before. The learning never stops with the pervasiveness of technology in this day and age. TVs, phone, tablets, laptops, etc. are widely accessible. Even at exorbitant prices, people manage to purchase electronics, all of which have the power to show you many, if not all, forms of media. Children watching cartoons on TV can take the shows they watch with them wherever they go, learning valuable lessons about sharing and caring wherever their parents take them. Teens continue scrolling through all platforms of social media from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed. Adults watch the morning news while getting ready for work, hear news while they commute, and can end the day with nightly news. Movies and shows are made available to the public for indulgence at all hours of the day and night with services like Netflix and Hulu. There is a nonstop barrage of media that we are able to consume in 2018 and it is only still the beginning of this massive technological revolution.

With all this media surrounding us at all times, it can absolutely have a negative impact on the institutions we have set up to enhance and enable the smooth flow of societal necessities. Additionally, it can have a negative impact on the mental health and schools of thought of many in the general public. When this does occur, we have individuals in society that are shaped by the on-goings of the world and this does not only affect those individuals. They bring this thinking to work, to school, and to anywhere they take themselves. And if they are notable individuals in places of importance (schools, business, prisons, media), they can harm others mentally, emotionally, even physically with their anomalous ways of thinking.

Let us take a broad example, a trend per say, of recent media coverage of politics that may (and does) reinforce or shape ways of thinking that can potentially (definitely) affect peoples’ lives in more ways than one. I will analyze here the potential direct and indirect effects of this media coverage on an individual’s life. A “caravan” of migrants has been a big story in the media recently. The biggest development in the ongoing story has been the mention of US troops going to the United States/Mexico border to stop this “invasion” as it has been referred to by many. Regardless of what the story is about, talk of troops “protecting” the US automatically establishes a sense of fear and subliminally identifies an enemy. Media coverage that describes troops protecting this country, creates the identification of a hero (troops) and a villain (the thing from which we need protection). This plays into the vilification of Mexican immigrants that has been ongoing for much of US history but has been very prominent and overt in recent years. So how does this directly affect the average American? Well, let’s take the case of the average Latinx-American who has to see these messages of people with whom they may identify. This not only affects their mental health directly but affects the way they go through the world. Within the workplace or at their school their race/ethnicity becomes overly apparent to them. They become hyper aware of their belonging to the “other”/“out-group”; they become the anomaly. They become a representation of the villain. At work, coworkers bring their thoughts on the matter in with them, and some are not too pleasant. At school, other kids make racially-charged jokes, whether they know how much of an impact that has or not on the Latinx in this example. Just because of media coverage, some people are introduced to ideas or have ideas reinforced that are neither conducive to a healthy society nor happy individual. A person’s life is both directly affected by what they actually see for themselves and indirectly affected by the ideas or actions that other people may present to them.

Regardless of the type of media or the topic the media is covering, this example is analogous to so many situations. Whether it’s the topic of race in “Dear White People” (Netflix Original show), the coverage of the #MeToo movement in the local newspaper, or Breitbart posting something political on Instagram, media portrays a message and that message stays with people. That message can linger for an entire lifetime and this is a powerful sentiment. These messages shape individuals and therefore shape the institutions of which they become a part. This has drastic consequences on how some live their daily lives, and can unfortunately add to the inequalities many deal with all the time. Today, this isn’t something that can be turned off, it instead affects people 24/7. How can one not internalize these messages? If a person is told something enough times and/or for long enough, they will start to believe it, no matter how offensively outlandish that message might be. Even with all the good the media does, the negative side can absolutely have long-lasting negative effects on peoples’ psyche and well-being.

A notable and relevant reference to this commentary is bell hooks and her thoughts on “The Oppositional Gaze”, with specific reference to Black female spectators. As stated by Manthia Diawara and mentioned by hooks, “Every narration places the spectator in a position of agency; and race, class and sexual relations influence the way in which this subjecthood is filled by the spectator” (117). Here, we have this ever present idea of media affecting the minds of individuals and that individual’s mind perceiving media in very distinct ways. Furthermore, hooks references “rupture” or the resistance of “complete identification with the film’s discourse” (117). I think this can be applied more widely, specifically to the resentment people feel toward many forms of media. This is again all part of the negative effects media may have on the general public. If you are told to believe something negative, perhaps many in society will refuse to accept this and shy away from media consumption. When hooks dives deep into the opinions of Black women she writes, “[Black women] testified that to experience fully the pleasure of that cinema they had to close down critique, analysis; they had to forget racism. And mostly they did not think about sexism” (120). I think this is so relevant to the times; people can become so jaded by the negative role media may play (direct/indirect) in their lives that they may reject it altogether, in order to live peaceful lives. Unfortunately, this ushers in the thought of “ignorance is bliss”, which may not always be healthy, but this is the reality with which many live. hooks continues by adding, “[Black women] consciously resisted identification with films that this tension made moviegoing less than pleasurable; at times it caused pain” (121). The relevance this has to my fabricated, yet realistic scenario, is very strong. The overwhelming affect media can have on one’s life is something awfully spectacular. It can really cause so much hardship for an individual, especially when messages of inequality are floating through the airways nonstop.

I do not know if there is a remedy to all this negativity. Somehow, throughout history, in the face of negativity, people have found a way to resist and provide social change in this country. Classes such as AFS 363, for example, serve as a way to educate motivated individuals to create a more informed society. Other classes on race, gender, economics, politics, etc. also serve to better society and produce individuals more equipped to bring about change. Media that provides fair and moderate coverage or perspectives on very polarizing subjects, in light of bipartisan frames of thought, also serves to push society toward a more fair and equal world. Still, we live in a time where media is a never-ending production of information that can affect people’s lives in so many different ways. We must be the change and further advance to eliminate inequality and internalize more positive messages about ourselves and others.

References

hooks, b. (1992). The oppositional gaze: black female spectators. In Black looks: race and representation (pp.115-131). Boston, MA: South End Press

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