...Mediating Mark Duggan The press is a section of the mass media industry that focuses on presenting current news to the public and is one of the largest forms of media we have in Britain. The press and media in general insist that it is only fact and truth that is reported to the public, however, there are times when the media either permits itself to be manipulated or to act as the agent of manipulation; seemingly, we as the public, receive the opinions of the few, select people that are running the mass media who use the power of mediation to position audience response through encoded values with the media acting as an opinion leader (2-step flow). Mark Duggan was shot by armed police in Tottenham, August 2011, after officers stopped the cab he was in to make an arrest. Duggan was unarmed at the time yet just hours later stories were circulating the media about a dramatic ‘shootout’ with Duggan represented as a ‘violent gangster’. Within just two days of his death, riots had erupted in London as well as copycat riots in other cities up and down the country and reported globally by the press. Before getting out of hand, the riots were a direct response to the actions of the police. Mark Duggan didn’t hit the front page until after the riots had begun and it is likely that, similar to the case of Stephen Lawrence, the audience will never fully know the reality of the initial event. The final inquest report (2014) ruled that the killing was lawful. Looking back on the newspaper...
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...Beshears, Laura: Honorable Style in Dishonorable Times: American Gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s Journal of American Culture (33:3) [Sep 2010] , p.197-206. Honorable Style in Dishonorable Times: American Gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s Laura Beshears. The Journal of American Culture. Malden: Sep 2010. Vol. 33, Iss. 3; pg. 197, 10 pgs Abstract (Summary) Prohibition, which came into effect in July of 1920 with the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment, also illustrated the progressives' idealism, as many believed that the elimination of alcohol, because it allegedly created "poverty, marital distress, and negligence," would cleanse society (Mordden 141). [...] the birth of the radio and the movies as well as the development of flight induced excitement and fostered a vision of a society engaged in perpetual technological advancement (Mordden 47). [...] Horatio Alger, Jr. and his late nineteenth-century books- portraits of men who, born underprivileged, rose to wealth and success through hard work, honesty, self-confidence, commitment, and a bit of luck (Weiss 53-54) - characterized the progressive spirit, as it encouraged people to work hard for a better future and for the fulfillment of the American dream. Full Text (5892 words) Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Sep 2010 "You don't need to be ordering fancy duds," Frankie Rio advised his boss as a tailor took measurements of Capone's swollen physique at the Lexington Hotel. "You're going to prison. Why don't you...
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...clothing and other merchandise. The reason this constant demeaning of women exists is because rap as a genre that rewards the objectification of women. The excuses used to justify the misogyny in rap are incomplete and lack accurate support. The most effective way for this continuous cycle ends, is if the fight and protest comes from the women themselves. Men are the problem in the objectification of women but in order for it to stop, women need to step up and take control of the situation. Women need to act sooner rather than later because in recent years the rap industry has become more and more sexual. Ra... ... middle of paper ... ...Society 113 (2000): 255-69. JSTOR. 29 November 2009 . McLune, Jennifer. "Hip-Hop's Betrayal of Black Women." Perspective on Contemporary Issues. 5th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengag Learning, 2009. 247-51. Print. Thrash, Rodney. "Women Say Rap Videos Demean, Not Define." St. Petersburg Times 14 June 2005. 29 November 2009 . Williams, Dana. "Beyond Rap: Musical Misogyny." Teaching Tolerance (2003): 213-15. Tolerance in the News. 12 Aug. 2003. 29 November 2009 Rap Music's Influence Upon Teenagers :: 6 Works Cited Length: 1389...
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... Deindustrialization brought the new generation of young gangsters. Its number increases every year, all over the country, in cities of different sizes. Are those gangs the product of restructuring economics? Can they be considered a new social minority? What policy should the community use to control this problem? I decided to write my research paper about the gang activities during the deindustrialization because I think it is very important for political scientist to research how economical and political changes may impact the society and public policy. In my work I answer such questions as what challenges the urban administration experiences during the globalization and how to respond to them. This topic has its actuality today because gangs are becoming a new social “underclass”. (Taylor, 1990, p. 81) What does it mean? With the end of industrialization era a lot of job opportunities disappeared for a new generation of youth. Moreover, gang bands usually act as well-armed economic groups. As the result, many young males were involved in street gang activities such as drug dealing and other criminals. Once those young ones fall in criminal they stay involved in gang activities even when they become adult. (Hagedorn, 1991, p.529) It is remarkable to notice that Mass Media also had its role in growing new population of gangs. The Hollywood industry usually shows images of rich, famous gangsters in contrast of limited real life opportunities. This may encourage...
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... |A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, such as a racial or ethnic minority | |Labeling theory |The way in which negative labels get applied and on the consequences of the labeling process | Part II Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each: • Race • Ethnicity • Religion • Gender • Sexual orientation • Age • Disability |Category |Stereotype 1 |Stereotype 2 |Stereotype 3 | |Race |Saying someone is a gangster |That black people are fast |All Asians look alike | | |just because they are black. |runners | | |Sexual orientation |All gay people are good dressers|Calling lesbians butch |If two gay people raise a child | | | | |then it will be gay | |Gender |Men are better then women |All women can do is cook |Men are stronger than women | Part III Answer each question in 100 to 150 words related to those...
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...BLACK POPULAR CULTURE AS A MEANS OF ACHIEVING INEGRATION "We as a society successfully eliminated the need for achieving integration through political agitation for civil rights and opted instead for knowing each other through cultural text. In what way(s) has BPC contributed or contradicted this statement?" Since the early 1900s, many legislative steps have been taken to achieve equal civil rights for all American citizens regardless of race, gender, age, or ethnicity. Throughout this time of integration, however, there was much political agitation to achieve this equality. It can be said that, “we as a society successfully eliminated the need for achieving integration through political agitation for civil rights and opted instead for knowing each other through cultural text.” That is to say, nowadays we do not pursue integration through political agitation but rather through discourse and education on various cultures, including black popular culture. There are several ways in which black popular culture has both contributed and contradicted this statement. In regards to its contribution, literature from famous black authors has served to better achieve integration through education of its audience on the black reality. Secondly, high school and university courses such as African Studies classes also illustrate how nowadays integration is achieved through cultural text as opposed to political agitation. Additionally, scholarly writings such as the article “The...
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...“Ethnicity is still too often portrayed by the mass media in ways that reinforce stereotypes” To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing, these can be gender specific or towards a specific race. Stuart Hall (1978) conducted research and found that between August 1972 and August 1973 there were at least reports of 60 muggings in national newspapers and that there had been a reported increase of 129%. He states that the media was attempting to cause a moral panic to create fear in the public and Black people were the folk devils in which the moral panic was based around. He argues two reasons for the cause of this moral panic: The state and the ruling class were suffering a ‘crisis of hegemony’ and that there was a decline in the dominance of the ruling class due to ‘Black Power’ demonstrations, the oil crisis and strikes and power cuts. The second reason was the ruling classes needed to regain control and making mugging a moral panic achieved this by portraying violent crimes as a threat to society, which lead to the justified use of a police crackdown, muggers were portrayed as black and justified the targeting of black people by police. Hall also explains how the labelling of black people as criminals then leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy as they are stopped and searched more and arrested more, making them appear in official statistics...
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...Mass media have played and will continue to play a crucial role in the way white Americans perceive African-Americans. As a result of the overwhelming media focus on crime, drug use, gang violence, and other forms of anti-social behavior among African-Americans, the media have fostered a distorted and pernicious public perception of African-Americans. 1 The history of African-Americans is a centuries old struggle against oppression and discrimination. The media have played a key role in perpetuating the effects of this historical oppression and in contributing to African-Americans' continuing status as second-class citizens. As a result, white America has suffered from a deep uncertainty as to who African-Americans really are. Despite this racial divide, something indisputably American about African-Americans has raised doubts about the white man's value system. Indeed, it has also aroused the troubling suspicion that whatever else the true American is, he is also somehow black. 2 Racism Before attempting to understand racism and mass media, one must understand the history of racism. Race has become an institutional part of American society. From the Founding on, race has played an integral part in shaping the American consciousness. David Goldberg's Racist Culture argues that racial discourse may be interpreted as aversive, academic, scientific, legalistic, bureaucratic, economic, cultural, linguistic, religion, mythical, or ideological. 3 He also stresses that racialized...
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...bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The Second Amendment has been the subject of controversy only for roughly the last 80 years. Even though, as some argue, the Framers themselves argued over its wording, the almost universally accepted opinion was that it guaranteed an individual right. It was in 1934 that the first attempt at universal gun control on a national level occurred. In 1934, the United States was at the height of the Great Depression (Kangas, 1997). In 1933, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution had finally been repealed, marking the end of the noble experiment known as “prohibition”. The fourteen years of prohibition had nurtured an atmosphere of speakeasies, bootlegging, gangsters, and mafia. The year following the repeal of prohibition was marred by some of the worst gangster violence in American history. John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson were on the run. Bonnie and Clyde were killed in that year (1934 in the United States, 2013). The nation had just finished its war with Al Capone’s gang (Al Capone, 2013). The people were tired of the unrestrained violence and, in an apparent classic effort to obtain safety at the expense of liberty, were willing to accept limits on the right to bear arms. Although this discussion is not about the history of gun control but about the right to bear arms, it bears mentioning that, in almost all cases in which federal gun control has been enacted, the legislation was enacted following an acute emotional crisis or tragedy that...
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...inequities of today. Unfortunately, these divisions impact the way in which we live our life and how we advance socially. Race has always been a complicated subject and is inevitable. Although we have made tremendous strides to dismantle the foundations of racism, it is clear and evident that racism still persists within the institutions of our society. I believe that America is one of greatest countries on the earth and it is a land of opportunity for everyone. The American dream is alive and well and many people of all races have had tremendous success. With these positives in place, it is no wonder why there have been so many incredible achievements by African Americans in the 21st century to include the obvious - the first black president. Over the years there has been much success in trying to dismantle discrimination against different races. By the time the modern civil rights movement...
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...In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the author shows the racial struggle between blacks and whites in the 60s, during the Civil Right movement. The main black characters, Roseleen, August, May, June and Zach face a lot of difficulties as blacks; for instance, Roseleen was having a hard time to get the right to vote, June has a sense of intimidation towards white and May’s suicide is indirectly connected to the racial problem. Moreover, when Roseleen was just walking on the street, some Caucasian men pick a fight with her and then they beat her up until she almost dies. On the other hand, the main white characters, Lily and her father T. Ray, are racist. We can see how racism is influential when it comes to parents to child, and we...
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...wore no make up and had their hair tied back in buns. * Divorce was very rare and so was sex before marriage. * Women did not smoke or drink in public. * They had to go out with a chaperone (a family member) when they met their boyfriend. How did the First World War change the lives of women? * During the war, women began to work in areas like heavy industry. They proved they could work as well as men. By 1929, there were 10 million women workers; a rise of 24% since 1920. * Working gave women independence and they began smoking and drinking in public. * Women were given the vote in August 1920 but few were chosen to be actual politicians. * Production of consumer goods such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines meant women had more time for leisure activities. * Flappers emerged in the 1920’s = women from middle and upper class families from the Northern States. They cut their hair in short bobs, wore make up, short skirts and bright clothes. They also smoked and drank in public, went to speakeasies, danced the Charleston with men and listened to Jazz and drove cars and motorbikes. * BUT many groups, particularly in rural areas thought the flappers were too outrageous. * Hollywood saw the emergence of female stars such as Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson who * were female role models. * Advertising was aimed at women for the new consumer goods of the 1920s e.g in 1925 Ford introduced colours other than black for his...
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...Masculinity in Hip Hop Introduction In their discourses on the same, Frith and McRobbie (1990) tackle the issue of sexuality in popular culture. As they tackle this issue, the authors focus specifically on the issue of masculinity as depicted in imagery, songs, videos, and concert tours. In the course of their work, Frith and McRobbie (1990: 374) observed a prevalent trend, which they referred to as ‘cock rock’ in their initial scholarly account. This was the reference to the dominant pattern of masculine chest-thumping as well as the aggressive and explicit portrayal of male sexuality. Later scholars also used the term hegemonic masculinity to sustain this viewpoint. Besides hegemonic masculinity, Frith and McRobbie (1990: 375) identify ‘the soft sentimentalist’ as another form of masculine sexuality, essentially a subtle evolution of the former. Sentimental masculinity appeals more to female vanity and the need for affection. The sentimentalist is charismatic and charming full of sensual flirtation aimed at luring the superficial audience. Critical observation indicates that both forms of masculine sexuality are still present in the world of Hip Hop today. In a detailed overview on the same, this paper tackles the issue of hegemonic and sentimental masculinity as evidenced in the world of Hip Hop today and the pervasive trend of aggression and sexuality in popular culture. Sexuality in Popular Culture The issue of sexuality continues to dominate the world of popular...
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...Yakuza and their reputations The yakuza origins can be traced back to the time of transition of Japan from feudalism to a modern state in the later 19th century around the time of the Meiji restoration. As a result of this transition, a pool of samurais without power, hooligans and landless peasants formed the supply of the Yakuza. (Varse, 2003) Yakuza, 8-9-3 is a losing combination in the card game hana-fuda and hence later on used to describe gamblers who were born to lose and was of no use in society. The Yakuza have different identities, to some they are violence specialists, to some gangsters, to some extortionists, to some gamblers, to some the Japanese mafia. While it is not wrong to have such impressions on the yakuza, this not completely true as there is so much more behind the yakuza than just being violent gangsters. Also according to Siniawer, he does not want to call the yakuza, “gangsters” because sometimes “it may evoke romantic images of Prohibition-era bosses”, which will inaccurately depict the yakuza. The yakuza are essentially different from the (Sicilian) mafia, in the sense that the perception of the mafia as an unambiguously predatory entity locked in bloody combat with the state, which are exemplified by such crimes as the assassination of the Italian prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. This was different with the yakuza who proudly displayed the name of their gang, and its crest, and crest at the entrance. (Hill, 2003: 6-7) This is also shown...
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...care of them. The definition of an "Independent Woman" in the Urban Dictionary, a predominantly African American written and defined Web site, is "A woman who pays her own bills, buys her own things, and does not allow a man to affect her stability or self-confidence. She supports herself on her own entirely and is proud to be able to do so." Another depiction of independence is found in Tina Portis' video clip titled the "Deception of the Independent Woman" posted to YouTube in 2010. Portis, an entrepreneur and former single mother, offers her opinion on statistics showing 42% of U.S. black women have never been married and are "independent" because they focus on achievement, often waiting too long to compete for the small number of black men who are equal in status (Johnson, 2010). In the video, she asserts that independent women do not need a pat on the back for doing what grownups are supposed to do: pay their bills, buy houses and cars, etc. She adds that independence discourages relationships as people begin to believe they can do everything alone, so they do not need a mate. Mia Moody, PhD, is a professor of journalism at Baylor University. She is the author of Btack and Mainstream Press' Framing of Raciat Profiling: A Historical Perspective. She teaches courses in public relations, minorities and women in the media and reporting. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank students, Courtney Webb, Jessica Foumena, and Chelsea Quackenbush, for helping me...
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