Racism in todays Media: Downfall of Society

PROBLEMS OF INEQUALITY AND POWER

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WHAT IS INEQUALITY AND POWER?

• Inequality: The condition of being unequal; lack of equality; disparity:

• Power: The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.

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WHAT IS RACISM AND MEDIA?

• Racism: The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or

ability and that a particular race is superior to others; discrimination or

prejudice based on race.

• Media: The means of communication that reach large numbers of people

such as television, newspapers and radio.

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• In todays society media is the source of all information, from weather to news all over the world.

• Racism and media seem to go hand and hand in todays society due to the fact that what the media broadcasts is usually the “worst case scenario” of events that are occurring, playing a major role in how the viewers act and feel towards those involved and thus helping in forming racial stereotypes and hatred.

HOW DO THEY ALL TIE TOGETHER?

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MIDDLE EAST

• For example, the war in the Middle East right now, as more news coverage is being

broadcasted more of the people watching are believing that all Muslims are a part of

“ISIS” and jumping to conclusions that are causing conflicts within society worldwide.

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ISIS CAUSING RACIAL STEREOTYPING

• Islamophobia : Dislike of or prejudice

against Islam or Muslims, especially as a

political force.

• According to Tom Johnson at The Daily

Wildcat “Recent polls from the Arab

American institute say that only 27 percent

of Americans have a positive view of

Muslims, and that 42 percent of Americans

support racial profiling used against

Muslims. One can only speculate on how

much those numbers will vary as more ISIS

propaganda and news hits the headlines

furthering the stereotypes and negativity

forwarded towards most Middle Eastern

populations.

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ISIS CAUSING RACIAL STEREOTYPING CONT.

• “Irresponsible journalism, mainly tabloid sensationalism around a minority of

extreme individuals seems to have become the focus of the mainstream media

spotlights in recent months that unfortunately all Muslims are tarnished with, and

inevitably bear the brunt of”.

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WHAT IS SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM?

• Symbolic Interactionism focuses on the individual level and subjective aspect

of social life

• Behavior and attitudes depend upon how individuals perceive, define, or

construct their social world.

• Identity is shaped by social interaction

• A theory that human interaction and communication is facilitated by words,

gestures, and other symbols that have acquired conventionalized meaning.

• Symbolic interactionism is the sociological theory that asserts the way we

interact is a result of symbols we interpret about each other, our roles, and

what certain positions mean among other things.

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HOW MEDIA USES SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM• Symbolic interactionism is implemented through the media today via news reports, TV

broadcasts and social media. The media tends to only report on the horrific things

happening around the world even if the good outweighs the bad. Society starts to form

a negative view towards the nationalities involved. For example all the ISIS events occurring

around the world right now is giving a negative rep to all Middle Eastern nationalities with the

Islamic State.

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CANADIAN MEDIA ON ISIS

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POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

• The best solution to taking power away from groups such as ISIS is to remove the media

coverage they are receiving and implement filters on the internet that would scan content

being uploaded with certain keywords or flags and simply block them from reaching the

public view. Although this is easier said then done. In a online world it is almost

impossible to prevent society from eventually seeing content that is going to inflict fear

amongst the populations.

• Also educating the general public on the topics would be a huge step in the right direction.

As it stands right now most citizens are relying on media such as youtube, twitter, liveleak

and local news stations for all the information they receive on the local and global events.

News stations tend to inflate information and usually only show the really bad things

occurring. Society needs to see all the good that is also going on so they are free to form

their own views thus preventing large amounts of fear and reducing the globally spread

power based on fear.

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REFERENCES

• http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/hate-crime-surge-caused-by-media-

misrepresentation-of-muslims/

• http://www.mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/221171772-friend-alan-henning-says-muslim-

hate-crime-surge-fault-media-and-politicians

• http://backyardsociologyfall2011.blogspot.ca/2011/11/symbolic-interactionism-and-

learning-or.html

• https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=canadian+isis+coverage+

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