Illustration #11

Concept #11: POLICE

The eleventh and last “Coolest Concept” that I chose is POLICE, which means “the civil force of a national or local government, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order”. This concept is not in the textbooks or notes, but I’ve noticed how the media usually interprets this group of government force, who’s primary goal to to prevent crime and to ensure public safety, in a negative way. If you look at the news, there are many articles about Police Officers abusing their power too far (ie. Shooting for Trayvon Martin and Robert Dziekanski). Without the media, I don’t think we would be aware of how unfair the police force can be. For example, many citizens are unaware of their Charter of Rights & Freedoms, thus the officers will take advantage of this and  go to far with their authority.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Dzieka%C5%84ski_Taser_incident

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin

In these two situations, the officer(s) defended them self merely out of self defense and felt that they were endanger from these citizens. But as investigations continued, the truth was revealed that near victims were a danger to the Police force. This is when I believe the media is a positive attribute to the society. The media helps inform us with the right information.

Illustration #10

Concept #10: WOMEN (Chapter 8: Minority Women in Violent Relationships by Krim K.Lacey)

The tenth “Coolest Concept” that I chose is WOMEN, which means an adult human female. But to be more specific in this concept, I chose minority women in violent relationships. For over many decades, women have been fighting for their equal rights and respect from men. Even today, in the year 2012, women are still treated unequally.  In the book Issues in Social Justice, Chapater 8, there was a study that shows that although women are being abused in their home, a majority of them still stay with or return to their abuser. Throughout history, men have always been empowered and not much change occurred because “the society have paid limited attention to domestic violence” (page 189).  People who are aware of these domestic violence always question “Why won’t you leave them?’ or “Why won’t you seek for help?”. For immigrant women, seeking assistance are frowned upon or going to refugees are culturally unacceptable option. Not only that but sometimes the community persuades the women to continue their relationship with the abuser and to keep silent. Even with the media attention, women are still shown vulnerable in whatever situation they are. The media objectifies women into body parts and give the assumption to society that they are merely born to satisfy men’s needs and desires. I find this quite disgusting and scary because who knows how women would be treated in a couple of more decades. I’ve seen advertisements where a woman is shown sitting below a man scrubbing floors or laying sexually for the man and it gives the  audience a vibe that women are powerless and weak.

Illustration #9

Concept #9: Human Trafficking by Darrick Brake (Issues In Social Justice)

The ninth “Coolest Concept” that I chose is HUMAN TRAFFICKING, which means the purposeful movement of any person(s) to places in which they are sold, or purchased into forced labour or bondage such as prostitution, industrial work, domestic work, or sex slavery. There are many factors that lead to an increase in human trafficking which are: 1) Cheap labour and keeping the costs of production low increases 2) Globalization (traffickers can easily transport people to one place to another) 3)Weak economic system (developing countries have a large population of people from which they can exploit and also cheap labour can sustain business) and 4) War (forced military labour or service because the duration of a war increases so does its need for military personnel and the growing numbers of refugee). (Darrick Brake, Chapter 2). I’ve read some newspaper articles about human tracking, and always assumed that this only happens in the Eastern side of the world in the more underdeveloped countries. I never would have assumed it could also happen here in Canada, until I recently read an article about an East-Indian woman who persuaded people from the Philippines for a better lifestyle when in fact she uses them for house or hotel labours and trap them inside her hotel. The media has the power to twist these kind o stories to gain more viewers. And also, articles under these topics are mainly from the underdeveloped countries. Yet, the media fails to expose the stories of human being trafficking into Canada.

http://digitaljournal.com/article/289949

In this article,  people who have been smuggled into Canada had the assumption that they will “offered a better future, but only to discover once across the border they have no passport, no papers and have been sold to the highest bidder”. People assume that immigrants who are smuggled into Canada will be sent back to their country once they are caught by the Police. However, “many do not understand that the police will help them escape their life of slavery and exploitation by helping them “obtain a Temporary Resident Permit (includes health care) and they are also “fed and sheltered up to 18months”. It’s sad that the media doesn’t show this positive aspect of Canada and that the police are willing to help.

Illustration #8

Concept #8: Racist Media

 The eight “Coolest Concept” that I chose is RACIST MEDIA, which means one that openly encourages discriminatory bias towards minority women and men, or alternatively, racist media does not do anything to prevent or deal with racial discrimination. Throughout history, black slavery has been the biggest fighting issues all around the world. Africans are and still is treated with low respect from the society. The media tends to portray black stereotypes in a negative way. African men are “gangsters” with no education, constantly committing crime and basically have no future. And the African women, are big booty ladies, who are also as vicious and violent as the men. In this photo, this African rapper Tupac, displays the stereotype image that the media portrays. Black gangster male, with numerous tattoos covering his body. He may look like a criminal but he is an inspirational rapper and singer even 16 years after his death. Funny how when he was still alive, the media views him as a thug and criminal. Yet when he passed away, the media praised him for his works and efforts.  

Illustration #7

Concept #7: Genocide

The seventh “Coolest Concept” that I chose is GENOCIDE, which means the deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation. Genocide is not an easy topic for the media to discuss. Remorseful topics such as ‘genocide’ can easily attract viewers and listeners for the media. The media makes others feel relieved that such cruel things aren’t happening to their country, but also make the others feel sympathetic to help out. The article below is an example of a genocide, which occurred around the year 1994 in Rwanda. 800,000 people were killed within 100 days. Some people don’t realize it but genocide does happen everyday. The media only exposes the society to such violence when it’s a major issue that many people are aware of or when their own country is involved. Some major genocides that most people are aware of are: Rwandan Genocide, the Holocaust, Srebrenica Genocide and the Darfur Genocide.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm

Illustration #6

Concept #6: Objectification

The sixth “Coolest Concept” that I chose is OBJECTIFICATION, which means treating people as if they were objects, as if they were nothing more than the attributes they display. This concept is widely used in all the media news, photos, videos, and musics but mainly focuses more on women than men. For example, in music videos or in commercials, there are usually footage’s that focuses on the woman’s body part rather than their face. I believe that the media has gotten out of control by over advertising how sexual women. And that, women are basic tools for satisfying men’s needs therefore it’s normal for a 13 year old boy to look at pornographic photos and videos.  Ten years ago, freshman students were afraid to hold each others hands, but today they’re afraid to get pregnant. With technology and trends advancing so quickly, it’s much easier for teenagers to access the media. It’s sad how quickly media has also advanced and resorted to exposing women in an offensive way just to gain more viewers.

Illustration #5

Concept #5: Mean World Syndrome

The fifth “Coolest Concept” that I chose is MEAN WORLD SYNDROME, which means violence-related content of mass media convinces viewers that the world is more dangerous than it actually is and prompts a desire for more protection than as warranted by an actual threat. For example, if you look at the continent Africa, the media tends to take a negative issue from one of the countries in Africa and spread it out to Africa as a whole. Like, if poverty and crime increases in a country in Africa, the media makes the issue big as if the whole continent itself is corrupted with crime and poverty. Television shows, images, newspaper articles, and stereotypes have a major impact on the mean world syndrome and help influence our perception on how reality actually is.