Foregrounding and Backgrounding Foregrounding and backgrounding are two terms that refer to the level of emphasis that one aspect receives over another. Foregrounding, the concept of emphasis, and its opposite, backgrounding, work in contrast of one another in almost all scenarios; there is always a contrasting view to any situation (Huckin, 1997). In terms of foregrounding, the video discussed above has a tremendous amount of focus on the rights of the citizen in situations regarding police searches. The information displayed in foregrounding is important, as it is essential that each citizen knows their rights during a police stop or during any other police encounter; however, the omission of other factors during the video must also
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The majority of the video uses an authoritative and aggressive tone. Authoritative and dictatorial action begins when the officer claims that he can arrest the driver for speeding at a rate of 20 miles per hour over the limit, even though this is not an offence that an officer can arrest for (Flex Your Rights, 2008: 1:24). Realising that the driver was not baited by his claim, the aggressive nature of the officer surfaces, as he uses a different registry in his voice to ask the passengers to step out of the vehicle (Flex Your Rights, 2008: 1:34-1:46). Authority in the video continues as the officer unlawfully, or lawfully if referring to the previously discussed perspective of backgrounding, requests the driver to hand over the keys. Whether the driver hands over the keys or not has little significance. Rather, the actual thought process of deciding whether or not he should hand over the keys simply do to fear of the officer’s authoritative figure is what must be taken into account. Continuing, the officer’s assertion of power surfaces again when he states that the driver only has two choices in this situation (Flex Your Rights, 2008: 2:29-3:03). This displays an exercise of dictatorship as well, especially due to the threats that follow his list of two choices. Finally, in the officer’s final attempt to achieve what he wants, he claims that he is going to take it to the next …show more content…
Similarly, depending on social class, the officer may act differently in a comparable situation. A study on the difference of police attitude during police stops when it involves upper class citizens compared to lower class citizens would be interesting. Karl Marx theory of the bourgeoisies and proletariats and the inequality between the two can make a great impact in this regard. Police officers, depending on pay received by certain agencies as well as the system in which they work in, can fall under a number of social classes. Would a police officer in Detroit with a lower wage than a police officer in New York City treat citizens with parallel social classes to their own differently? There is an endless amount of research that can branch off from the video, it all depends on the ability to relate one social factor to
The majority of the video uses an authoritative and aggressive tone. Authoritative and dictatorial action begins when the officer claims that he can arrest the driver for speeding at a rate of 20 miles per hour over the limit, even though this is not an offence that an officer can arrest for (Flex Your Rights, 2008: 1:24). Realising that the driver was not baited by his claim, the aggressive nature of the officer surfaces, as he uses a different registry in his voice to ask the passengers to step out of the vehicle (Flex Your Rights, 2008: 1:34-1:46). Authority in the video continues as the officer unlawfully, or lawfully if referring to the previously discussed perspective of backgrounding, requests the driver to hand over the keys. Whether the driver hands over the keys or not has little significance. Rather, the actual thought process of deciding whether or not he should hand over the keys simply do to fear of the officer’s authoritative figure is what must be taken into account. Continuing, the officer’s assertion of power surfaces again when he states that the driver only has two choices in this situation (Flex Your Rights, 2008: 2:29-3:03). This displays an exercise of dictatorship as well, especially due to the threats that follow his list of two choices. Finally, in the officer’s final attempt to achieve what he wants, he claims that he is going to take it to the next …show more content…
Similarly, depending on social class, the officer may act differently in a comparable situation. A study on the difference of police attitude during police stops when it involves upper class citizens compared to lower class citizens would be interesting. Karl Marx theory of the bourgeoisies and proletariats and the inequality between the two can make a great impact in this regard. Police officers, depending on pay received by certain agencies as well as the system in which they work in, can fall under a number of social classes. Would a police officer in Detroit with a lower wage than a police officer in New York City treat citizens with parallel social classes to their own differently? There is an endless amount of research that can branch off from the video, it all depends on the ability to relate one social factor to