In this paper, I will explore the connection between the ideas of Stuart Hall, Uma Narayan and Edward Said. During discussion my classmates and I realized how the three writers discussed similar themes in their work and I thought it was quite interesting. The three writers talk about the Western media’s depiction of people who belong from different ethnic backgrounds. The reason I am interested in this topic is because it is prevalent even today since the media portrays such people in a stereotypical and generalized manner. In “The Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media”, Stuart Hall discusses about the media’s role in creating ideologies. Stuart Hall defines ideology as, “images, concepts and premises which provide the frameworks
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Western media is a manifestation of hegemony because its representation of society and others is internalized by its audience and they begin to see society the way media is showing it. The concept of hegemony is similar to Hall’s idea of ideologies and the role media plays in creating them. Furthermore, Narayan introduced the term “Package Picture of Cultures” which represent cultures as distinct and separate entities, each having its own traditions, practices and labels attached to it which make it different from the other cultures (p.1084). This creates culture essentialist generalizations through which others paint those belonging from that culture with the same brush and attach the same label to them. Hence, assignment of individuals in each culture becomes a naturalized process and the labels attached, give meaning to each culture. For example, the media humanizes violent acts committed by white people, making it appear as acts of self-defence and dehumanizes acts people of color by showing that they are violent, perpetrators of crime and at fault. Media is biased because it gives less coverage to violent acts committed by white people and never shows that people of color can be victims too. This is an example of hegemony where the dominant Western class depicts people of color in a threatening way and by doing …show more content…
Western media’s depiction of Islamic terrorism makes all Muslims appear as villains and fanatics. The audience starts believing that all Muslims are threatening and an enemy of the West, this results in generalizations and discriminatory behaviour against those Muslims who are harmless. The media is biased while showing Islamic terrorism and fundamentalist Christian actions. They give more coverage and emphasis when showing terror attacks committed by a non-white Muslim and less coverage to attacks committed by white Christians. When the audience is more exposed to the news of the attacks made by Muslims, they start believing that Muslims are the problem and label all Muslims as terrorists rather than thinking that it is the person who is the problem, not the religious or cultural background of that person. This example given by Said also manifests the concepts of ideologies and cultural essentialist generalizations. The media’s unfair representation of Muslims and Islam creates ideologies about terrorism and Muslims, which the audience start accepting as truth and generalize of that
Western media is a manifestation of hegemony because its representation of society and others is internalized by its audience and they begin to see society the way media is showing it. The concept of hegemony is similar to Hall’s idea of ideologies and the role media plays in creating them. Furthermore, Narayan introduced the term “Package Picture of Cultures” which represent cultures as distinct and separate entities, each having its own traditions, practices and labels attached to it which make it different from the other cultures (p.1084). This creates culture essentialist generalizations through which others paint those belonging from that culture with the same brush and attach the same label to them. Hence, assignment of individuals in each culture becomes a naturalized process and the labels attached, give meaning to each culture. For example, the media humanizes violent acts committed by white people, making it appear as acts of self-defence and dehumanizes acts people of color by showing that they are violent, perpetrators of crime and at fault. Media is biased because it gives less coverage to violent acts committed by white people and never shows that people of color can be victims too. This is an example of hegemony where the dominant Western class depicts people of color in a threatening way and by doing …show more content…
Western media’s depiction of Islamic terrorism makes all Muslims appear as villains and fanatics. The audience starts believing that all Muslims are threatening and an enemy of the West, this results in generalizations and discriminatory behaviour against those Muslims who are harmless. The media is biased while showing Islamic terrorism and fundamentalist Christian actions. They give more coverage and emphasis when showing terror attacks committed by a non-white Muslim and less coverage to attacks committed by white Christians. When the audience is more exposed to the news of the attacks made by Muslims, they start believing that Muslims are the problem and label all Muslims as terrorists rather than thinking that it is the person who is the problem, not the religious or cultural background of that person. This example given by Said also manifests the concepts of ideologies and cultural essentialist generalizations. The media’s unfair representation of Muslims and Islam creates ideologies about terrorism and Muslims, which the audience start accepting as truth and generalize of that