#6

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/southafrica/index.html

This article clearly fits the description of segregation and societal racism. Although apartheid is so called over, the freedom has not translated into gain for South Africans.  The article reports that black South Africans are still largely jobless and it appears the segregation is widely accepted in the nation. It is unfortunate that a people can be segregated against for so long and that the perception of achieving freedom has not translated into a change in the way black South Africans are treated.  This also shows societal racism because those who are in power in South American continue to oppress blacks and continue the trends that apartheid started.

#5

 

A group I feel that has recently been under-represented in the media is children and teenagers in the latest teachers strike.  Their voices have gone un-heard and they have had almost no focus on them when they are the ones who are being affected.  The media has been focusing on possible teacher job action and the demands the teachers have been making.  Not much has been said about kids possibly losing extracurricular activates as well as possibly not having graduation ceremonies and not being able to obtain the scholarships they have worked so hard for.  No one has asked children or teenagers what they want and no one seems to care what is best for them. The media seems to take a stance against teachers because they support the government who is battling the teachers.  National interest surely supports children and teenagers seeing as adults in society want what is best for their children and work hard to ensure their children have a proper education.  Instead the focus is on the demands the teachers are making simply because the media is controlled by the government who are choosing to represent themselves and under represent the voice of young people.

#4

The spiral of silence is a theory that asserts that a person is less likely to voice an opinion on a topic of morality if one feels that one is in the minority for fear of reprisal or isolation from the majority.  This is saying that people in the minority of having an opinion of the minority remain silent in fear of isolation and not wanting to cross the majority. This is evident all over Western society as the opinions of the power elite dominate.  That is it is important to spend lots of money on name brands and buy in to the glamorization of capitalist society. Unfortunately for the large part the voice of the minority is unspoken and un heard and for no other reason than fear of disapproval and isolation. This article highlights the spiral of silence as teachers and social workers did not voice what should have been voiced in the Shafia murder trial because the majority believes to leave certain cultures alone.

https://www.google.ca/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=surrey+crime+newspaper+stories&oq=surrey+crime+newspaper+stories&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=hp.3…9005.9280.1.9400.5.4.0.0.0.2.135.208.1j1.3.0.xHkOgsuRrJ4&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=f60439f748468c45

#3

I fully support and agree with the idea of mean world syndrome.  I believe that the world, and my city and community specifically is a much safer place than the media depicts.  The media depicts Surrey as a place where shootings are common and crime is rampant.  This is very evident on my Facebook newsfeed, which shows my friends and peers as believing what the media has to say about Surrey.  Every day I see someone attributing negative events in their life to living in Surrey and interacting with Surrey people.  Something that should not be taken lightly, like a shooting, is dismissed as another day in Surrey, and this bothers me.  I moved here when I was five years old and for many years lived in Whalley where apparently it is most dangerous.  I have had experience in many big cities in North America and I can honestly say I would feel safe to walk almost anywhere in Surrey at night time.  Its unfortunate that the media portrays Surrey as a violent place, because people are showing zero pride in their city, and outsiders around the continent are buying into the stories and trying to stay away from surrey. If you google “surrey crime newspaper stories” you will see that all that comes up is promotions to make Surrey a “safer place” and an easy to access history of crime in Surrey, which has strong implications that Surrey is a dangerous place.

https://www.google.ca/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=surrey+crime+newspaper+stories&oq=surrey+crime+newspaper+stories&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=hp.3…9005.9280.1.9400.5.4.0.0.0.2.135.208.1j1.3.0.xHkOgsuRrJ4&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=f60439f748468c45

#2

The idea of racist media can be applied to the Shafia murder trial. Lost in Transmission defines racist media as one that openly encourages discriminatory bias towards minority men and women, or alternatively, racist media does not do anything to prevent or deal with racial discrimination.  With the Shafia murder case the term “honour killing” makes no attempt to discourage prejudices against the Islamic community and actually creates the idea the mistreatment of women is just a normal thing within that culture. The issue of the Shafia girls getting murdered is lost beyond the coverage of “honour killings” and the Islamic culture.  It influences people to believe that this is what they should think of people in the Islamic community, and that killing women in the name of “honour” is a regular thing. The article below illustrates the point I am trying to make and also relates to other issues of gender and sex roles.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1123403–were-shafia-murders-honour-killings-or-domestic-violence

#1

This week I have chosen Agenda setting as the concept which I find most interesting.  Media uses agenda setting shape and defines our reality.  They subtly hint at what they feel our beliefs, values, and opinions should be, without outright telling us what to think. Specifically I have been looking at the more Liberal minded Globe and Mail newspaper.  Since announcing his plans in Switzerland, the Globe has been reporting almost daily on Stephen Harpers plan to push back the age to receive promised old age security.  The paper has put out stories which have mainly contradicted what the Prime minister is saying, without outright saying that they want us to think that it is a bad idea. By using non Conservative party statisticians as well as other experts in this area, the Globe has been making a decent argument as to why we should not wan not Old Age security to be pushed back, even though the Prime Minister maintains that it is fully necessary to hold up social services in the long run.

Please remove your shoes

I’m in my third year of studies at Kwantlen, currently pursuing a BA in the faculty of psychology.  All that I really know about the media, I’ve learned during my time at Kwantlen.  I understand that the media portrays “bad” news preferably, aiming to excite and interest viewers.  Also, for a lot of us the media is our only source of information connecting us to the outside world, therefore the media heavily influences the way we view the world.  Beyond the power the media has over our world view, I don’t know much about it.  In this course I hope to lay foundational knowledge about the media, and if it interests me I’ll continue to build on that knowledge throughout the rest of my studies.  For now I will just enjoy the course and try to become knowledgeable of the sociological aspect of the media.  Regardless of if I pursue this field, I don’t think it will be harmful to gain an understanding about something that is so significant in our everyday lives, the media.