Powerful Words

In class today, we had a deep discussion on how words and body language are used to indicate the more powerful side in a situation or relationship. By looking at specific examples from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, we found that power can be presented both physically (gestures, physical contact, etc.) and verbally (manipulative language, aggressive language, etc.). While these examples are from fictional characters, the use of words to create or perpetuate power has an interesting connection to today, and how the media often purposely chooses words that intend to alter the audience's perception of an incident.

Generally seen in reports of violence, these carefully chosen words aim to humanize white assailants and criminalize black victims. This can be very clearly seen in a comparison of headlines and images for mass-murderer James Holmes and police brutality victim Michael Brown:

Just by reading the headlines, it is clear to see that the focus on Brown is violence, and the focus on Holmes is previous academic success. Even though Holmes murdered 12 and injured 70 (and was captured alive), the media (in this case, CBS) chose to emphasize what a "brilliant" student he was. And even though Brown was a teenage victim of gun violence, the media still chose to make clear any violent tendencies that he had before he was shot multiple times and killed, for what seems to be very little reason at all.

The images paired with these headlines, while matching the chosen descriptions of their subjects, continue to perpetuate racist stereotypes that portray African American victims as chronically violent and white assailants as genuinely good-natured people that made some bad decisions here-and-there. However, some articles did use photos (such as the ones to the left and right) which seem to more accurately represent each incident. But what's important is that a multitude of articles that shifted perceptions, such as those above, were published by large and influential news sources such as CBS.

While some may argue that these articles describing two very different incidents and are isolated from one another, there are thousands of other examples displaying the same amount of racial biases in the media. 

Examples of biased reporting from the Huffington Post
article, "When the Media Treats White Suspects and
Killers Better than Black Victims"

All of these examples clearly demonstrate a specific selection of words (and images) that powerfully influence how one interprets a situation. Through these words, the media not only abuses, but increases its power. After all, as we've seen in The Great Gatsby, rumors and twisted stories have a very powerful effect on how the public perceives something/someone. However, now that we are recognizing the seemingly powerless position we, as the audience, are in, perhaps we can begin to shift it. The question we face now is, how?