IO Flashcards
Intro
The global issue revolving around the two texts I have chosen is the illustration of migrants by the media, including how the media can be manipulative and invoke biased views, hence influencing people’s decisions. The first text, “Go Went Gone” is a novel originally written by Jenny Erpenbeck and translated by Susan Bernofsky. The book is set in Germany after reunification, the extract investigates a hunger strike movement created by African refugees in Alexanderplatz and Richard, a retired professor’s reaction to the broadcast of the set movement. The chosen extract embraces the global issue of the methods and tools of journalism, highlighting the humanistic nature of refugees and the media’s influence on public opinion. Alternatively, I will also investigate a UKIP poster. UKIP stands for “UK Independence Party,” it is a right wing political party in the United Kingdom and its primary emphasis is for the United Kingdom to exit the EU, the organisation opposes Welsh and Scottish nationalism. The poster exemplifies the threat faced by British citizens due to the influx of asylum seekers into the UK, these migrants are believed to be robbing the livelihood of British citizens. UKIP posters provide a nationalistic viewpoint that is negative towards refugees and convince readers to support their agenda. While both texts emphasize how pressing the migrant crisis is, in “Go Went Gone,” the refugees are portrayed to be powerless, meanwhile in the poster, these migrants are depicted to be dominating over the country. This disparity is established by the principles and practices used by the media and how the media looks to spark controversy, hook readers and gain popularity.
GWG main
Firstly, Erpenbeck displays the ways the media chooses to sensationalise news and showcase the severity of the refugee problem. She achieves this by questioning the work ethics and credibility of journalism. It is seen that the hunger strikers are having a movement in Alexanderplatz square and this movement is important to them as it allows them to deliver a message to people in Germany. However, this is juxtaposed with the news reporter’s emotionless response as the reporter “appears to be concerned” and is “convincing in her concern.” The diction “convincing” and “appears’ is a juxtaposition to show how media is portrayed to be caring or empathetic, but however, the hypocritical tone underscores their motives to create sales, increase ratings and be lucrative. Furthermore, this infers that there is a lack of honesty and “concern”. Erpenbeck therefore shows that news reporters have the ability to adequately sensationalise the news based on their tone or their reaction. Moreover, the use of the rhetorical question “journalists now formally study?”allows readers to wonder whether a genuine concerned tone exists or is it just a part of their “study”. It may also establish a humorous, sarcastic yet cynical tone which portrays the detached work morals of journalism. Another rhetorical question indicating the substandard work principles is reiterated when Richard reflects if it mattered whether the “images flashing past, in tenths of seconds, really shared a time and place with the horrors that gave rise to the reports?” Through this, a suggestion is made that the viewers of the news follow authority and give blind faith towards what is being presented by the broadcasters, no matter if what they are seeing is real or not. As a result, Erpenbeck conveys how news reporters have the sovereignty to display what to present to the public, thereby moulding their opinions and judgement about a situation. In addition, Erpenbeck displays that “the men refuse to give their names’’ to the media. The rebellious verb “refuse” indicates how oppression has negatively affected the minorities because of their inferior treatment. This demonstrates that zenophobic thoughts are prevalent in the majority of the population towards the minority. Overall, this is a prime example of a global issue showcasing how the media can effectively influence and manipulate all of us. Ultimately, there is a gargantuan volume of news being presented to readers in this day and age, and they do not have time to process the issue, thereby readers do not contradict what is being presented and go along with it, therefore, this can play on their decision making skills.
GWG BOW 1
This is also seen in chapter 2, when a reporter in Alexanderplatz proclaims “If nothing special happens, I can’t make a story out of it”. The adjective “Special” suggests that if the event is anti-climatic then it is not worth reporting. TV stations will judge what is seen as newsworthy to report. The use of the first conditional in this sentence structure shows that until a substantial event takes place, journalists will pick and choose what to present to the people, once again, creating a dismissive attitude towards the refugees . Media can be seen as ruthless and disconnected as the young reporter questions “have any of the men collapsed yet?” implying her primary concern is that she will only report if the men have “collapsed”, otherwise it does not deserve to be aired or revealed to the public.
GWG BOW 2
In chapter 34, the media does not recognise the lives of African refugees as they are insignificant and not worthy enough to report. Richard hears reports of refugees washing ashore almost daily on Italian beaches. He is left bewildered and in shock due to the lack of initiative from the media offering further information about these “corpses”. Seen in the rhetorical question “Who knows their names?” A concerned tone is established, indicating that there must be a follow up from authorities about the refugee’s identities. However, people on social media called “DontCare” and “GodOfSlaughter” demonstrate their hate and bitterness towards these refugees. On the other hand, they sympathise and “really feel sorry for the coast guards”The stark contrast of the perception between how the corpse of an African refugee is treated compared to “coast guard” implies that there is no room for sympathy or pity because “the planet is already incredibly overpopulated”. The adjective “overpopulated” establishes that African refugees are unable to contribute to society and are unresourceful. Hence, they are unwanted and unwelcome. This is closely linked to the global issue as it highlights how people are not sympathetic or disturbed by the mass number of refugee mortalities, but more concerned about their own citizens, indicating a selfish characteristic .
UKIP Main
The media can also be seen in the form of a poster and in this case, it is produced by UKIP which can be staunchly biased. In this particular poster, the readers are left questioning about the stability of their future and the poster may instigate them to vote for the party because it creates a connection between the security of their future which may be robbed by immigrants. To start, the effective use of a 3D human life finger pointing directly at the reader creates an earthly connection with the reader by establishing a sense of personal gain for them. Furthermore, the rhetorical question “and whose job are they after?,” instantly feeds into the British citizen’s insecurities about their livelihood and job status. It changes their perception and makes them realise the hostility these immigrants bring to the British. Moreover, this is coupled with the hyperbolic statistic that “26 million people are looking for work” insinuating that these 26 million foreigners will steal British jobs and revenue and therefore, it is the responsibility of a patriotic person to vote for UKIP, this leads to hateful perceptions of immigrants. Furthermore, the use of present progressive tense “looking for work,” suggests that the influx of immigrants is a constant and growing threat for the livelihood of British citizens. This results in delivering a strong amount of fear and worry towards the British citizens, providing responsibility upon them as they now feel as they now would feel like they would be installing a great British future when they vote for UKIP, and they will feel victimised and remorse if they do not vote for UKIP and will have to face negative consequences brought in by immigrants. In addition,it is observed that the colour on the left hand side is white and grey, this accentuates the colour on the right hand side, which is purple and yellow. The purple and yellow colour imagery indicates that UKIP is a prestigious organisation which has royalty and is loyal to its citizens. All in all, this poster links to the global issue as it shows how the media can be used in politics as a form of power in order to manipulate people and their decisions.
UKIP BOW 1
In another UKIP poster, the issue of immigragtion is also discussed by visual imagery of escalators. UKIP posters typically advocate to prevent the entry of immigrants into the country, this is visible in the poster by the visual imagery of the 3 escalators. The escalators show the current ease and leisurely passage to the UK for immigrants. The 3 number, indicates many easy paths, not just one for immigrants. The very nature of escalators, requiring minimum effort for those who take them, shows how UK is even encouraging and helping immigrants while UKIP disagrees with this.
