Blog 1
My example of fake news come from an article called "Fake News Meets German Racism" which is about how women were being attacked on the New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne by Arab and North African men. When the incident occurred, over one hundred complaints were filed by women. After the entire incident was over, there was reports that were given from a restaurant owner and one women but their whose motives for coming up with the allegations still remain unclear. The report that was filed said that the women in the celebrations were attacked by North African and Arab men, but then the entire country of Berlin shifted their attitudes towards black German citizens and other colored citizens that just reside in Berlin. A minority German citizen explains his experience while living in Berlin after the incident happened. After the incident happened, the minority German citizen said that he and his friends had experienced some terrifying moments. The first moment is when one of his friends got beaten up for trying to pick up his change that he dropped coming out of the car. While he was being striked, bystanders just stood by and let it happen. The next situation that happened was when he (the black German citizen who is telling the story) was insulted by two women who told him in a proudly way that they were racist. Then his female friend was pushed off her bike by an elderly women. Then to make matters worse, the teenage biracial son of a teacher was taunted by four Neo-Nazi kids who made Hitler quotes and left him with a fractured skull. The disgruntled fact about it all is that he was attacked in one of the safest neighborhoods in Prenzlauer Berg. This fake news article is mainly targeted to every audience there is because it's important for everyone in the world to know about how stereotypical the world is and how the media can easily cover up a situation with some other false information. Then, it's important for people to know about how minorities citizens in the world today not just in the United States but in other countries as well, are being treated wrongly and don't receive the least amount of justice for the violent things that happen to them. This fake news story does resonate with people differently because when talking about the situation in this article, people in the world today have different mindset (both good and bad) and some are going to take this in a way of saying that this is bad that minorities are being treated unfairly and wrongfully in other places. Others on the other hand, might feel as though minorities are getting what they deserve and don't need justice because of the actions that take place. Everyone in the world today has their own free will to do whatever they want, and believe whatever they want to hear, so at the end of it all it's going to resonate differently with different audiences, especially to those that discriminate against other races of people.
Pleased that we were finally able to iron out your technical difficulties. I appreciate your discussion here, but please be sure to properly cite your sources.
ReplyDeleteThis represents a really great idea for this project - as the specter of "immigrant violence" has become a significant political wedge in the current atmosphere. It's certainly true that there was a rash of public groping incidents in German cities during celebrations for this past New Year's Eve. The extent of these incidents has been portrayed differently by different outlets. Those other stories - "the minority German citizen" (because the phrase "African-German" seems strange, right?) being attacked; the teenage boy being attacked, etc. - all are related to the larger issue of whether it is good policy to open the nation's borders to refugees from the war zones of Syria or not. Other issues related to these incidents (the executive order limiting immigration from a number of Muslim countries, the reform of American immigration policy, the national policy on refugees from the Middle East) all remain prominent in current news coverage.
Your term paper project is meant to be a deep critical analysis of a particular article. Like I mentioned during our brief meeting, the assignment is designed to give you a chance to examine an example of blatant propaganda - and perhaps even propaganda designed to support an idea that you are sympathetic toward.
Pretty good start here. Let me know how I can help!
ReplyDeleteI don't really have any questions because you've just answered them all, but i just wanted to make sure i was on the right track. Thanks Mr. G.
The response post was meant to be another assignment when you could elaborate further on your idea for the project. "On the right track" is a pretty subjective description... You certainly are in an appropriate area. Remember that your artifact choice should be some piece of political discourse designed to influence public opinion.
ReplyDeleteNews briefs, especially from varied outlets, about incidents when individuals were victims of groping or other lewd behaviors can be used to illustrate how different outlets have different sensibilities towards immigrants generally, due to their inclinations toward progressive or conservative policy.
Consider how some political analysts would write articles based upon interpretations of such incidents in order to make arguments regarding policy or social stability, etc. When pundits consolidate a series of events and present it as a "trend" or as a "crisis" that must be addressed, that would be a political effort. It would be that sort of article which would make the best choice as an artifact for this project.
Please let me know how I can help!
Mr. G, the thing that's really going through my mind the most is that the subject that I'm doing for my research paper I feel as though that it does doesn't have a political disclosure because minorities citizens even of different countries are being treated unfairly and being shown no justice about the actions that have taken place.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a very important issue - but remember that our class is not just about political situations and how to address injustice. Instead, our class is about honing the skills of message analysis. Whether we are looking at a hit song, a viral Internet meme, or a splashy piece of political propaganda, there are common elements to what makes any message resonate among an audience and have an impact on the culture. Our class is about the methods a critic can use to identify those elements. Those methods are distinctive in what is revealed through their application. The choice of political propaganda is an arbitrary one. If you have another piece of discourse in mind, please bring it to my office so we can talk about how you will fulfill the parameters of our course assignment.
DeleteI appreciate that there exists a great deal of oppression and injustice in the world - and you are to be commended for wanting to engage. Our class is focused on the acquisition of particular skills: the ability to recognize, and then analyze, the relevant features of a public message. Choosing the message, or the "artifact," is your first task. Which method of analysis you will apply, then, would be suggested by what is most apparent about the chosen message.
I hope I am helping you to understand what we're doing here. I always appreciate your effort.