Othering Through Media - 4677 Words

University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences Meeting the Other by Prof.emerita Ullamaija Kivikuru ------------------------------------------------- ‘Othering’ and the media A literature review on media about, for and by minorities Lieselotte De Mey Student ID no. 014214154 Master student Media and global communication Abstract Since we live in a multicultural society, meaning that we are constantly faced with ‘the other’, we often turn to media as a source to gather information about this unfamiliar other. Arguing that media have the potential to shape people’s perception of social relations and groups, this paper contains a literature review on the relation between media and the portrayal of ethnic minorities. By†¦show more content†¦I will first discuss these activities before turning to mainstream and ethnic media. Dual nature of ‘othering’ Authors (Bailey et al., 2007; Canales, 2000; Haynes et al., 2006) acknowledge the dual nature of the process of ‘othering’ where it simultaneously causes exclusion and inclusion. Haynes et al. (2006) formulate it precisely when they state that â€Å"the construction of an other is, in fact, a dual process whereby an imagined included us is created through the construction of an excluded other† (p.13). Exclusionary ‘othering’ uses the power within relationships for domination and subordination. People who experience this form of ‘othering’ often experience alienation, marginalization, decreased opportunities, internalized oppression and exclusion. Inclusionary ‘othering’ on the other hand, attempts to utilize power within relationships for transformation and coalition building. Individuals who experience this form of ‘othering’, potentially undergo consciousness raising, sense of community, shared power and inclus ion (Canales, 2000). Complementing this dual nature of ‘othering’, Schmidt Bunkers (2003) explains the remarkable paradox concerning the other: â€Å"Never has the world been more dangerous, with terrorism continuing to spark suspicions of those that are different from us. And, never, at the same time, has the world been more in need of finding ways to embrace those that are different and those that are viewed asShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book Missing People And Others 979 Words   |  4 Pagesgroups and communities. Othering divides and separates instead of encouraging harmony, equity and commonality. Arturo Madrid in his essay entitled, â€Å"Missing People and Others† in the book, Race, Class and Gender, speaks about his form of otherness that he experienced in schools. Madrid has a Latino ethnicity and is a citizen of the United States as are his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. However, he learned about othering before he knew of the concept. Though his school tried to eraseRead MoreNo Im Not White Thank You Essay799 Words   |  4 Pagescolor. A unique mix of social anxiety and barely-a-transfer-student jitters forced my eyes to my phone, my desire to genuinely seem busy rapidly exhausting my favored social media applications. Without my standard crutch, I was left to investigate several forgotten apps hidden in the depths of my phone. I idly scrolled through news apps, my eyes nearly glazing over with the absurdity of election season until my eyes caught a particularly striking article: â€Å"New U.S. Census Category Proposed for PeopleRead MoreEssay Ju st A little Gay1629 Words   |  7 Pagesthese media images, mainstream audiences come to view non-heterosexual identities through the narrow stereotype of the non-heterosexual individual as â€Å"white, well-muscled, handsome, well-educated, and white collar†, and â€Å"heterosexualized† enough to identify with, while simultaneously â€Å"othering† ethnic and racial diversity within this media discourse. I will focus my paper on this theory, in an attempt to undercut the commonly held view that including non-heterosexual identities in mass media advertisingRead MoreIslamic Cultural History1076 Words   |  5 Pagescontext of history, what will have the most significant effect on cultural memory is not the fact that these terrorists and ideologues attempted to form a state, but that it was one claimed to be inherently Islamic. The resulting culture of fear, â€Å"othering†, and Islamophobia experienced across the developed world will cement the place of the Islamic State in cultural history, even as the group itself continues to lose power, territory, and consequently, news coverage. The Islamic State rose to powerRead MoreSocial, Political, Geographical, Cultural, And Historical Changes Essay1507 Words   |  7 Pagesin 2012. The essay will detail his experiences regarding the social, political, geographical, cultural, and historical changes due to her migration. This essay will also discuss a variety of intercultural theories most importantly, culture shock†¦. Through the applications of concepts and intercultural theories, this essay will be able to provide a cross examination of Ben’s life in Whales compared to his new one in New Zealand. Furthermore, it will be able to emphasise his sense of cultural belongingRead MoreFilm Crash Film Analysis1178 Words   |  5 PagesMEDIA ANALYSIS Essentialism and non-essentialism views on race as represented in Paul Haggis’ film Crash. â€Å"You couldn’t find a whiter, safer or better-lit part of this city. But this white woman sees two black guys †¦ and her reaction is blind fear† (Cheadle Haggis, 2004). This quote is from the academy award-winning film Crash, by Paul Haggis. Haggis demonstrates both essentialist and non-essentialist concepts through his characters living in downtown Los Angeles. Crash follows various charactersRead MorePhysical And Psychological Aspects Of A Monster1314 Words   |  6 Pagesarises. Society in modern times thrives on media and materials that are based on mental illness and diseases. My favorite example is someone who hides their disease so carefully no notices it until there is a slip up in behavior. Reason to Breathe displays this situation; Emma has just arrived home on a Saturday and has a necklace given to her by her boyfriend and Carol lashes out. She shoves Emma into a door but Emma slips and instead her elbow is thrown through a window. Her uncle George runs up theRead MoreEdward Saids Theory Of Orientalism1561 Words   |  7 Pagesis a theory of representation, or a discourse, based upon the binary divide between so-called ‘East’ and ‘West’ from a mainly Eurocentric perspective. Discourses, as proposed by Michel Foucault, â€Å"define the reality of the social world†, (White Fuse Media Ltd., 2016) and therefore effect how we perceive people, their societies, traditions and cultures. In the context of this essay, the discourse of Orientalism is the institutionalised way that the ‘East’ is perceived and represented by the ‘West’. ItRead MoreFilm: Guess Who?865 Words   |  4 Pagessociety are often reflected within the media. This can be seen by an audience through films such as ‘Guess Who’ which contains representations of various values and perspectives in regards to the intercultural concept of essentialism and non-essentialism. The film ‘Guess Who’ released in 2005, is a comedy based on an African American female who introduces her Caucasian boyfriend to her family. Within the film, the intercultural concepts are explored through the characters, to position the audienceRead MoreStereotypical Representations Of Racially Marked Female Bodies760 Words   |  4 Pagesmarked women. The media often relies on representation of articulation of ethnic women as animalistic, inferior and outside the natural. Films tend to utilize signifiers that express race, class and gender to develop characters. For this assignment, I have chosen to critically analyze Disney’s (1992) Aladdin; t his movie exemplifies the racialization of female bodies through visual illustrations that reinforce ideas of stereotypical roles of Middle Eastern that have been over-looked through the eyes of