The Media, Arab Style

What did I personally know about Arab media before beginning this course? In short: absolutely nothing. At length, however, I could have offhandedly said that Arab media demonstrated many of the reasons I was glad not to have been born into a nation of that culture. To be candid, I could probably still be caught making such comments today. But those comments do not actually stem from a distaste for Arab media itself – they stem from my inability to fathom the brutality and horror of some of the events that their media has documented over the course of my lifetime. But is it not a good thing to show the citizens of these countries, as well as anyone else who may be watching, the uncensored truth of some of these occurrences? I personally believe it to be a proactive decision. One must be shown the harshness of unedited reality if that reality will ever truly be altered.

Learning about Al Jazeera earlier this semester acted as a sort of wakeup call for me. It was no surprise to see how our nation presented Arab culture as one of violence and absolute carnage. What surprised me was the realization of how large my ignorance has actually grown over the years. I had never, not even once, considered that I could learn about the status of the Arab nations by watching the news broadcasted within their own borders. For me, learning about these nations was an accident that occurred while clicking around on CNN. My westernized brain was happy not to consider that there may be more to discover, and that such discoveries would reveal the flaws of my own nation, and the ways in which the influence of America has aided in the violence in Arab nations. But the clips and news segments that depicted the onslaught of American military tanks and the casualties that came with their arrival were genuine. I had to stop and think to myself: “We’re a part of some of these nations’ issues. And yet we exploit their issues. That’s twisted.”

But despite the fact that the Arab media, particularly Al Jazeera, aims to showcase these countries in a variety of ways, some of which exclude nation-born violence entirely,the American media only seems to pay attention to the clips that will solidify the damaging stereotypes our nation has against the Arab culture. So while the Arab media may be working in positive ways within its own collective countries, its impact here is still predominantly negative. If Al-Jazeera were widely available for streaming in the homes of most Americans, perhaps some views would be altered. However, this is not the case, and most folks are too lazy to seek out news sources beyond the click of a button or two on their TVs.

With the violence against Muslims still prevalent in our country today, and the harsh judgments only becoming even more commonplace particularly in educational settings , it’s clear to see that we have not bridged the gap of cultural misunderstanding.

We’ve widened it.

CNN: Cable News Nonsense

Disclaimer: I don’t mind CNN all that much. I check it once a day at least. It’s only when I thoroughly examine it that I start to realize it’s got more than just a few flaws.

I decided to follow CNN the day after the shooting in Oregon. Doing this was upsetting, obviously, but I was curious as to how the situation would be depicted throughout the day, and what other news events would be highlighted in addition to the tragedy. There wasn’t as much emphasis on the shooting as I thought there would be, and at first I was dismayed to see this. Thinking it over, however, I’ve decided that such an observation was actually positive: CNN is meant to focus on a variety of news, and a shooting is not enough to stop the rest of the world. Sometimes I wonder how it is that we all continue to function when there is just… so much happening. A lot of it negative.

McPhail’s perspective of CNN is one of respect – he sees it as the “godfather of global television news”, viewed by millions of people tuning in from several hundred countries. What’s intriguing about such a statement is the fact that the U.S. version of CNN’s website typically only talks of national news when it’s destructive or life-altering. The “filler” of CNN’s website is populated by stories that typically concern our country alone. I understand that we are more inclined to care for such stories, but I have an ever-present question in the back of my mind: Could there ever exist an American news source that speaks of other nations just as often as our own? I truly am not sure. The American ego is a super-sized one. (Gotta love the reference to America’s fast-food driven obesity rate. We really have outdone ourselves there.)

Upon looking at the website this past Friday, I was immediately informed of the incoming rain, the previous day’s casualties, some celebrity legal trouble, and the tensions in Syria. Of course, the bit about Syria was titled in the most general way: “Tensions rise in Syria”. As for the rest of the aforementioned top news stories? The titles alone gave me the following info: predicted amount of rainfall, the name of the shooter, and the name of the celebrity in trouble. These are all specificities. But the article on Syria was titled as an entirely bland piece that would spew ambiguous content. While there were specifics in the article when I clicked on it, I was still bothered by the fact that I didn’t even have to click on the others to get a gist on what I would be told. It was all there for me to see, just as long as it concerned this nation.

I clicked around and found the international/world section. It amused me to see that any updates to this page were typically done hourly. I compared this to the U.S. page and saw that the articles focusing on American concerns were being updated sporadically, or as soon as there was something to add. I suppose it’s suspected by the news team that the issues in our home country are more “pressing” than those outside of it. Can I fault them for this thought? Not at all. Can I question why it’s such an accepted idea? Yes. It’s a question worth pondering.

Addressing CNN’s coverage of national news is only one way to point out flaws in their methods. It’s definitely one of the larger problems, but not at all one of “few”. There are many ways to critique a media outlet. I personally become most amused by people’s accusations of a reporters’ bias – as if bias could ever be completely rid of in the first place. In reference to that, this article addressing conservative/liberal biases in news media is a good read. FOX is torn apart for its excessive conservative nature, as usual.

Bottom line? If America were a girl, she’d be a full-on narcissist, not unlike the celebrities I couldn’t bring myself to read about.

Humans Are Not Machines – But They Can Still Be Cold and Calculating

Uber, a phone application that officially launched in ’09, is a convenient tool that allows any registered user to request that the closest personal driver in their area take them to another destination. These requests are not made ahead of time, but in real-time: as soon as a user requests a driver, they are taken to a screen on their phone that shows them where their driver is at the moment as well as the estimated amount of time it will take for the driver to arrive to pick them up. Of course, I’ve only interacted with the American version of this app, so I cannot be certain that such features are all available internationally. What I can be certain of, however, is that the app itself has become popular across the globe.

There are sixty nations in all that have access to this application, and there is no question as to whether or not some of these countries have created their own codes of conduct and safety regarding Uber’s services. Foreign countries are, well, foreign! That being said, although the classic American Uber interface may be used as a starting template in other nations, the intricacies of the app are sure to be customized according to specific national priorities/concerns. But how in-depth will any of these nation-specific policies be, anyway? It’s no secret that there will likely still be much room for things to go awry. In fact, there’s even a comprehensive list of ride-sharing fails that have occurred, although that list addresses mostly American ride-sharing issues and only a minority of the listed incidents occurred in other countries. What this says to me is that even in the homeland of Uber’s rise to fame, there are still so many possibilities for things to go horribly wrong during the interaction between user and driver. 

Sydney, Australia is geographically on the other side of the globe, but socially? Those mates are definitely in the know of Uber – and quite a few of them have been outraged over the extreme raise in cost that occurred for those attempting to flee the hostage situation in Sydney. Uber attempted to make amends, offering refunds to those that were charged such a high amount during the frantic event. A quota of free rides were offered to customers as well, and the absurdly high prices were defended with the notion that raising Uber prices would draw in more drivers to the area during the hostage scenario. Such a defense sounds very different in my own mind: it stands as a representation of the loss of humanity coupled with the surge of economic greed.

It would seem to me that UNESCO and ITU have not pursued any solid regulations in reference to the efficiency and safety of Uber. Can I blame them? Not exactly. If all media updates were regulated and closely observed for any signs of dysfunction, those in charge of overseeing such matters would never sleep again. That is especially true when the virtually endless stream of “copy-cat” apps demand attention and modification as well. As new applications are introduced and made popular by word of mouth or keyboard, establishing rules and guidelines is only becoming more pressing of an issue with each passing keystroke. And yet, regardless of how crucial such initiatives are, the paralyzing fact remains: there is no surefire way to establish such ground rules and regulations quickly enough. 

You would have to be a machine to keep up with the machines.

Why You Won’t See The Interview

It looks like no one will get to see ‘The Interview’ this Christmas (until a pirated copy inevitably leaks online). The film, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, depicts two Hollywood E-News types who score an interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, only to end up working with the CIA to assassinate Kim.

As much as people have complained about Rogen, Franco, and their acting talents, these two guys consistently make funny films. Not Oscar-winning, critically-acclaimed films, but funny films, usually filled with a lot of weed-smoking, fart-joke-making men. But no one will get to see their newest film, as they seemed to have angered the wrong person- Kim Jong Un himself.

Let’s start from the beginning- a few weeks ago Sony Pictures, the studio responsible for ‘The Interview,’ suffered a MASSIVE online hack, resulting in a leak of corporate e-mails, film scripts, and pretty much anything else you could find on someone’s hard drive. While the jury is still out on whether or not this was in inside job or the result of outside hackers, one person- or rather, one nation- is being blamed: North Korea.

A billboard advertising the movie being removed. Via NY Mag.

The hackers, claiming to be part of an online organization called ‘Guardians of Peace,’ or GOP (yes, go ahead and laugh), never explicitly stated their origin or purpose, only demanded that the film not be released, citing threats to America and any theaters who chose to show the film.

These threats led to several theater chains refusing the show the film, forcing Sony to cancel its release. While this means we will probably never see ‘The Interview,’ this presents bigger problems, namely for the Obama administration which has been dealing with more and more cyber threats, but never on such a large scale.

As silly as it seems for there to be so much attention surrounding what would be a slapstick comedy, the threats that resulted from this attack are real. Even if North Korea was not responsible for the attack, someone is not happy with Sony, and if some other outside organization is to blame, there might still be more to come.

Sex Education Debacle: Wording

Outrage has recently erupted in California over the Planned Parenthood sex education curriculum that’s being used at one northern California school. The curriculum includes:

• A “Making Consent Clear” sheet that outlines the different ways students can make sure they’re getting clear consent.
• A Genderbread Person chart that defines biological sex, sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity as things that exist on a spectrum.
• An “Are You Ready for Sex?” checklist

The objecting parents formed a coalition called NOISE (NO to Irresponsible Sex Education) which sparked a media frenzy in which conservatives and liberals characterized the same curriculum in very different ways.

Fox News’ coverage was very negative towards the sex education curriculum and titled their article, “‘Genderbread Person’ Comes to Cali School to Teach 13-year olds What They Need To Know About Sex”. The title emphasizes the age of the students to make it seem ridiculous that students so young should “need to know about sex.” The article itself was far from unbiased. It introduced a bullet point list of some of the sex-ed materials with the line, “A few of the most upsetting ‘lessons’:” and mentioned that “some of the children were ‘distracted‘ due to the material being very different from what they had been taught at home about sex and relationships.” Granted, this latter point is a worthwhile bit of news to address how children are reacting to the new material, but the emphasis placed on how the curriculum diverges from what children are taught by their parents seems to be written solely to imply that the material is undermining parental teachings. 

Liberal news coverage has, unsurprisingly, been more positive towards this curriculum and therefore more hostile towards the protesting parents. ThinkProgress.org’s article was titled “California Parents Outraged Their Children Are Learning About Consent, Gender Identity.” It’s not an inaccurate title, exactly, because these parents are, indeed, upset about curriculum that includes a “Making Consent Clear” sheet. But the wording makes it sound like the parents are against consent. The article is, admittedly, less aggressive than the Fox News article but its stance on the issue is still clear from the first glance.

It’s worth noting that nothing in either article is inaccurate. The most overt opinion comes from the Fox article characterizing some of the lessons as “upsetting.” For the most part, both new sources are reporting the story but are doing so in a way that skews the reader’s perception towards one side of the issue … but it’s done subtly enough that if you already stand on the same side as the writer (and it’s highly likely that somebody seeking news from Fox News or ThinkProgress.org is already on one end of the spectrum), you might not even realize just how leading the wording is.

Rape, celebrity and the gender divide

Courtesy of Fox News.

Shia LaBeouf, an actor best known for his roles in the “Transformers” franchise, and early 2000’s Disney TV show, “Even Stevens,”  claims he was raped by a woman who came to his performance art piece #IAMSORRY in February of this year.

The performance piece entailed LaBeouf sitting in a small room with a brown paper bag over his head. Hundreds of people came in and out of the room and similar to Marina Abramovic’s Rhythm 0 (1974) LaBeouf remained passive the whole time.

LaBeouf came forward about his assault during a recent interview with reporter Aimee Cliff. LaBeouf recounted his assault which can be read below.

One woman who came with her boyfriend, who was outside the door when this happened, whipped my legs for ten minutes and then stripped my clothing and proceeded to rape me… There were hundreds of people in line when she walked out with dishevelled hair and smudged lipstick. It was no good, not just for me but her man as well. On top of that my girl was in line to see me, because it was Valentine’s Day and I was living in the gallery for the duration of the event – we were separated for five days, no communication. So it really hurt her as well, as I guess the news of it travelled through the line. When she came in she asked for an explanation, and I couldn’t speak, so we both sat with this unexplained trauma silently. It was painful.

After he made this claim, the Internet seemed to explode with opinions, harsh words and criticism that he wasn’t actually raped. One of the most famous people to make this claim was Piers Morgan. He claimed that “conflicting collaborations” of LaBeouf’s fellow #IAMSORRY artists prove that he was not actually raped.

Courtesy of http://www.chatelaine.com.

“Even if you believe this woman did try and have some form of sexual contact with LaBeouf, that’s not rape. Rape occurs when someone does not give consent to a sexual act. Try telling a judge you weren’t able to signify consent or not because you were ‘acting’, and see how far you get,” said Morgan.

LaBeouf may have been “acting” in his performance piece, but “acting” does not justify someone to be able to place their hands on someone else simply because they say nothing in return. Even if a person does not fight off a rapist, does not scream or cry, it does not change the fact that they were raped.

His silence did not mean consent.

According to Vulture, “In a story seemingly ripped from Law & Order: SVU, Shia LaBeouf’s troubled life got even more troubling: The actor says he was raped during his performance-art piece #IAMSORRY.

Not only does this lede attack LaBeouf for his prior personal problems (as if that would lessen the fact that he was assaulted) but it also seems to make fun of it with a nod to “Law and Order SVU.” Would they have used the same lede if it was a woman victim instead of a man? Would they have pointed to her troubled past and possible antics before they revealed the real issue?

According to RAINN statistics, “2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.”

According to a recent Slate article, “in asking 40,000 households about rape and sexual violence, the survey uncovered that 38 percent of incidents were against men.”

Jezebel slightly jumps on the same bandwagon as other media outlets, but ultimately remains steadfast in their stance that what took place was “a horrifying experience.”

Rape is rape no matter the person, circumstances or gender.

Computer Engineer Barbie: Sexist or Progressive?

For nearly 65 years, Barbie has been a popular staple in the American household.

Ruth and Elliot Handler, founders of Mattel Creations, with the first Barbie in 1949. Photo Credit: Barbie.com

The iconic doll has been known as a doctor, rock star, police officer, and “continues to take on aspirational and culturally relevant roles while also serving as a role model and agent of change for girls,” according to Barbie.com.

Photo Credit: Barbie.com

However, skepticism over Mattel’s 2013 book, Barbie: I Can Be A Computer Engineer, has fueled a recent debate over whether America’s beloved blonde doll is a sexist or progressive product.

Photo Credit: Mattel Publications

According to NPR, what started as a blog post criticizing the way in which Barbie is portrayed, turned into a widespread discussion about sexism.

The report covered the story by first quoting Ribon’s initial response to the children’s book, then by providing different passages from the book that appalled the blogger.

“It starts so promising; Barbie is designing a game to show kids how computers work,” Ribon says. “She’s going to make a robot puppy do cute tricks by matching up colored blocks.”

But then Barbie’s friend Skipper asks if she can play it, and the book continues: ‘I’m only creating the design ideas,’ Barbie says, laughing. ‘I’ll need Steven’s and Brian’s help to turn it into a real game.’

Photo Credit: Mattel Publishing

The article also linked Ribon’s post on her blog, Pamie.com, which was published on Monday, November 17th, 2014. The very next day, Gizmodo picked up the explicit post, making it go viral.

Ribon analyzed every detail in the book from the dialogue to the characters. At one point she said:

Are you still on the floor because Barbie wears a flash drive around her neck? And that it’s a giant pink heart? At least Skipper’s doing her best to help the situation by pouring her sister some juice. Girls can be so helpful in the kitchen.

In an ABC News article by reporter, Susanna Kim, she stated that Barbie: I Can Be A Computer Engineer has been criticized by many on Amazon reviewers as “sexist.”

Aside from providing the public’s point of view, Kim also included a statement from the book’s author, Susan Marenco, a former employee at Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen.

“I want people to know I am conscious of that,” she said, referring to stereotypes of women in technology. “If I was on a deadline, it’s possible stuff slipped out or I quietly abided by Mattel without questioning it. Maybe I should have pushed back, and I usually I do, but I didn’t this time.”

The article confirmed that the book is now being discontinued by The Random House Kids.

The viral attention of this story led to something even bigger: An online campaign to promote a new “competent, independent” image of Barbie.

As reported in a CBC Community Storify story, when Computer Science PhD student, Kathleen Tuite, heard about the controversy surrounding Mattel, she created the website Feminist Hacker Barbie. It serves as an editor for people to change the captions in the Barbie book.

The story included various tweets from people who have participated in #FeministHackerBarbie.

this #FeministHackerBarbie is great pic.twitter.com/0D90vaOilQ

— Isaac Hepworth (@isaach) November 22, 2014

While the tweets surrounding this trending story have provided the bulk of its significance, various headlines also display the popular opinion on this topic.

CNET posted an article, “Barbie book implies girls can’t be coders; Mattel apologizes.” The subhead reads, “Mattel says a Barbie book that suggests girls can’t handle computer code doesn’t reflect its brand vision. That won’t stop the uproar surrounding the title, which is still available to buy.”

In most of these reports, the focus is on Mattel’s response to the widespread online criticism they received for the book. This prompts the question: Does the Internet have power over a company? The influence of blogs and tweets are undeniable considering they project the voice of the public.

Hate or Art? You decide.

Celebrity culture could not exist without the DRAMA.

On Monday November 10^th, 2014 rap artist Nicki Minaj released a controversial music video for her new single “Only.” This music video features Chris Brown, Drake, and Lil Wayne. Not only are the lyrics and antics of the song controversial, the video is also extremely reminiscent of the black, white and red propaganda from Nazi Germany. The video shows a Y-M symbol that look to be in the shape and font of a traditional Nazi swastika.

Feel free to watch this video for yourself

Needless to say, many people were outraged by the video and have accused Nicki of being an “Anti-Semitic” (prejudice towards Jewish people). On Twitter Nicki’s fans were sharing their opinion on the video. An overwhelming majority of fans felt while they will always support Nicki and her work however, they do agree this video could in fact be offensive. Some fans even requested/ demanded Nicki take the video down.

 “Nicki Minaj’s new video disturbingly evokes Third Reich propaganda and constitutes a new low for pop culture’s exploitation of Nazi symbolism,” Abraham H. Foxman, the national director for the Anti-Defamation League and a Holocaust survivor, told ABC News on November 10^th, 2014.

Nicki Minaj later tweeted this apology

Not long after the tweet Nicki was seen at LAX with a new person she sarcastically claimed to be her new Jewish boyfriend, Alex. Alex who is in fact Jewish did work with her on the video.

The “Only” music video has not been taken down because Minaj believes that her video is a form of “art.”

Do you believe Nicki Minaj is in fact Anti-Semitic? Should her work be taken down? Feel free to comment below.

http://www.tmz.com/2014/11/12/nicki-minaj-boyfriend-jewish-only-music-video-nazi-apology-tmz-tv/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kelleydunlap/nicki-minaj-only-video-nazi-imagery

http://www.eonline.com/news/596705/nicki-minaj-s-controversial-only-music-video-slammed-for-nazi-imagery-it-s-insensitive-to-holocaust-survivors-says-adl

Kardashian Controversy, Some jokes just aren’t funny

Khloe Kardashian created a very deep controversy on her social media account this past Tuesday night. Khloe posted an image on her Instagram account that made a joke about the Klu Klux Klan that perpetrated a huge amount of criticism. She shared an image of herself and her two sisters with text saying, “The only KKK to ever let black men in.”

The image was supposed to make fun of Khloe and her sisters, Kourtney and Kim, and their names all beginning with the letter K, as well as Kim and Kourtney’s relationships with African American men.

Kourtney Kardashian’s boyfriend and father of their two kids with one on the way also chimed in, and reposted the image on his account, and adding the caption, “And a Jew”, a reference to his own roots. Scott’s fans seemed more supportive of the post, with many laughing and passing it on to others.

Khloe’s Instagram meme which she captioned, “True” received more than 405,000 likes and 26,000 comments in a time span of two hours. Although many felt the post was made it clear of the continued racism African Americans experience, others found it entertaining which was also shown in the comments.

Fans of the Kardashian have let their voice be heard in the comment section and via twitter.

Instagram user, who goes by first name_georgina wrote: ‘This isn’t funny at all. Why make jokes about a group that terrorized and still terrorizes my people. You’re a clown for this. Very disrespectful and disgusting for this. A joke.’

On the other hand, Twitter user @adventurewithCJ tweeted, ‘People offended by the Khloe Kardashian tweet need to lighten up and a great sense of humor. It was a distasteful tweet but not offensive’.

Khloe was famously married to African American professional basketball player Lamar Odom for four years before divorcing him in late 2013. Kim Kardashian has also has been involved with singer Ray J, football player Reggie Bush, and now married to rapper Kanye West who are all African American. Kanye has also drawn on the imagery of the racist organization with his video clip for his song Black Skinhead, which caused a lot of controversy at the time.

Khloe erased the post almost after three hours after putting it on Instagram, however Scott’s post is still standing on his account. Although it was erased the controversy didn’t quite end.

There are believed to be over 50 Klan chapters in the US, with an estimated 5,000 members. More recently, Ku Klux Klan groups have protested over gay marriage, urban crime and immigration.

Bill Cosby: Household Name, Comedian, Actor… Rapist?

There is little the entertainment world loves more than witnessing the downfall of an established figure. While the public loves the classic “rags to riches” story, a tale of “riches to rags” is more likely to get people talking. Bill Cosby has been an entertainment staple for quite a long time now; one may have even foolishly allowed themselves to believe that nothing could take him down. And yet, here we are: rape allegations from several different females over the past decade have finally come to a head and are no longer being swept under the rug.

Last month, comedian Hannibal Buress called Cosby a “rapist” during a comedy set, which is what set this new wave of public attention into motion. The Cosby website had a meme generator installed on it for public use at this time, which proved to be a “public relations disaster”, according to Time Magazine. Suddenly, thousands of memes were being made of the celebrity captioned with jokes about being a rapist – the generator was pulled down from the website shortly after Buress’s set, which had sparked the production of “Cosby rape memes”. The damage, however, had already been done.

Bill Cosby’s upcoming appearance on CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman” has been canceled amid a growing uproar over allegations that he sexually assaulted several women in past decades. Cosby spokesman David Brokaw confirmed Friday night that Cosby would not appear next Wednesday as previously scheduled. He did not say why. (NBC News)

Denying public interviews only heightens the suspicion that these allegations may actually be true. If an individual is completely certain of their own innocence, they should be fighting to make it known that they have not committed the acts they’ve been accused of committing. Cosby is not even denying the allegations, but rather is choosing to stay completely silent when they are brought up to him. Does this not support the idea that he is a guilty man with the worst of skeletons in his closet?

Scott Simon at NPR sat down with Bill and Camille Cosby to discuss the display of their art collection at the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, and the recently resurfaced rape allegations against Bill Cosby.

“This question gives me no pleasure, Mr. Cosby,” Simon begins, “but there have been serious allegations against you in the last couple of days.”

Simon then notes that Cosby shakes his head no.

“There are people who love you who might want to hear from you on this. I wanted to give you the chance,” Simon continues, but Cosby refuses to respond. (Vox)

Barbara Bowman, an actress who once called Cosby her mentor, has recently come forth again to the media (as she has in the past) to reaffirm the public that the allegations are indeed true. According to CNN among multiple other sources, she claims that she remained publicly silent for the most part over the years because she was fearful of Cosby. Barbara claims she tried to rationalize the sexual abuse, doing what she could to put it out of her mind and move on with her life.

The Washington Post did an in-depth interview with Barbara Bowman, where she described the course of the abuse and the ways in which it was inappropriately handled when it was first introduced to the court system a decade ago, after Andrea Constand accused Cosby of sexual assault and molestation. Cosby had settled the suit with an undisclosed amount of money, never allowing Bowman a chance to testify – with the statute of limitations being up, such a testimony would do nothing today.

Quite clearly, this bit of news is still developing. With no word from Cosby’s end, it’s impossible to know what he may be thinking. All we can do for now is hope for the best – and to seek justice for the victims, whomever they may be in the end. Below is the video that threw this all into the spotlight in the first place. NSFW.