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Practice Exam Question
- 1. Exam QuestionLooking at two media, describe the ways in which a particular group of people are collectively represented or provided for, using specific examples to support your response. <br />Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world today; however there has been a misrepresentation of Muslims in the media for many years now and this is particularly in the western world. There are many reasons for this misrepresentation and this is most probably due to the western world having a Fear of the Unknown and a xenophobic attitude towards Muslims and Islam. This demonised portrayal of the other may also be due to the clash of civilisations between the Muslim and the western world. Muslims see these negative images portrayed by the media as Islamaphobic. They often feel victimised and threatened by the media as it tends to display untrue portrayals. An example of this is the use of the word Jihad in the news today. Most people in the western world believe jihad to mean Holy war. News papers often use this idea to explain why there is so much violence in the western world, this makes readers believe that Islam is a violent religion and the media has biased people and made them believe ideas like the fact that Islam is spread by the sword. Another example of the media showing Islamaphobic attitudes towards Islam is when a Danish newspaper featured a disrespectful cartoon of the prophet Muhammad.I shall further look at how two media formats represent Muslims, and this will include looking at Film and News Online. My case studies include looking at 5 major online news broadcasters and this includes Al Jazeera, Russia Today, BBC, CNN and France 24. I shall also be looking at the different portrayals of Muslims in one Hollywood film and a British film. Looking at how portrayals change over time is also important, thus I shall be looking at how the representation of Muslims has changed from before the events of 9/11 to the present.<br />Before 9/11 there was still a confused and ignorant images of Muslims, Islam was seen as a religion where the males are superior and the women were oppressed. There has been quite a dramatic change as the current media portrayals of Muslims includes the adjectives, Extremist, Threat, Radicals, Terrorists, Militant and Fundamental.<br />Executive Decision is a Hollywood movie which was made well before the events of 9/11. It includes a star studded cast. The film had a typical plot of Muslim terrorists hi-jacking a US Plane. The Muslims have the usual features, including the accents and a few characters in clothing which would be seen as unusual in a western setting. Once the film starts we know immediately that these characters are Muslims due to the way they have been portrayed. It is also made very clear that the reason for their actions are completely Islamically motivated. This would be seen as very controversial is this were to be shown in a film produced at present. The Arabic clothing and the use of the Quran allows the readers to associate that these are Muslim terrorists. Also the use of the word Allah-Hu-Akbar (God is Great) when the terrorists assume that their plan is going according to plan. The stereotype of ignorant Muslim men is shown when the leader orders the stewardess to bring food to him and let the civilians survive on beverages.The difference between the Muslims and the westerns is very interesting. The FBI are seen as heroes, and audiences are clearly wowed by their modern technology and at how amazing they are. The film also feature the typical heroine which is a stewardess on board the plane, whom it is obvious from the beginning that she will help save the day.This is a film which portrays Muslims and Islam in a negative light; however this has slightly changed at present. The British film Shoot on Sight was released in late 2008 and tends to have a more sympathetic look towards Muslims, However it is still slightly constructed on stereotypes. The film is based upon Operation Kratos which was launched after the events of the London 7/7 Bombings. This operation allowed police officers to shoot and kill suspected terrorists. The plot of the film involves a Muslim police Officer named Tariq Ali. He is asked to hunt suspected suicide bombers; his task soon becomes complicated as an innocent Muslim is killed. This means that he has been assigned to help defuse the public anger over the incident. The portrayals of Muslims in this film is still stereotypical but much more accurate than Executive Decision. This film is different as it shows the events from a Muslims point of view; this allows the audience to understand how the character feels. The film also sends out a message showing that not all Muslims are terrorists, unlike Executive decision which is a slightly biased film which made Western audiences think that all Muslims are terrorists.The film includes inaccurate images of mullahs, these mullahs are seen to be preaching about radicalism. This is quite a controversial image as it suggests that this is what mullahs are teaching in mosques, and this is infact untrue. The characters on the other hand are actually quite believable, and their clothing is also very accurate. The clothing the mullah and the mosque children wear are also precise.But film is not the only media source with inaccurate representations. Whilst researching news online i could easily see how differently Muslims are portrayed. CNN is an American News broadcaster, its views are often biased and it is known for its negative portrayals of Islam. On the other hand the BBC is a British news broadcaster and shows both sides of stories when dealing with heavy issues. Whilst researching on the topic of Guantanamo Bay which is a prison located in Cuba. The prison contains prisoners captured in Afghanistan. The prison is well known for its harsh treatment of prisoners. I found a article on the BBC News Website headed Guantanamo guard reunited with ex-inmates. This article was about two inmates who met up with a guard who was working there at the time of their imprisonment. The article included a video, the interview showed how the guard quit and left his post because he was disgraced by the way the prisoners were treated. The guard was very sympathetic and apologised to the prisoners for his actions. This is a news story which would never be posted on the CNN website, As it tends to look at the negatives of the detainees, this may be due to the fact that they are being held on American soil and the Americans do not want to surface the wrong doings of the US Government. An article of the same two prisoners I found on the CNN news website labelled Bands want to know if their music was used on Gitmo detainees. This article was simply about the prisoners stating at a conference that they were tortured being forced to listen to hours of music. The article makes it seem as if the prisoners werent tortured and they just listened to music. The article states that many American bands including AC/DC want to find out if their music was played or not. The article even features a list which people can download and see which songs were played. The use of citizen Journalism has also allowed me to see how people have responded to these news stories. Comments posted by the users on the CNN website show that they tend to favour the CNNs view. This also suggests that the CNN is good at helping people make their minds up about the stories.This is just one example but it is clear that the CNN often has biased views and doesnt always look at both sides of the story, the BBC however looks at the whole story and avoids creating controversy within communities. Overall, it is clear that Muslims are often misrepresented in the media, but it is important to look at both sides and understand that often wrong representations are confused due to having a lack of knowledge of the group. Representations in the media like news stories often lead to misrepresentations in other media products, like films.<br />