Media Bias in the Criminal System
In Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk, he proposes a "crazy" or radical idea to criminally try or treat his “poor 14-year-old black male client like a privileged white 75-year-old corporate executive" (Stevenson, 2012).
For your final paper, you are asked to see this quote as an encapsulation of all we have discussed over the semester. You need to pick one unit from the second half of the course (work, family, education, media and popular culture, bodies, beauty and sports, or the criminal justice system) and apply this analogy to propose your own crazy radical ideas for transformation.
Use your outside article, weblink, media source, or news event that illustrates inequity in your chosen institutional space, be it family, education, work, the media or the criminal justice system that you posted to the L15 Essay 2 Checkpoint.
Then, drawing upon the readings and lessons of the first half of the course, describe the ways that intersectional inequalities based on race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and/or diversity are at play in this example.
Finally, think about Stevenson's analogy about treating all individuals as if they were "privileged white 75-year old corporate executives."
What radical suggestions do you have for change within your chosen institutional space? This is a difficult question to answer, but try to take a stab about how to change the injustice you have observed. Becoming aware of who has an “invisible backpack” and who doesn’t can help make a difference towards equality and social justice. See the examples listed below that could be used as essay topics.
Your essay should be around 4 to 5 pages in length (around 1000 - 1250 words, using 12-point font, double-spaced pages).
Please check the Essay 2 Assignment Student Examples section within the Lesson 15 module to see what other students in this class have submitted in previous semester offerings.
There is no need to consult other sources than the ones you read for class and your chosen outside article, weblink, media source, or news event that illustrates inequity in your chosen institutional space. All sources used must be documented in a Works Cited page or footnote, including sources from the course. To submit, upload your paper to this drop box.
Refer to the Writing Assignment II Rubric for grading expectations. This is also located in the Orientation section of the course.
Please see this ‘Paper Template Download Paper Template’ (created by Bethany Doane) for suggestions and reminders on how to structure an essay.
Note: Your grade for completing the Essay 2 Checkpoint will be factored into the overall Essay 2 Paper grade.
Examples
Some examples of paper topics include:
You might decide to write about the recent release of a new line of Barbie dolls that captures a larger variety of body types and appearances. See the article, Barbie Has a New Body (https://time(dot)com/barbie-new-body-cover-story/), from Time Magazine. Through this example, you will refer to our last lesson on popular culture, bodies, and beauty and will examine how Barbie represented a very narrow beauty standard, based upon racial, ethnic, and gender-based biases. With the release of a new line of dolls, Mattel acknowledges these biases, but ask yourself whether or not you think it is enough. Why or why not?
Another example might be to write about the media coverage of the Kalamazoo Uber driver murderer. If he were not a white male, how would the coverage have been different? Through this example, you will examine the media as an institution that reflects and generates race, class, and ethnic biases. As a point of comparison, think about coverage of the San Bernardino shootings and consider the question posed by the Nation “Why can’t terrorist be mentally ill too?” How could the media coverage have been different? What difference would that make? Explain. Jefferson, C. (2012). Why can’t terrorists be mentally ill too? (https://www(dot)thenation(dot)com/article/archive/why-cant-terrorists-be-mentally-ill-too/) The Nation. Retrieved from http://www(dot)thenation(dot)com/article/why-cant-terrorists-be-mentally-ill-too/
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Media Bias
The media has the impressive power to shape narratives in society. Given its enormous influence in defining societal perception, it has often been suspected of mass manipulation by the elite. While a conspiracist largely fronts such angles, they contain nuggets of truth. The role of the media in criminal justice has particularly attracted a lot of interest. The media’s conception of crime defines the societal perception of crime and the criminal justice system. In this context, examining the potency of media biases in the paradigm becomes essential. Another significant aspect is the subtle nature of the described influence and its overall impact on the arrangement. The considerations may necessitate radical transformation as a rectification strategy.
Stereotypes in the criminal justice system are powerful. Essentially, they exhibit two sides, namely the exploiters and the victims. The latter are disadvantaged by their association with illegal activities, as the former unfairly benefit from advancing the stereotypic narratives. Since stereotypes cannot exist without cultural approval, essential societal institutions such as the judicial system may be susceptible to stereotyping. If anything, the glorified institutions remain sustained not by foreigners but by the individuals who are part of the prevalent culture.
Nevertheless, institutions are well placed to eradicate retrogressive cultures. Hence the judicial system and the media, under objective leadership, can influence society to transition from unproductive beliefs. Therefore, it is dangerous when the institutions themselves forsake objectivity to promote bias. Social activism has helped champion the proper functionality of the potent societal institutions. In this approach, the institutions are castigated whenever they deviate from objectivity to favor biased perspectives. Activism ideally culminates in the formulation of policies to safeguard the institutions. This aspect demonstrates that the stability of a society is dependent on the existence of sovereign organs which are free from random whims and wishes.
The media is a unique institution. While activism has been identified as a potent tool for societal change, the media is so powerful that it even moderates activism itself. It can easily represent a good course perceived as inherently evil. For instance, peaceful demonstrations can be depicted as riots. Such a misrepresentation utterly derails the promoted system. In some ways, perception can be more significant than reality itself. A candid historical examination should reveal that there were periods when some narratives were embraced at the expense of facts. The transition from such stages is categorized as progress.
Even currently, certain narratives are promoted at the expense of the facts. Thus, the media is under continuous constructive criticism. Upon mastering the dynamics, activists regard the media as the entry point into the battle. As already discussed, when the media is overlooked, activism efforts can potentially become demonized so that no progress occurs. In this regard, recognizing the subtility of the media institution emerges as essential. The theoretical explanation is more vivid than the practical reality. Unlike coercion, which is easily discernable, media appeal to the subconscious components of humans. For example, an absurd story can become more acceptable with consistent repetitions. The subtility of the media arguably makes it the most powerful societal institution.
In an exhibition of the potency of the media, two similar crimes can attract antithetical perceptions based on their reporting. One of the major offenses that the media becomes guilty of is racial bias. Notably, the media has not invented racism but has only served to advance the already established racial stereotypes. In the context of criminality, people of color are more susceptible to criminal offenses than white persons. Indeed, this argument remains plausible when adequately contextualized. Due to histori...