This clip from the morning segment "Morning Joe", on MSNBC is exactly the type of news clip that people across the country start their day off by viewing every single day. Unfortunately, this clip is also an excellent example of the problematic language used in news media. Furthermore, it highlights the way in which issues that surround black lives are trivialized or even more commonly, skirted over completely.
In the first half of the video, we have highlighted particular words or phrases that are aggressive in nature. Those that seem to point the finger at the activists demonstrating bravery and resilience, fighting for a historically victimized and under-represented group of people. Words like "force", for example, create a strong subliminal association between violent action, and the non-violent action we see the women in the video actually taking.
In the second portion of the video, you will notice that there is no highlighted text. Instead, we thought it was important to pay attention to the way in which the morning hosts avoid the topic of Black Lives Matter completely. They take a subject that was concretely about activism for the cause of better supporting and protecting black lives, and turn it into a puff piece about the unexplainable popularity of Bernie Sanders. Not only does MSNBC criminalize these women with the aggressive language and images that they selected of them, but they silence the very cause that they were standing for by refusing to acknowledge it.
In the first half of the video, we have highlighted particular words or phrases that are aggressive in nature. Those that seem to point the finger at the activists demonstrating bravery and resilience, fighting for a historically victimized and under-represented group of people. Words like "force", for example, create a strong subliminal association between violent action, and the non-violent action we see the women in the video actually taking.
In the second portion of the video, you will notice that there is no highlighted text. Instead, we thought it was important to pay attention to the way in which the morning hosts avoid the topic of Black Lives Matter completely. They take a subject that was concretely about activism for the cause of better supporting and protecting black lives, and turn it into a puff piece about the unexplainable popularity of Bernie Sanders. Not only does MSNBC criminalize these women with the aggressive language and images that they selected of them, but they silence the very cause that they were standing for by refusing to acknowledge it.
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