For my Unit 2 paper I plan to research the effects of the media on the American people and their responsibilities in shaping the ideas which we have about Middle Eastern people. I believe that the media perpetuated false beliefs about people who we were going to war with to justify the war itself. How did the media shape these beliefs, what claims did they make? What rhetorical strategies did they use? Were they truly successful or are many people weary of the media’s claims? Did the media in the Middle East do the same about American people? Would the war and current situation of the United States have been different if we had not been fed these ideals?
I want to research this topic because after writing my Unit 1 essay I began to wonder how the media in combination with the government, perpetuated so many beliefs and ideas about the war and why the American people believe them. It is quite evident that we as Americans blame the Middle Eastern people-not just a specific group like the Al Qaeda, but everyone as a homogenous population for the 9/11 attacks. I want to know what the media’s role in this was because I personally do not believe that Americans came to these conclusions alone. It is a widespread belief that spreads across the nation and I believe the media played a strong role. Additionally, can we even reverse these ideals or have they become a part of American patriotism and living?
I intend to research this topic by reading blogs and getting a strong consensus of how Americans feel about the media’s role but also how they feel about Middle Eastern people. I will also ask people on campus and my friends and family how they feel about the media’s role in creating a racial war in our country about those in the Middle East. I will also look directly at articles in various newspapers and magazines and look at how they portray foreigners. I think it is also important to watch some news feeds from both when we started to go to war and also from years after it to see what tone and ideas are used in discussing Middle Easterners. Additionally if I feel that I need to further prove my point I might refer back to past wars which the United States has been involved in and the propaganda pushed upon the American people by the government to create support for a war in which we have no reason to be fighting in.
The purpose of my project is to hopefully open my audience to the idea that the American media, in any form, is possibly not as trustworthy as we think it is. That maybe much of the hatred which exists in the United States about the people in the Middle East is actually false and simply just racism and prejudice. Also that not all the people in the Middle East were responsible for the 9/11 attacks or the suicide bombings and explosions which have killed American soldiers and civilians.
Yeah, Lauren. Your blog is up and running!!!!
Your research topic sounds interesting and many other students in class are researching similar but not exactly the same topic. I think rhetorical analysis will be your main methodology as you seem to acknowledge. Bush’s speeches will be key for your research as will other media outlets. I think your struggle will be how to create an original argument, as this topic has been written about extensively. Don’t worry about that for now though. Just keep researching and see what you discover. Don’t go through with researach to find support for what you want to prove. Discover what you want to write about through your research, okay? Also, I like the idea of investigating how past propoganda against certain populations of people was used to establish support for past wars. Check out the WWII posters that depicted Japanese soldiers in a demonic light, as the writer of the rhetorical analysis sample we read demonstrated. Hope this feedback helps. Laurie