Ebola 2: Political Bias and Documentaries
Ebola 2: Political Bias and Documentaries
Ebola 2: Political Bias and Documentaries
Political Bias
Learning Objective:
To be able to identify how
political bias can affect the
representation of events in
media texts.
Why?
Sophisticated and perceptive
analysis, revealing a thorough
understanding of key signifiers and
techniques. Complex ideas
expressed coherently. Awareness of
the polysemic nature of texts with a
recognition of the ideological.
MS1- Examination Mark Scheme
Why?
Sophisticated and perceptive
analysis, revealing a thorough
understanding of key signifiers and
techniques. Complex ideas
expressed coherently. Awareness
of the polysemic nature of texts with
a recognition of the ideological.
MS1- Examination Mark Scheme
LEFT WING
RIGHT WING
Definitions
Left-wing
Emphasises the role of the
community (were all in it
together).
Supports liberal values,
more open to cultural
diversity.
Supports higher taxation
(ensures that everyone has
access to healthcare,
education, literature etc.)
More government
intervention in big business
(to avoid corporate
dominance and excessive
profiteering).
Supports a robust and
healthy welfare state.
Right-wing
Emphasises the role of the
Right-wing
Crime is a symptom of a
sick society. Therefore,
criminals should be
rehabilitated and society
improved to prevent
further crimes.
Grade C
Use media terminology
Make specific reference to
the text
Sound grasp of connotations
Grade B
Proficient use of media
terminology
Make detailed reference to
the text
Some awareness of
audience
Good grasp of connotations,
extrapolating on ideas
Grade A
Sophisticated use of media
terminology
Make detailed reference to
the text
Full awareness of audience
Expert grasp of
connotations, fully
extrapolating on ideas
Awareness of the ideological
Back to Ebola
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/10/19/how-right-wing-medi
a-have-used-ebola-to-scare-a/201222
Blowing the threat of ebola out of proportion and trying to link it to
Obama has been a constant theme on the right in recent days.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck of Fox News literally demanded that we put
the country on lockdown, banning all travel in and out. In a bit of
race-baiting,Andrea Tantaros of Fox suggested that people who
travel to the country and show symptoms of ebola will seek
treatment from a witch doctor instead of go to the hospital.
Fox host Steve Doocy suggested the CDC is lying about ebola
because theyre part of the administration. Fox also
promoted a conspiracy theorist who is trying to claim the CDC is lyi
ng
when they caution people not to panic.
Other right wing media joined in. Tammy Bruceblamed ebolaon the
Obama legacy.Laura Ingraham said Obama was prevented from
doing more to stop the disease because of his core ties to the
African continent.Rush Limbaugh even went as far as to accuse
Obama of letting the disease spread because he supposes liberals
believe we kind of deserve a little bit of this.
With the threat being so small, why are conservatives going crazy
like this?
Part of it is pure political opportunism - anti-Obama.
as conservative pundits know that when people are afraid, the are more
open to reactionary ideas.
But a large part of it might be that conservatives are just far more prone
than liberals are both to getting wound up over the fear of disease and
being compelled by the idea that people who are not themselves are
undeserving of care.
Researcher Jonathan Haidt isthe architect of themoral foundations
theory that suggests that political inclinations, at least in modern times,
are rooted in five different foundations:
harm, fairness, ingroup, authority, and purity. Liberals and conservatives
weigh these five considerations very differently. For instance, liberals are
more likely than conservatives to factor in whether an action causes harm
when deciding if its wrong or not. Liberals also worry more about fairness
and have more regard for people that are outside of their group than
conservatives. Conservatives, on the other hand, put far more trust in
authority. Conservatives are also far more obsessed with purity and far
more likely to get hung up on the idea that the body is a temple which
can be desecrated by immoral activities and contaminants, as Haidt
explains.
Left v Right
You can see these differences play out with the response to ebola.
For liberals, the proper response to ebola patients is to reduce
harm by caring for them and to treat the people who got it fairly,
by understanding that they didnt do anything wrong to get it.
for conservatives, two big, red buttons. First, its a disease, so of
course its going to set off the fears of contamination that Haidt
demonstrates plague conservatives far more than liberals.
Second of all, conservatives associate ebola with people who are
different from themfrom different countries, often of different
racesand they have little regard for people in out groups,
which is Haidts term for people who are different. And because
conservatives are less worried about harming others or being fair,
it becomes easy for them to demonize people with ebola,
demand that they be left to die without care, and simply kept
from contaminating the rest of us.
Documentary 1
Ebola - The Search for a Cure
BBC2 (Think about the License Fee!) The BBC is not funded by advertising but by the
licence fee. Therefore it is a PSB and has a duty to educate, inform and entertain
the whole British public. This means BBC1 programmes have to be popular, but
have to have an extra quality - being very well made, having educational value or
representing all the different parts of Britain, for example.
Documentary 2
Ebola : Inside the Deadly Outbreak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Jpn22
HJys
Published on 22 Sep 2014
Ebola : Inside the Deadly Outbreak.
ABC News Dr. Richard Besser travels into
the hot zone where thousands of Africans
are dying of Ebola, and doctors risk their
own lives to save them. Interviews with
those on the front lines, and an American
survivor, weave together an incredible story
Q1
http://
www.bsm-media.com/MS1%20Winte
r%202011%20Marking%20Scheme.p
df
Recap Print text for exam!
Peer marking Q1