Representation Journalism Essay Example For Students

Representation Journalism Essay In this piece, this essay will be discussing Aboriginal representation in the media. It includes many texts in the study; these will include Jedda from the 1950s, Barbakuaria from the 1980s and finally a Sydney Mail picture, from 1917. To analyze the texts they will be compared it with the cultural expressions of the time created. There are also comments on the framing and how the story affected the final representation of the Aboriginals, and if the text portrayed the publics views correctly for that time. In Australia during the 1950s, a process put into practice called the Assimilation policy. It was designed to civilise Aboriginal children who were not full blood. The children taken were either fostered or sent to missions for domestic service. This was the birth of the stolen generation. The text representing this time was Jedda. Jedda was the first colour film with real aboriginal actors, the movie had an anti- assimilation storyline, and with one of the main characters saying, you cant change a 40,000 year old culture in one generation. Civilization is how you see it, these people have a different way, thats all. The film followed Jedda, a young Aboriginal who was brought up in a white family after her mother was died, she is curious about her peoples culture, but she is very restricted by her adopted mother. We see Jedda watching the aboriginals from the homestead leave for their walk and welcoming them home, we see the longing in her eyes, and we feel for her. We then see the mother discouraging her, keeping her from playing with the other Aboriginals, making sure she stays in her clean western clothes. When Marbuck steals Jedda away from the camp, by seducing her with his traditional Aboriginal magic, it shows the more wild and uncivilized view of the Aboriginals. He seams mad and shown in a stereotypical way, with scars and a loincloth being his main characteristics. There are no positive portrayals of traditional Aborigines, we see this when Marbuck takes Jedda to his tribe, and they would rather kill her than let him marry her. They curse him, even though he is a member of their tribe, for bringing an outsider to the meeting place. This seams to show all Aboriginal tribes as uncivilized savages, which destroys the whole point of making it an anti-assimilation movie. Despite the films good intentions, it ultimately portrays most Aboriginal characters in negative ways and maintains some damaging stereotypes. Criticized as being too fatalistic, the Hollywood style did not suit this story, and the Aboriginal people who had an input would probably be ashamed with the way it turned out. In Australia, during 1800s and 1900s, European settlement started to spread across the country. There was a lot of conflict over land, with masses of blacks and whites dying, but more Aborigines due to the white settlers having superior weapons. The Aboriginals were represented as a menace to white lives. The Sydney Mail photograph shows an Aboriginal woman in the background with a spear, and a tombstone in the front saying Speared by blacks. The figures in the background are of a female with spear, showing ignorance, because in typical tribes, the women do not use weapons, the weapon is there to suggest violence and possibly scare the reader into believing the reporter took some great risk in taking the photo. The date on the tombstone indicates it is not news and only been taken to promote fear to the public. This photo represents Aborigines as primitive, uncivilized and violent, a threat to all white people. This photo is typical of the time, and probably achieved its point of scaring the public. .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 , .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .postImageUrl , .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 , .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7:hover , .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7:visited , .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7:active { border:0!important; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7:active , .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7 .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u2159cf23e87050ab99cdd6d5b93d86f7:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Art essay fine art In 1980s Australia, land rights claims for Aborigines were abundant. They were shown as radicals and possibly violent, people saw their typical behavior as petrol sniffing drunks through the media and although this was the case for a few, not many actually did either of those. Barbakuaria showed a twisted version of the historical events, putting Aborigines as the settlers, and white people as the indigenous Australians. A reporter lived with a typical white family, saw them split up during the assimilation time, and commented on how they never smile when photographed. We saw the younger boy say what they were thinking, about asking how they can smile when they have nothing. The movie shows how vain people are, as it made the public feel sorry for the whites, but they still wouldnt feel for the Aborigines .