Police Brutality or Aggressive Policing? (4/30/2015)

Any person following the news in America today would be aware of riots happening in Baltimore due to the unfair death of Freddie Gray, a black citizen, at the hands of police officers. Similar riots happened in Ferguson, Missouri after the court decided to let white police officer Darren Wilson walk away after killing young black man Michael Brown. Many citizens are being reminded of the civil rights movement of the 60s, but this is 2015. Clearly, it is difficult for many citizens and news sources to address what is going on.

I read many articles about riots due to police brutality in Baltimore right now. However, many sources feel uncomfortable with the terms "riot" and "police brutality" because this is America, and we're a model country. Right? Sure. 

In an interview by the New York Times with Martin O'Malley, who used to be the governor of Maryland, both sides only used the term "aggressive policing" as opposed to a much harsher sounding "police brutality" or "abuse of power". I know, it's hard to think that here in America such a thing is possible, but what name do we give to dozens of black people being disproportionately killed by police officers? "Police brutality" will obviously offend many proud Americans, but it's hard to sugarcoat problems like this. "Aggressive policing" makes this seem like much smaller of a problem than it really is. 

Another newspaper, "Above the Law", had something to say about this. They didn't address the riots in Baltimore, but rather, the "civil unrest". Hundreds of people of all demographics setting fire to stores and cars and protesting nationwide is no more than "civil unrest". Or maybe that's just easier to read. "Riots" may evoke negative images, like death and destruction. "Civil unrest" sounds more like dissatisfied Americans trying to prove a point. It does not evoke violent images. And how dare people think that anything police-related today in America is violent!

George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" helped me to identify these phrases that I may have not paid much attention to before. He writes, "Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging, and sheer cloudy vagueness". These two phrases used multiple times in articles do just that. Instead of simply telling the people the truth, they use less offensive, less scary phrases that we can handle. What is aggressive policing and civil unrest? Neither articles go on to explain that, so how can readers truly know the extent of this issue? Orwell's article was published 70 years ago, just after World War II ended. Today he would not be satisfied with the problems he discussed in his work still being relevant.

Orwell also states that many words are used "with intent to deceive". How can our nation really grasp what is happening with different phrases about the same problem being thrown at us everywhere we look? They may be used to help a side sound more empathetic. A former governor does not want to attack the police (although officers don't seem to have an issue with it). He can still address the issue by using terms like "aggressive policing" to give Americans a less clear idea of the issue, and not have to pick a side in the argument. Words can be used to deceive, trick, and sway people. It is vital to know when this is being done, so our minds aren't sugarcoated as well.

Civil unrest in Ferguson this past winter.

"Product Placements" in iCarly (4/30/2015)

One of my all time favorite shows while growing up was "iCarly", and Nickelodeon. This show is about two teenage girls (Sam and Carly) in Seattle hosting a comedy web show in Seattle. Both of the girls had pear phones that they were constantly on, that always had new updates and features in the show. As the show got older, so did I, and I began noticing similarities between their phones and the company Apple. The girls had pear computers, phones, and eventually pear pads, as did all of the other characters on the show. As Apple's iPhones, laptops, and iPad's advances, these technologies would show up in "iCarly" in the form of a pear phone. They even had a pear on the back of the phone, as iPhone have an apple on the back of theirs.
I wasn't aware of product placement at the time, but that is what I thought this to be. Obviously their pear phones were supposed to be Apple's iPhones! At one point I even thought they just mistaken the brand name and had intended to use iPhones on the show.
However, besides the obvious Apple references on the show, there are a lot more real world connections that they made, without it actually being considered placed advertising. A popular hangout for the kids on the show is The Groovy Smoothie, with interior colors similar to that of Jamba Juice. In one episode, Carly's older brother makes a giant coffee cup and fills it with coffee. The brand name on the cup? Skybucks Coffee. The design on the cup was very similar to Starbucks as well. They go out to eat in a restaurant called BF Wangs, which rhymes with popular real world restaurant PF Changs. An even more secret hidden reference: in one episode a younger character is seen reading a book titled "Nifty Shades of Beige". This is also an obvious parody of the book and now movie "50 Shades of Grey", which normally wouldn't be shown on a kids show.
Most kids shows wouldn't have nearly as much "advertising" as iCarly got away with. However, this wasn't placed advertising, it was a mimic of it. It is rare for a television show to devise a whole new phone brand, coffee brand, or even book for a kid to read. iCarly did just that. Even every episode title was formatted with the letter "i" before what happens in the episode, just like the series title.
Don't get me wrong, I was definitely surrounded with Starbucks and Apple and Jamba Juice ads all around me my entire childhood. But iCarly incorporated them in a way that made me want the products more than any commercial could. I idolized Sam and Carly since the first episode I watched. Seeing them in a giant Skybucks cup or visiting the Pear store not only reminded me of those real world products, but it made me want them because the girls had them. Product placement in television shows has not always worked for me, especially if I don't like the characters. But this show based on parodies of product placements affected me more than ever, as I still surround myself with many of those products today.

All that little Della wanted to do after this was swim in a giant Starbucks cup!

My Relationship with Media

I remember being eight or nine when I started watching television more often. I don't recall every commercial or movie I watched, but I do remember going to see The Simpsons Movie and watching a Fox advertisement in the movie. I thought that was strange, maybe just for theaters. However, when we bought the movie later on, it was also on the disc! Since seeing a television ad blinking at me in a movie I bought, I became more aware of media. Sadly, I have totally bit into this new norm, letting it run circles in my mind when I am not around technology. As I've gotten older, I've spent less time reading, writing, sewing, or even talking to my family, as I've spent increased time with Netflix, social media, texting, and various video games. I see this happening every day, but it's easier to be alone and entertain myself with technology more and more. I wish that I wasn't so absorbed in this world that seems to suck the creativity out of you, but I can't help it.