http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZJAvEhPNKs
If you have not figured it out by now, I am talking about Islam. All the Muslim men in this movie are shown as terrorists. Their main objective in their lives is to kill non Muslims. This movie is only one in a long list of others that show Muslim men in this light. You can find other examples of this in shows including NCIS Los Angeles, and many other movies. I have also come to the realization that the characters in these movies are people of color. It is very rare that you will find a white person portraying a terrorist.
Television shapes the minds of the people watching it and gives its viewers an opinion of the people represented on the shows. Why is it that Muslims, men especially are shown as terrorists and wanting to kill people in these shows but are never shown as loving people who are living well in American society. Muslims are not the only terrorists in the world but by watching these shows and movies i feel like they are.
These shows are bombarding our minds with the idea that all Muslims are evil and want to kill Americans/Westerners when in reality it is a very small percentage. I came across this video a while ago and was shocked at some of the things that were going on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwaNRWMN-F4
The main thing in this video that i want to focus on is the sign that says "Mosque Supports Hammas". Being a Muslim myself i am offended but i don't necessarily blame them because the media has been constantly telling them that Muslims are terrorist and only showing them in this way. Media has played a big role in causing people to have this opinion and they can also play a big role in changing it
When you hear the words "Terrorist" what picture of a man comes into your mind and why do you think you came up with this image?
Look at the two pictures below. which person do you believe is a terrorist? Why do you think so?
Finally, How do you think the media especially television has played a role in your opinion on different religions and the people of those faiths?
When I hear the word "Terrorist" I automatically think of a man who is colored, so probably from the middle east or somewhere like that. I also imagine him to be speaking another language that I do not understand. I came up with this image because of the way the media has always represented terrorists. I always see terrorists to be looking the way I just described. I have never seen a terrorist with my own eyes so I have no idea what one would look like, but based on the way the media shows them to be, that is how I believe that they would look.
ReplyDeleteI believe that that the person in the second picture is a terrorist. The person in the first picture looks like he is so innocent, while the person in the second picture looks like he is angry and having a debate about something. He just looks more like he is up to something.
I think that the media, especially television, had made us believe that only a certain group of people are terrorists. So far all of the main things that have happened in our world, that have involved terrorists, have been done by people who are in the Muslim religion. For example, when 9/11 happened the main person who caused that to happen was a Muslim person. I'm not trying to be racist or anything, I'm just saying that the media is what makes us think negatively or positively about a group of people. Not everyone in one specific religion is violent or bad, it's just that when we hear something about a religion we just automatically assume that everyone in that religion is like that.
The first that pops up in my head when I hear the word "terrorist" is a brown person who is Muslim (being honest, no offense to anyone). I believe that is the first thing I can think of because when we look at media a terrorist is shown as a colored man who in most scenarios is Muslim.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to the two pictures was that the second man would most likely be a terrorist because I've never really thought of a white man being a terrorist, trying to harm people. I always see it as a colored man.
I believe that when it comes to things like terrorism the media, especially television has given people the impression that ALL terrorists are colored people. For example, in the movie Harold and Kumar, in the airplane scene the old lady thinks Kumar is a terrorist. (If you don't know what I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFhzFRoiM3Q) This is just one of many movies/shows that give us the impression that terrorists are colored people. It's all around us so it definitely changes how we view things.
I agree with Christina, things like the 9/11 attacks involved Muslim people and also the bomb attack that happened in India happened to involve them as well. I believe that it isn't really the whole race that is bad but it is just a few people that make everyone else look bad and this doesn't just go for Muslim people. It applies to every race and culture.
When I come across the word “terrorist”, the image of a coloured man (brown) with a bushy beard and a cloth wrapped around his head comes up in my mind. The reason I came up with this image is because I am influenced by what the media usually portrays as a terrorist. A prominent figure related to the image of a terrorist is that of Bin Laden.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at the two pictures, I, instantly, assume the man in the second picture is a terrorist. He is coloured, has a hat on, and a beard as well. As Christina says, it looks like he is up to something (giving a strong and powerful speech – let’s say). The man in the first picture looks like the common American man (close to fifty in age), but definitely not innocent (he has sharp, dark, and hollow eyes), which arouses some suspicion in me, at least. However, he could be a terrorist, if I am wrong. Finally, both the men could be terrorists (or not at all).
The media definitely, as you mentioned Sumayah, portrays the religion of Islam negatively. The negative portrayal has been fuelled by the many terrorist attacks around the world in the past decade by Muslim terrorist activists. After being exposed to whatever I have so far in my life till now through television, I think a bearded man with a hat on is a terrorist. Further, whenever I hear the words, “Islam” or “Muslim”, the word “terrorist” pops up in my head after 9/11 (no offense to anyone, I am being honest). The media, barely, portrays other religions such as Christianity, Hinduism with a negative shade. To add to that, I feel empathetic towards all the Jews in this world, knowing after what many of them have been through during the horrific Holocaust.
When I hear the word "Terrorist" I think of a person who is Muslim. I think of a person who is Muslim because they are the ones I hear of doing terrorist attacks.
ReplyDeleteOut of the two pictures I think the second one is a terrorist. I think so because he is Muslim. I know he is Muslim from the way he is dressed.
In my opinion I don't think television has affect the way I see other people or religions. Television just gives us the the information and it is up to us what we take from it. In, my opinion I think that anyone can be a terrorist. Its just that most of the terrorist attacks are from Muslims if not all.
I disagree with what Hasani is saying, that television doesn't shape the way we thing about people or religions.In my opinion the media plays a big part in the way we think about things,in this case muslims. When most people hear the term "terrorist" they automatically assume muslims and wrong thing about them because of how muslims are portrayed in the media.Aside from what we see on the news, muslims are constantly being put down in shows and movies which makes some people believe that all muslims are terrorists.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I hear the word terrorist the first image that comes to mind would be a man whose appearance is similar to that of Osama Bin Laden. But what I’d like to point out would be that the idea of a terrorist would also be a man, never a woman. It’s hard to imagine a female terrorist, which shows the gender dominancy present in the idea of a terrorist. This places negative light upon males in general because they are the only gender seen as terrorists.
ReplyDeleteOut of the two pictures presented I believe the first to be the terrorist, not because of the appearance but the way they’re presented. In the first picture the male is presented behind what seems to be a bookcase, which doesn’t seem that bad. The second picture the male is presented in front of a microphone seated behind a table. Because of my experiences being a Muslim, It is safe to assume that the man in the second picture is giving out a lecture. It may be hard to believe due to the stereotypes and influences of the media, but Muslims aren’t that bad. If I was to decide if any of the two were terrorists I would say none, but because of the situation I’d say the first is most likely the terrorist.
I disagree with Hasani’s comment: “I know he is Muslim from the way he is dressed.”
ReplyDeleteI don’t think you can tell someone is a certain religion or race by the way they are dressed. I’ve seen a Caucasian girl wearing a hijab, but that does not mean she was Muslim. Although, seeing someone wearing something like a hijab or whatever the man in the second picture is wearing would lead us to believe that he/she is Muslim but we can’t really judge them. It’s like the saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover.”
I agree with Tito. The person that comes to my mind when I hear the word Terrorist is Osama Bin Laden because of his contribution to world terrorism. To me and many other people he is viewed as the world’s number one terrorist because of 9/11. When I look at the two people in the pictures I think that the terrorist is the guy on the bottom. I think he is the terrorist because of media. I have watched a lot of movies and the terrorist in the movie always looks like the guy on the bottom. Media plays a big part in terrorism and all the different types of movies they make. If the movie involves a plane being hijacked than the people hijacking the plane are Muslims. I think that a terrorist has to be Muslim because of media. When I see a movie about a terrorist that is not Muslim, then it is weird because of the amount of movies and ads portraying the terrorist being a Muslim.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mohibo. Although Hasani brought up an interesting point, I disagree with his reasoning. Television does affect the way we see certain religions. It does this by showing us different images and videos and that makes us think whether or not it is true. Whether we are aware of it or not, these images and videos have gone through our heads and have made us think if what is being said about a particular religion is true or not. If the same message has been shown to us multiple times we automatically start to believe it. If so many different sources are saying the exact same negative things about the Muslim religion, everyone believes it. That is what the media does to us and it proves how powerful it is.
ReplyDeleteI feel that media is greatly playing a role in the way that some of you view terrorist. When you look at the news I feel that it is being biased towards the Muslim religion. Most people believe that not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorist are Muslims which is completely false. In reality official FBI records show that from 1980 to 2005 only 6% of terrorist attacks carried out on US soil are from Muslims. The other 94% comes from other groups. These include 42% from Latinos, 24% from extreme left wing groups, 7% from extremist Jews, 5% from communists, and 16% from all other groups. The statistics in Europe are even worse. From 2007 to 2009 only 0.4% of terrorist attacks were from Muslim people. Here is the link to where I found all my information.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.loonwatch.com/2010/01/terrorism-in-europe/
Another interesting fact about media is that it is rare that you will hear about female terrorists. Because of this when you think of the word terrorist, you automatically think of a man. A recent article reported that the British intelligence MI5 found explosive chargers INSIDE females breasts practically making it undetectable. Some of the groups that have female terrorists are The Red Army Faction, the Second of June Movement, as well as women have been central factors in the Tamil Tigers. It makes me wonder, if there are so many female terrorists and attacks by them, why do we never hear about it?
To all of you that have already commented and want to know who the actual terrorists between the two picture are it is actually the first, white man. His name is James von Brunn. Von Brunn was a white supremacist and Holocaust denier who had written numerous antisemitic essays, created an antisemitic website called The Holy Western Empire,and is the author of a 1999 self published book, Kill the Best Gentiles, which praises Adolf Hitler and denies the Holocaust. He was also a Obama citizenship conspiracy theorist. He was an American man who perpetrated the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting in Washington, D.C. on June 10, 2009.
ReplyDeleteTo all of you who guessed right, maybe it was an accident or maybe you aren't affected by the media as much as I thought. As to those of you who have guessed wrong, this was just a way to show you how media has completely distorted your perspective on people.
I thought that the man in the top picture was the terrorist because his appearance was suspicious. But this suspicion probably came from process of elimination. I had a feeling the second man wasn't the terrorist because of the way he was represented in the image. From what I can tell it looks like he is delivering a lecture, or meeting with the press. Therefore, I simply excluded him from my decision leaving the only possible choice, the man on the top.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think the media especially television has played a role in your opinion on different religions and the people of those faiths?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion i think the media has played a MAJOR role on different religions and the people in those faiths. They have a tight structure on how people should be if theyre following a certain faith and they make it seem that you have to be a certain way of your following that faith. When it comes to the topic of religion in media they tend to joke around with it a lot, but it really isnt funny! Religion is a serious topic that people around the world loose their lives to everyday because of their beliefs. When 911 happened, the media took a toll on the Muslim people,all Muslims either man or woman was stripped of their dignity and called a `terrorist` because of the cultural attire they wore. Everyone who was on a plane and was next to a person that dressed like a Muslim was scared the plane would crash. And honestly the media shouldn't be putting ideas like this into peoples head, especially children growing up! These are the people and leaders of our future and if they have this mentality at a young age..the world is going to end up corrupt.
When i hear the word terrorist, i always think about a middle east person who looks like the person in the second picture. That is the image that i have seen in media about terrorists. Not only on TV or Newspapers even on computer games like Call of Duty portrays that image too. In COD4, user plays as US marine who is in a mission of killing Terrorist leader named Al-Asad who is a middle east Muslim guy. When thousands of people play these kind of games, they eventually starting to think about all Middle east or Muslims are terrorists. Media should not categorize Muslims as Terrorists because only few in any society have these kind of terrorists.
ReplyDeleteIn this way media can play big role . As an example the man who look like Muslim seems very aggressive. Those who are not much aware of the cultures and religion much can mislead. I think at present, people are more intelligent than earlier but few can misunderstood.
When I think of the word terrorist, I automatically think of a Muslim man that’s Middle Eastern. The 2nd image comes to mind, when I hear the word “terrorist” because that’s generally how media portrays terrorists and they often associate terrorism with Muslims. The media presents numerous images of what a terrorist “looks” like so most people think someone Middle Eastern, with a long beard, and usually wearing a cloth to cover their face.
ReplyDeleteThe media has caused a lot of people to believe only Muslims are terrorists since they never report any other Religion as being terrorists. When 9/11 occurred Muslims were all seen as responsible for what happened when it’s actually unfair to prejudge everyone in that religion. Also the media presents Muslims as corrupted, like they always have bombs and they’re constantly killing their own people. This is obviously not true and it’s just the stereotypes shown in the media. All Muslims are definitely not terrorists and the media shouldn’t be generalizing a religion. I think the new show “Muslims in America,” will help people realize Muslims aren’t the way they’re portrayed on CNN and live regular lives.
1) When you hear the words "Terrorist" what picture of a man comes into your mind and why do you think you came up with this image?
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear the word "terrorist", I do think of a man who is muslim, the reason that of this is because media has always shown that its us muslims who do such kind of things such as; killing, murdering, and throwing bombs, and etc. Media does play a very signinficant role in all this, whatever media shows us, we may not agree with it right at the moment, but at the back of our mind, we do kind of pay attention and agree to all this. I see the man who is in the second picture, because whenever they show any kind of terrorist in any movie, they always show they got long beards, and they have the thing on their head, and etc. Media has shown all this and put this in pur mind, that terrorists look like this, so this is the reason we think of terrorists in such a way.
2) Look at the two pictures below. which person do you believe is a terrorist? Why do you think so?
I think its the person in the second picture who looks like a terrorist, its because media has always shown us that a terrorist dresses and looks like a certain way. Just like i said before, media has put a specific picture in our mind and we tend to follow that around with us.
When I hear this I imagine an Islamic man with a facial beard. I come up with this image as society has led us to believe that all terrorists fit that certain image in which reality is not the case as there are men which fit into our society as normal who also have affiliations with terrorist groups.
ReplyDeleteThe Islamic man appears to me as the terrorist as he is shown as a rebel out to prove his point. In our society the white man is known to be normal and gentle and the other man to be an enemy.
The media has played a very important role as they set out to show that just because a certain individual of a country or religion says or does something dramatic, that the whole race of that culture is known to be a threat to others.