Watching the Robert Kubey video was a confirmation of what I have long believed. Quite simply, you cannot believe what you hear and only half of what you see. Kubey talks about the tactics commonly employed in media to "tell THEIR story." These tactics include: "photoshopping" or graphically altering the appearance of individuals to give an illusion that supports the position of the advertiser, the use of smear tactics where less desirable characteristics are exploited or even completely fabricated, and the intentional distortion of the facts. It is commonly held that the best comparison is apples to apples, but in politics and other race based advertising the key players try to convince the viewers that the round orange fruit you are seeing is really an apple, and those that do this well have you ready to make applecrisp.
I find it interesting the way some campaigns, such as Obama use scare tactics. While Romney is known for pulling the race card, there are ways in which Obama does the same only in the reverse. He frequently showcases how middle aged, white Americans have suffered from the policies of Romney and his Bain Investment Group. In this mini-documentary Obama's campaign pulls out salt of the earth, steel workers to tell their story of job loss. While one steelworker showcased is black, the majority focus is on the loss of jobs and income in a predominantly white neighborhood as a direct result of Romney and his company.
But then again, maybe that one guy is not really black, perhaps he was "shopped."
Good example of how the Obama campaign also uses the tactics of fear and greed and excellent commentary of how racism may be used in the reverse. One of my interests in promoting media literacy in schools is to create a citizenship that demands more from politicians. We need politicians who seek to educate the public on the issues and who can explain solutions to growing world problems!
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