Category Archives: Uncategorized

In 2012, Lebanon experienced some kind of change in the media’s representation of sexuality. It all started when a TV show by the name “Enta Horr” aired on MTV Lebanon. The show displayed “videos secretly shot in abandoned cinema houses, showing men engaging in sexual acts and viewing pornographic material.” (Mandour, 2013). As a result,Continue reading “Media Discourse on Sexuality in Lebanon”

As cited by Zaatari (2014),  patriarchy is ‘the system of male dominance’ (Mumford, 1995). This system is inclusive of social, political, and cultural aspects. The media in the Arab world has played a role in supporting such patriarchal systems, constantly under or misrepresenting women in news stories and other media content. I can clearly rememberContinue reading “Patriarchy in Arab Media”

If I were to classify the kind of stereotype about the disabled in Robert Zemeckis’ “Forrest Gump” according to Barnes’ list, I believe it would fall under “The Disabled Person as Pitiable and Pathetic“. (Barnes, 1990) In this film, not only one but two disabled character were portrayed: the intellectually disabled Forrest, and the physicallyContinue reading “How the Film “Forrest Gump” Portrays Disability”

Understanding Ideology Hall (1990) summed up his study of ideology through three main points: Ideologies are not composed of separate concepts Instead, an ideology is rather a combination of different elements falling into a chain; different ideologies have different employments for the same words. For example, the word freedom has a different meaning in liberalContinue reading “Ideology & Arabs in Hollywood”

Punctum: an alarming detail in a photograph that is subjectively detected; different people might consider different details as punctrums. This means that the punctum is a highly private experience. (Kandutsch, 2015) Absorption: this is portrayed when the people in a photograph are so involved, or rather absorbed, in their actions (usually simply zoning out toContinue reading “Punctum, Absorption, and Facingness”

In light of the recent assassination of Iranian General Soleimani, I will be reviewing two sources which have spoken up about the aftermath of the incident. To begin with, news bias by headline and by image selection & omission are the the most obvious ones: It can be easily noticed how US coverage attempts toContinue reading “In-class Assignment #2 – News Bias Comparison”

According to Moeller (1999), there are four habits of International News Reporting:  Formulaic Coverage Sensationalized Language Analogies, Metaphors and Images  An American Connection Moeller emphasized how global media has always been influenced by the US and is constantly attempting to make stories more relevant and striking for Americans. If that’s the way Internationals go by,Continue reading “Habits of American News Reporting in Palestine”

“A propaganda model focuses on this inequality of wealth and power and its multilevel effects on mass media interests and choices”. Herman & Chomsky, 1988 Ownership Mass-media firms tend to target their content at elite audiences; otherwise, they just might get attacked! Let’s not forget that media companies require government licenses and franchises, which makesContinue reading “The Five News Filters”