Media Studies Induction

The Daily Mirror: Terrorism Image 1:       Frightening image of a terrorist wearing a balaclava          Pointing the knife to the reader as if to say no one is safe and anyone could be attacked       Jihadi John – alliteration – weird as the terrorists are English and white “a brit undergrad”       Readers are almost obligated to feel sympathy for the daughter as she has lost her father in a vile and inhumane circumstance       Her plea is almost like she is begging for someone to do something enhancing the sympathy       The nation is now being divided       Is patriarchy breaking? Image 2:       Similar as image 1 as we see a young girl struggling due to terrorism in the UK       A feeling of unity is also created as the police help the girl       No mention of the actual terrorist but just the victims       The young girl may cause readers to feel sympathy       Why is ‘suicide bomb’ in inverted commas?       Terrorism is ruining the lives of youths

The language in the set texts establish ideologies that shape opinions about Donald Trump. The Sun evidently ridicules Trump by featuring a cartoon version, derived from the Simpsons, on their front cover. The Sun can therefore be described to be left-leaning as it doesn’t see Trumps election as a success but rather foolish.   The animated picture of Trump also provides a denotation of mockery due to the bewildered and angry facial expressions that he often displays. This is a form of entertainment to the audience as they can relate to the encoded messages prevailed. They are likely to perceive Trump in a similar way. If audiences haven’t formed an opinion of Trump, this cover is likely to guide them to construct new viewpoints that are representative of the covers political leaning. Furthermore, the Simpsons creates this scene for comical purposes in order to entertain the audience. The noun “joke” reinforces this idea. Trump still being seen as a “joke” still hasn’t changed

The provided texts position their audiences differently whilst perceiving Donald Trump to either be a useful asset to the British economy or the reason for an impending doom. The Daily Mirror has a left wing bias. It evidently resents Trump’s conservative values and attitudes that are typical of the republican party. The statue of liberty, which connotes the freedom of thought, choice and expression, is covering her face in humiliation of the individuals who voted for Trump. The preferred reading suggests that she is ashamed, and to some extent fearful, of those that voted for Trump. This is due to the oppressive regimes he stands for and promotes that is likely to be instilled into society creating a state of despair and tragedy. This is reinforced by the post-apocalyptic background and the black clouds that may foreshadow a society saturated with hate and prejudice. The audience is therefore positioned to see the negative consequences of Trumps election in response to the subver