Using Publicity for the Right Cause

Those who have been watching news articles on the police brutality protests in the USA and those who have been paying attention to all those police murder stories being covered up as accidents, may have heard or read of Quentin Tarantino’s presence at one of those protests in New York City last Saturday.

Now, many of those people might initially be upset that now it all seems to be about Tarantino instead of the actual cause for protests like these. But his presence and the fact that the media covers it so extensively is more than just publicity for him – it matters for everyone involved and Tarantino is actually of great help.

While some fear that his attendance will distract the media from the actual protest and its goals, the opposite is far more likely. His short speech and the attention of the media on him also draw more attention to the protest itself. The protest does not solely serve as publicity for him, it’s rather the other way around. Well yes, of course it does sort of push his publicity but it’s far from a safe bet for him: many have been speaking out against him, e.g. the NYPD has beencalling for a boycott of his films. He is clearly taking sides on a controversial topic, a topic most media outlets have treated as very one-sided (often decidedly “pro-cop”).

For the movement itself his presence will far more likely be of great importance and help. After all, his attendance has drawn more attention to their cause which has not been forgotten but has often been labelled as aggression and anger towards the police. This isn’t surprising at all, considering that it’s a rather common practice to diminish the actual critique of marginalised groups as “anger”, “outrage” or “rioting”. These people have a right to be angry but society is in huge parts turning its back on them. And Tarantino has done something very important by standing up with their protests, showing that while he is not affected by the troubles they face he wants to help them as an actual decent human being, acknowledging the discrimination they face as it is: racism.

And even though his voice is just as important and everyone else’s, his will be considered more important considering his fame and, to be honest, whiteness. He uses his status, his power, the attention on him to redirect it to the racism and corrupt police departments in the USA.

So in fact, he is tricking the media: they make it all about him, they can’t just ignore this event – they have to once again report on those protests. And people will want to know why he has sided with this movement. 

While Tarantino is far from being a perfect human being (there are certainly many aspects to criticise, but that’s a whole other topic) but he is actually doing something good by using his high status to lift up those in a lower position, becoming a white ally – which some other people should take as an example to be followed.

Why your Choice of Image Matters

It’s never just a picture, especially in the media. There is so much more to it than just placing it as a nice addition to the text. When it comes to the images to support an article there are many choices to be made: Is it ethical to use this sort of photograph (remember the drowned Syrian toddler – trigger warning: death)? Does it make the article seem more interesting? Does it add to the overall message the author is trying to convey? And so on.

Ideally, the author would be completely objective but let’s be frank, this is a standard that’s impossible to live up to – every choice of word, topic, perspective and, yes, photographs are influenced by one’s own opinion. To those interested in the journalist’s role in the media, might want to take a look at the Gatekeeping Theory. Now it would be nice to be able to just step back and say “I can’t help it, I’m making those decisions subconsciously” but it is – and should not be – that easy. It is in the author’s responsibility to maintain the utmost possible level of what we like to call objectivity while also questioning one’s own choices.

Let’s take a look at an easy example. The media loves scandals and everything outrageous since those topics are what lures readers in – and celebrities are the perfect foundation for articles following the “oh my god did you hear about…!” pattern.

Remember the Nicki Minaj vs. Taylor Swift feud? Which was never actually what one could call a feud, it wasn’t even a serious dispute – it was nothing but a simple misunderstanding that both women solved in a very mature way. But still, it was all over Twitter, the newspapers… It’s quite possible that many people didn’t even bother to read those articles, they just read the headlines and saw, guess what!, the image going along with it. And interestingly the type of images chosen was most often something along the lines of what billboard did:

Screenshot

Here we have Taylor looking rather serious but not at all aggressive while Nicki looks really annoyed and as if she’s about to say something, side-eyeing Taylor. Mixed together with popping (“aggressive”) colours and the word “VS.” suggesting a real fight this image creates the impression of Nicki attacking poor, passive Taylor. Yes, it is not stated clearly in the headline but the choice of image already tries to bias the reader into thinking this.

On the other hand, The Atlantic posted an article on this just a day later taking a whole other position:

Screenshot

Here we have Taylor and Nicki standing hand in hand with their back to the reader, suggesting support, equality, partnership. Plus, when taking a look at the headline it’s easy to see that The Atlantic author tries to focus on the real cause of the misunderstanding of those two – billboard mentioned the VMAs, as well, but it does not take as much prominence.

And while all this may seem way too subtle and trivial to some, it does have a huge impact on how an article and thus the respective event are perceived by media consumers. While the author of this billboard article would never say that they are racist, they are indeed supporting the racist stereotype of “the AngryBlack Woman” by using this image.

In the meantime, The Atlantic author remained respectful and more “objective” by placing the emphasis on the root of the problem. And thus they also support both women in their common fight as feminists striving for equality.