Reviled and Loved Prompt, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The media and channels of communication are vital in passing information in a society (Lovari et al., 2020, p315-p328). The information is specifically addressed to some people, moral behaviors, political affiliations, and social injustices. In most cases, the reaction to these pieces of information varies depending on the type of message passed. Some major communication methods in the early 21^st century included television, radio, and newspapers (Hesmondhalgh, 2019, p101-p120). This paper considers one of the most famous newspapers in Mexico in explaining different reactions to a text by various Mexican fans and some American critics. The information written in this newspaper was reviled and loved depending on who was criticized and the one cherished. The Mexican media is therefore very powerful in communicating people’s concerns, variabilities, and interests of the community through the La Jornada newspaper.

Media Text

On September 13, 2001, La Jornada newspaper published a text and a cartoon criticizing the September 11 United States attacks on Iraq (Weinstein, 2019). The controversial text written by a Mexican author called Hutchinson compared the united states’ attacks on Iraq to its unlawful and selfish operations in the region. For instance, the United States was at loggerheads with Iraq, claiming its citizens had illegal firearms. The United States declared itself clean yet had its soldiers illegally crossing to Mexico. The text also points out scenarios when the Mexican policemen were mistreated by the US soldiers using Mexican techniques. For instance, the author says, “American soldiers have come to cane us using our military styles; a rare scenario in wars.” Therefore, the media text and cartoon picture highlighted the irony in US operations.

The Mexican newspaper therefore aimed at promoting justice in the community. The article’s author relied on the rule that no one is declared holy by sinning more than the other once. The article explains why the United States government should be focused on promoting justice in the world by not oppressing the least such as Mexico and Iraq. The paper also shows how the media is satirical of injustices. The reaction to this article demonstrates how the governments work hard to diminish social media in vain.

Overall Criticism

American critics such as Harold Bloom, Roger Ebert, and Edward Said dismissed the claims of this text. According to Rubin, 2021, p19-p32, the critics claimed that the disarmament activities in Iraq were only geared toward peace restoration in the region. The critics also said that the newspaper was fraudulently produced since it did not promote international unity between the two countries. The American authorities’ critics quickly reprimanded the cartoon drawing stating that it did not promote societal moral and cultural beliefs. They stated that the text was coined to put the superpower into the limelight and claimed that the allegations were petty. Professional American critics such as Roger Ebert also denounced the illegal entries of Mexicans into the United States and promised to launch attacks on Mexico to push for the suppression of Mexican borders. Therefore, the text was controversial to the extent of causing animosity between the two countries.

The critics also identified the uncontrolled freedom of speech in Mexico. Harold Bloom, an American critic, attached the illegal Mexican businesses to the text, which he claimed to aid the illegal activities. These included but were not limited to the sale of firearms, hard drugs, and illegal immigration into the United States. The critics explained that Mexico was misusing its media freedom to criticize US actions, yet they are the people who needed liberation due to illegal immigration.

Lastly, the professional critics argued that the Mexican newspaper was biased and was always used as a weapon to attack other countries. The newspaper text was therefore geared towards causing wars and controversies between the two states. The critics were also keen to note the governmental influence on media houses. This sparked a heated war of words between the critics and fans of the newspaper. Therefore, the critics elevated the revered newspaper’s post to a national level and launched attacks on Mexico based on the ironic revelation.

Application of Adorno Mass Media Industry Theory

The two theorists, Horkheimer and Adorno, argue that “The mass media content produced must strive to appeal to all audiences”. It should not be biased in any way. The media must promote the popular culture of the industry to remain relevant in society (Klassen et al., 2018). The critics found out that the media text violated this requirement. They castigated it on the ground that it did not promote the culture of the industry or their social culture. They stated that the media manipulated the society in several ways which caused havoc between the two countries. Therefore, the newspaper violated the moral requirements of any media content as required.

Appreciation of Text

The Mexican fans widely praised the Mexican text. The fans claimed that the newspaper addressed their concerns against the United States overwhelmingly and effectively. The fans were keen to notice the United States government’s mistreatment through the controversial text. The audience interpreted the cartoon drawing where the United States police officers seemed to apply corporal punishment against the rebellious states. The fans also hailed the newspaper for condemning the September 11 attacks on Iraq with the hope that justice would be restored in the future for all states oppressed by the self-proclaimed superpower. This was a moment of media prominence since the text was widely read in Mexico.

Some of the overall reasons the fans appreciated the text included but were not limited to the efficient articulation of unjustified bans into the United States, negative impacts of the United States Iraq war, promotion of Mexicans’ human rights, and advocation of the Mexican border recognition. The text and cartoon were also praised for their artistic features of comparison. The text completely put the United States operations into bad limelight due to its cunning nature. The text effectively castigated the foreign government’s political oppressions and promoted their push and demand for justice. Therefore, the text was embraced for its bravery in demanding justice in all the states.

The newspaper’s fans were also excited by the high-level freedom of speech accorded or granted to the media. Communication was efficient in the country due to the availability of supporting rules. Notably, the Mexicans could address their grievances effectively through the media in the subsequent newspaper postings. The text was also praised since it addressed the issues affecting the two countries. The text was essential in castigating the bad reputation built by the United States citizens against the Mexicans. Before media freedom, the Mexicans were viewed as lawbreakers who did not have legal businesses. The United States always attributed money laundering, theft, drug smuggling, and illegal migrations to the Mexicans (Hignett, 2021, p305-p317). Therefore, the text was essential in alleviating the bad picture created against them.

Fiske’s Conception of Social Structuring

The Fiske theory of structuring human relations proposes four models of human interaction (Gallus et al., 2021).First is the relationship due to communal sharing. In this scenario, the Mexican fans were united because they had common problems in dealing with the US government. The second is human relations due to authority ranking. The critics were united against the inferior states of Mexico and Iraq due to their superpower ranking. They vowed to protect the recognition.

The third Fiske principle is the relations due to equality matters. The Mexicans were united to champion equal recognition of Mexico as a legal and favorable country. Lastly, Fiske states that “Human relations are engineered by market pricing”. The Mexicans were united to protect the value of their media and termed it to be the best in advocating for human justice and rights.

Relationship between Critics and Fans

The Mexican newspaper example demonstrates much more about the critics and fans of a media entity. The people will always praise the media content that supports their ideologies. Watson, 2021, p299-p315, observes that the fans tend to add more suggestions to the media print and advertise their services. This is seen in the case where the Mexicans appreciated the newspaper for championing their thoughts and fights against modern mistreatment by the United States government. In this case, they were fans.

On the other hand, the people will always oppose media houses and content that goes against or challenges their ideologies (La Pastina et al., 2005, p271-p288). For instance, in this case, the Americans were opposed to the submissions of the paper since they were against their superpower ideologies. The text would also suppress the rules against illegal migrations into the country. Therefore, they had to criticize the newspaper. The critics and fans, therefore, demand recognition of their needs and perspectives in every artistic media work. They will always be divided depending on whom the media posting favors and castigates.

Functions of Media

Social media embraces cultural and ethnic diversity. The media offers a fairground for all ethnic groups to champion and fight for their rights in society. The minority views are also aired and considered through the media (Song, 2018, p177-p194). Issues of racial discrimination are castigated through social media. This implies that social media advocates for all race inclusion in societal activities. Lastly, the media provides growth opportunities for all talent; hence, it is a source of employment in society. Therefore, the media is an important aspect of the community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Jornada text elucidated different reactions from Mexican fans and some American critics. These reactions showed the impact of media texts on society in communicating hardships. The text demonstrated that media is always on the frontline in promoting justice for all people. The communication tools such as newspapers and television in Mexico should be used to unite the people and accord justice to the oppressed (Zidani, 2021, p2378-p2402). We learn from this scenario that we should not be divided by the media in any case. Lastly, the media posts will always face opposition and appreciation in equal measure as suggested by this prompt.

Works Cited

Gallus, Jana, et al. “Relational incentives theory.” Psychological review (2021). https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-98409-001?doi=1

Hesmondhalgh, David. “Have digital communication technologies democratized the media industries?.” (2019): 101-120. https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/146712/1/Have%20Digital%20Technologies%20Democratised%20Media%20Production%20final%20accepted%20typescript.pdf

Hignett, Kelly. “Transnational organized crime and the global village.” The Routledge Handbook of Transnational Organized Crime. Routledge, 2021. 305-317. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003044703-22/transnational-organized-crime-global-village-kelly-hignett

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La Pastina, Antonio C., and Joseph D. Straubhaar. “Multiple proximities between television genres and audiences: The schism between telenovelas’ global distribution and local consumption.” Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands) 67.3 (2005): 271-288. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0016549205052231

Lovari, Alessandro, and Chiara Valentini. “Public sector communication and social media: Opportunities and limits of current policies, activities, and practices.” The Handbook of Public Sector Communication (2020): 315-328. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119263203.ch21

Rubin, Barry. “The United States and the Middle East.” Middle East Contemporary Survey. Routledge, 2021. 19-32. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429034411-5/united-states-middle-east-barry-rubin

Song, Xu. “Hollywood movies and China: Analysis of Hollywood globalization and relationship management in China’s cinema market.” Global Media and China 3.3 (2018): 177-194. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2059436418805538

Watson, Steven. “New Right 2.0: Teacher populism on social media in England.” British Educational Research Journal 47.2 (2021): 299-315. https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/berj.3664

Weinstein, Tania Islas. Politics in a House of Mirrors: Art, Nationalism, and Representation in Contemporary Mexico. Diss. The University of Chicago, 2019. https://search.proquest.com/openview/3d1fe09ffb7a8cd5677839095f19a6c5/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

Zidani, Sulafa. “Messy on the inside: internet memes as mapping tools of everyday life.” Information, Communication & Society 24.16 (2021): 2378-2402. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1974519?casa_token=EStgJcOt5rMAAAAA:eE9t3Ssog3s960yPBkmvBT79ehbkVeE4UTzU3u9Hoq1fXepzhzRR6vaZjw9HiPdbgK1qydXZMM0ci9z_PQ