Media Analysis

NEW MEDIA CRITICAL ANALYSIS
New Media Critical Analysis Paper

Kaitlin B. Bales
GWS 201
University of Kentucky
New media is used to portray many types of cultural messages involving race,
class, gender, and sexuality. This can be portrayed in positive or negative ways. Our
lives, society, and the media are all impacted by new media. Rape culture and domestic
violence are two topics I will be covering that have been flooding the media lately.
Rape culture, according to Everyday Feminism defines rape culture as cultural
practices (that, yes, we commonly engage in together as a society) that excuse or
otherwise tolerate sexual violence. the way that we collectively think about rape
situations in which sexual assault, rape, and general violence are ignored, trivialized,
normalized, or made into jokes. (Ridgeway, 2014. para. 1) They article then goes on to
list multiple examples of rape culture, from jokes, to internet memes, and catcalling.
Elite Daily, an online journal, posted a video taken from Youtube entitled Marines Need
to Stop Making Rape Jokes. In 2 minutes, Marine and editor in chief of Task and
Purpose, Brian Jones, attacked the rape culture women in the Marine Corps live in.
Task and Purpose is an online news and culture journal geared to American veterans
and soldiers. Its purpose is to make members of the service aware of issues they may
be oblivious to. In the video, Jones attacked the rape jokes men would make towards
their women in ranks and the surprising normality of it. In one instance, he describes
men taking pictures off of fellow women Marines Instagram accounts and posting it on a
public Instagram account with sexual innuendos and rape jokes. Although one would
assume the Marine Corps would never allow this, they consider this freedom of speech,
therefore making it a right of the men. However, these comments and jokes are truly
disgusting hate speech that continues the prevalence of a rape culture. Everyday
Feminism used rape jokes and those who defend rape jokes as perpetrators of rape
culture. Although somewhat indirectly, this would mean the Marine Corps, who
technically defend those who make the jokes instead of protecting those affected by
them, perpetrate rape culture. By not punishing the online users harassing women, this
gives the impression jokes like this are no big deal and minimize the pain and
embarrassment these women face.
Online jokes just scratch the surface of sexual harassment in the military. If you
google the phrase rape in the Marines, you will be hard pressed to find statistics.
However, you will find countless blogs and websites dedicated to women who have
been sexually harassed or raped in the service. The military has a quiet yet infamous
reputation for the lack of punishment, or lack of investigation, of rapes by men in the
service on women in the services. The Invisible War, a well-known documentary
currently featured on Netflix, gives countless stories and statistics of women stalked,
raped, and harassed while serving their country; with very few of them getting justice.
Rape culture is very rarely addressed in the service. Although programs and initiatives
have been taken to lower the frequency of sexual violence, rape culture is still prevailing
due to minimizing jokes and crude remarks.
Recently, a video was released of NFL Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice
assaulting his now-wife, Janay Palmer, in an elevator. The video showed Rice and his
fiancee at the time seemingly getting in a fight before getting on an elevator. Once the
doors had closed, Rice swung and knocked out Palmer. This situation got much
attention due to Rices high status and the video going viral, but most instances of
domestic and dating violence do not get addressed and are often never discovered until
it is too late. Palmer received immense criticism from all sides for marrying Rice after
the video was released and the abuse was discovered, leading to hashtag #WhyIStayed
and #WhyILeft on Twitter. The hashtag #WhyIStayed was also widely criticized,
however the users begged for people to understand and not to judge. User Beverly
Gooden said @bevtgooden: I had to plan my escape for months before I even had a
place to go and money for the bus to get there. #WhyIStayed. Another user, Allison
OConnor, tweeted: @yurhuckleberry: because i thought if i loved him enough he would
stop being abusive #whyistayed. because i knew he would kill me eventually #whyileft,
demonstrating the use of both hashtags. Thousands and thousands of heart-wrenching
and hopeful tweets were posted with these hashtags, hoping to promote dating and
domestic violence awareness.
In our reading, Images of Dating Violence in the Twilight Saga by Victoria E.
Collins and Dianne C. Carmody, the authors illustrate the immensity and frequency
primarily female teens and adults face when it comes to violence from a partner. The
media has developed a reputation of heavily influencing young minds with what they
see. Twilight, a book series released in 2005 quickly gained popularity with teens.
However, this series caused much controversy due to the unhealthy relationships
between the characters the plot focused on. The stalking and controlling aspects,
emotional abuse, and physical innuendos raised red flags with parents, who became
afraid it was sending the wrong message to their teens about relationships. Due to the
idea that media influenced children, many became worried young adults wouldn't be
able to identify the warning signs in an abusive relationship. When you are at an
impressionable age and a domestically violent relationship is portrayed to you as love, it
can be quite confusing to younger generations. This is why the media should start
portraying healthier relationships to curb dating and domestic violence.
In conclusion, the media and other outlets have a much larger affect on us than
we might realize. Even if it seems innocent, jokes, movies, and other factors can heavily
affect those around us.
6
References
Arata, E. (2014, September 2). This Veteran Perfectly Rips Apart The Military Rape
Culture In Under 2 Minutes (Video). Elite Daily, Retrieved from http://
elitedaily.com/news/ world/veteran-rips-apart-military-rape-culture-video/735783/
Dines, G. (1995). Images of Dating Violence in the Twilight Saga. In Gender, race, and
class in media: A text-reader (4th ed., pp. 354-365). Thousand Oaks, Calif.:
Sage.
Ridgeway, S. (2014, March 10). 25 Everyday Examples of Rape Culture. Everyday
Feminism, Retrieved from http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/03/examples-ofrape-culture/
Selden, A. (2014, September 9). #WhyIStayed: The Domestic Abuse Hashtag Everyone
Needs To Pay Attention To. Elite Daily, Retrieved from http:// elitedaily.com/
women/whyistayed-whyileft-hashtags-tell-womens-stories-surviving-domesticabuse/747455/

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NEW MEDIA CRITICAL ANALYSIS

New Media Critical Analysis Paper

NEW MEDIA CRITICAL ANALYSIS

NEW MEDIA CRITICAL ANALYSIS

NEW MEDIA CRITICAL ANALYSIS

NEW MEDIA CRITICAL ANALYSIS

NEW MEDIA CRITICAL ANALYSIS

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