Recently there have been two incidents in the media that have had implications for our society involving violence and bias

Violence & Bias in the Media

Recently there have been two incidents in the media that have had implications for our society involving violence and bias.

The first was videotaped and then aired on Youtube.com. The video showed two girls hitting and kicking a third girl. The news reported that the provocation was a boy-girl love triangle conflict. Various new organizations showed the vicious beating repeatedly, yet at the same time denounced the airing of the crime on Youtube.com for the masses to view. They reported that the girl was embarrassed and injured in the beating, and that much more damage was done to the girl when it aired on Youtube.com. One might think; what is the difference between the national news and Youtube.com if the national news rebroadcasts the beating over and over again? Could it be that news reporters contributed to the humiliation, hurt and embarrassment of the girl? Do the girls exhibiting the violence and bullying behavior feel validated when their video is replayed for all to see on national news? And when the media portrays this bulling behavior, what should the response of viewers be?

The second incident was a Snickers candy bar commercial aired on Super Bowl Sunday. One man starts eating his Snickers at the same time he’s under the hood fixing his car. While simultaneously holding and chewing the candy in his mouth, another man starts eating at the other end of the candy bar. They both gobble it as fast as they can until they come to the end of the Snickers. They quickly recoil away from each other and say, "I think we just kissed". They both agree to do something “manly” and they each rip hair from their chests. The first part of the commercial seemed funny, but then its’ end leaves the viewer with the definite message that Snickers is good, two men kissing is bad. The viewer is left to deduct that if two men kiss, they must be gay. The commercial implies that gay is bad and that you need to be “manly” to eat snickers. In some cultures men hold hands, kiss, and hug, so who are advertisers to constitute what is manly behavior and what is not? Are they to suggest to viewers that gay men aren’t manly? In further investigation of the ending of the commercial when the men in the commercial rip chunks of hair from their chest, one almost wonders, does Masterfoods condone violence? Do they believe violence inflicted upon yourself is manly if you are a man?

Both incidents exhibit bullying behavior. The first incident was more obvious than the second because of name-calling accompanied by violence. The second, an example of bias, less obvious, but bullying because the marketers of Snickers’ goal is to control thought by setting the barometer of what is manly behavior vs. what is gay behavior. With both incidents the same question could be asked. What should the response be from viewers who are concerned about how bullying behavior is represented in mass media? Should viewers hold the media responsible for homophobia, violence, bias, sexism, ageism and other “isms” forced upon us? What is particularly disturbing - when the Mars Company was challenged on this homophobic ending to their commercial, was backlash (which fortunately there has been). Ultimately, Masterfoods, Mars Inc., parent company of Snickers, under pressure, decided instead to pull the commercial from television altogether. It should also be noted that Masterfoods did so without acknowledging the role they played engaging in homophobic, bullying and bias behavior. Should viewers take a more active role when media spews images and words through the airways that many of us find offensive? We happen to know that some people have decided to stop buying Snickers’ candy bars, and have informed Masterfoods, Mars Inc. of their decision. But what is to be done about the two girls who beat the other because of the love triangle? Will someone tell them they shouldn’t videotape violence against others?

CRC in the interest of always creatively resolving the conflicts surrounding our lives, whether violence, bias, bullying behavior, or other conflicts, is interested in hearing your view. Dialogue and discussion are always positive means to respond to conflict. Please contact CRC at ccrc-nyack@aol.com