Constructing Crime

Americans have an inaccurate depiction of crime levels due to selective news coverage, crime
television, crime movies, and other media. This results in harsher punishments, longer sentences, more
police. and a misinformed population. Although studies show that there is a low chance of being the
victim of a crime, Americans seek to solve a non-existent problem. The media chooses to report
uncommon crimes and exaggerate minorities and young people as criminals. Studies show that the
media creates more fear of crime.

Reel Inequality
Hollywood is racially biased and discriminatory. White actors continuously win awards when
black and white nominees have the same quality. Some argue that the black actors aren’t as good as
white actors and do not deserve the awards. Judges choose their favorite black actors as long as the
actor plays a subservient role rather than a leadership role. Directors often only see the race of a
minority actor rather than their skills. Minority actors are continuously in supporting roles and/or
expected to follow the stereotype of their race.

Chosen topic: Constructing Crime

A topic that I would love to be covered is the current Israel Palestine War. While this is happing
prior to when this article was written, I am noticing a significant connection between news coverage on
Palestinians and coverage on black Americans. Since the US is the largest supporter of Israel, our news
sources are blatantly biased in favor of Israelis. Our popular news networks, such as CNN and FOX news,
portray Israelis as humans with personality, morals, and depth. On the other hand, when covering
Palestinians, our news describes them as immoral terrorists. The way they portray Palestinians is very
similar to how they portray minority groups in America. They create a narrative which dehumanizes the
group they don’t side with to suey their viewers’ opinion. While this propaganda worked prior to 9/11 as
the US intentionally destabilized the Arab community, these efforts aren’t nearly as effective today due
to social media.