Media Portrayal of Aboriginals in Australia - Essay Example

MEDIA PORTRAYAL OF ABORIGINALS IN AUSTRALIA Name Course No Date Summary In many parts of the world, the indigenous people are subjected to different forms of ill treatment and injustices. During the colonial periods for instance, several laws were formulated in various countries that served to alienate the indigenous people. In Australia for instance, the Aboriginals and the Torres Islanders have had a lot of difficulties coping with the negative effects of the colonial rules even in the recent times. They experience several injustices ranging from poor representation of their problems in the media to disruption of their peaceful co-existence by the government. Although the United Nations advocates for the protection of the rights of the indigenous people all over the world and the need for a decent living, these requirements still remain untapped in Australia, and the indigenous communities continue to face historical problems. One of the serious issues affecting the Aboriginals in Australia today is a negative perception by the media (Korihi & Rerekura 2015). The media is an important tool that can help in exposing the injustices experienced by the indigenous communities. However, In Australia, the media acts under the ideological consensus which shapes the kind of news that is produced and how it is produced. An investigation into the increased death rates of the Aboriginals while in custody in 1991 for instance, revealed the dissatisfaction of the Aboriginals with their portrayal by the media and called for the better understanding of the Aboriginal and Torres Islander issues by the media. Moreover, the media was called to develop policies regarding the presentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues. The presentation of the Port Arthur Massacre in the news was one of the important explanations of the negative perception of the indigenous people by the Australian media. The massacre, which involved the shooting and killing of 35 people by a gunman in cold blood, was termed by both the Sidney Morning Herald and the Australian as the worst massacre to evet hit the country despite the fact that the country always experienced issues of violence and killings. Furthermore, the Aboriginals had been killed in mass numbers in the past and these killings did not earn any attention from the media. The Port Arthur case also presented the issue of racism in the news. The event was termed the worst massacre to ever hit the country because it involved the death of Aboriginals, whose issues are thought to be insignificant. However, if the killing had involved the other Australians, the presentations in the news would have been totally different. Aboriginal issues are considered insignificant in Australia and many people would like to forget about them. The media still plays an important role in facilitating forgetfulness of these issues. The refusal by the government of Australia to apologize to the Aboriginals for the historical injustices experienced raises questions on the government recognition of these people and their rights with reference to the constitution and other laws of the country. However, as Roberts (2007) mentions, these issues fall in the best we forget category as portrayed by a cartoon in one of the Australian newspapers. Although the history of Australia facilitates the praising of the Anglo-Australians and their portrayal as the dominant race in the country, is serves as an injustice to the other communities living within the country such as the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginals. The negative portrayal by the media further worsen the situation, further aggravating the already bad situation of the indigenous communities caused by historical injustices. First Thoughts The issues of negative portrayal of the indigenous people by the media in Australia dates back to the 19th Century in Western Australia when land titles were being issued to the Australians by the government. These government systems, however discriminated against the Aboriginals denying them the possession of their lands where they had stayed for several years. These discriminations resulted in protests which sometimes became violent. These protests led to the increase in the number of Aboriginals in the Australian prisons where they died in mass numbers, increase arrest of the Aboriginals in hotels and in their homes and their negative portrayal in the media. As a sociology student interested in the issues of the Aboriginals in Australia, I have read a lot of works of literature concerning the media portrayal of this group of people. As I have read in these books, the Australian media does not cover the issues affecting the Aboriginals with the depth they deserve (Roberts 2009). Although the national newspapers in the country such as the Sidney Herald cover a range of issues such as health, my readings revealed that many of these newspapers do not cover the issues related with the Aboriginals. The Australian newspapers such as the Sidney Herald and the Australian, are more concern with the issues affecting the Anglo-Australians rather than the issues of the natives. Moreover, sensitive issues such as the Aboriginal deaths and massacres resulting from various injustices perpetrated against them. My readings also revealed that one of the common problems resulting in negative or lack of coverage of the Aboriginal issues in Australia is the fact that the media houses in the country are not independent and are commonly used by the government to promote social injustices against the Aboriginals while portraying them as inhumane. Stoneham (2014) reveals that many of the environmentalists and the police know that the media should be used. The author further gives a revelation of the racial discrimination in the media is not perpetrated by the individual journalists but the institutions they work for. The author noes that these stereotypes are the consequences of the news values, the routines of gathering news as well as the editorial policies governing the production of the news. Reflection on Changes on the Topic The representation of the Australian Aboriginals as not changed much in the recent years. According to Garetto (2011), the television in Australia still uses the Aboriginalism stereotype while referring to the Aboriginals. Many of the television stations in the country depict the Aboriginal culture as primitive and does not match the modern standards. It is because of this stereotyping that the Anglo- Australians still have negative feelings about the Aboriginals and consider them unworthy. Today, it is still rare to see the Aboriginals in the commercial television programs. This leads to the perception that there is the lack of cultural inclusivity in the media, making it difficult for the Australians to depart from the historical norms such as cultural stereotyping. The author further states that the media depicts the Aboriginals as the same and have an equal understanding of one another despite their cultural variations, sexual orientation, gender and history. In the cases where the indigenous people are allowed to participate in the television program shows, they are commonly depicted negatively. Rarely do the television programs depict the Australian Aboriginals as good people who deserve a chance to co-exist peacefully with the others. Rather, the Aboriginals and their culture are seen as traditional and lack a place in the modern standards of living. Changes of Worldview Learning about the plight of the Aboriginal communities in Australia with regards to coverage by the media has made me realize that the media can be used to promote impunity. From the readings, it is clear that the media stations in Australia are being used by the government in portraying the Aboriginals as a backward community that should be eliminated. The Australian media, both print and electronic have participated wholly in the negative representation of the Aboriginals, causing them pain and suffering (The Wire 2015). From the readings in this unit, I have learnt that the Aboriginals are human and deserve being treated with a lot of dignity, just like the other communities in the country. Secondly, I have learnt that the cultural affiliations and the races of people should not be used as discriminatory factors against them. The discrimination of the Aboriginals in Australia due to their culture and race has caused them a lot of pain, following the massacres that have been successfully planned against them. Moreover, discrimination has caused them their ancestral lands, making them suffer because they are the minority groups. The United Nations advocates for the fair treatment of the Aboriginals and other indigenous people all over the world. Like the other communities, the Australian Aboriginals should be treated fairly as a way of promoting their co-existence with the other communities. Original Perspective of the Topic Originally, going through the headlines of many of the tabloids and the Australian national newspapers, I thought that the media investigated these issues thoroughly and were genuine in their stories concerning the Aboriginals. However, after taking the sociology class and becoming interested particularly in the issues concerning the Aboriginals, I learn that the Australian media was not independent and was constantly being used by the police and the government to depict the Aboriginals as unworthy. This stereotyping against the Aboriginals began during the colonial periods and the perception has not changed to date. The situation persists because discrimination against the Aboriginals in Australia is considered a norm. References Garetto, J, 2011, How TV makes us think all indigenous people are the same, Available from; http://www.larrikinpost.com/how-tv-makes-us-think-all-indigenous-people-are-the-same. (Accessed 5th May 2017). Korihi, T, M &Rerekura, E, 2015, Australian media "ignore" Aboriginal plight, Available from http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/270897/australian-media-ignore-aboriginal-plight. (Accessed 5tht May 2017). Roberts, J, 2007, Analysis of the representation of Indigenous Australians in mainstream print media: An exploration centered on the social determinants of health, A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Health Science (Hons). Roberts, J, 2009, Analysis of the representation of Indigenous Australians in mainstream print media: An exploration centered on the social determinants of health, Australian Policy Online. Stoneham, J, 2014, The Portrayal of Indigenous Health in Selected Australian Media, The International Indigenous Policy Journal, Vol 5, Issue 1. The Wire, 2015, Media portrayal of Indigenous people overwhelmingly negative, Available from; http://thewire.org.au/story/media-portrayal-of-indigenous-people-overwhelmingly-negative/. (Accessed 5th May 2017). Read More