Following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, photos of him as a child were released. These photos hearken back to the death of Emmett Till in that they both show smiling happy young boys. The kairos employed by releasing photos of Trayvon Martin wearing a hooded sweatshirt were meant to oppose the claims of the accuser George Zimmerman, that Trayvon Martin had challenged him in a physical altercation. This photo was heavily circulated as news outlets replayed Zimmerman's 911 call. The prevalence of the analyzed photo in the media as opposed to photos like this or this, made Trayvon Martin's innocence valid. The photo was also able to spark discussions about racial tensions in America. The photo of Martin, sprawled on his back on the floor was accidentally released during the trial. This photo was shown on news outlets like MSNBC and it further tugged at the heart strings of those who felt that Trayvon Martin was innocent. This "death photo" came out in the midst of the George Zimmerman trial and so it was able to polarize many peoples opinions on the events that led up to the murder. The photos were not released at the same time. Though the second photo was accidental, it aided in making the point that Trayvon Martin was another victim to racism. His lifeless body compared to his young and alive body provide stark contrasts to the late Trayvon Martin. Had the photos been released today, instead of in the midst of the murder investigation, they would certainly have stirred less controversy. There have already been other young black men killed due to racism so the photos might not seen as, individually powerful as their are now. The latest victim, Michael Brown might still have taken the spotlight on the topic of racial discrimination.
-Lindsey Wright
Very good analysis of kairos and how timeliness affected the reaction to the photo releases. After reading this analysis, I couldn't help but think of how current newscasts use pictures of victims to portray attitudes that are not expressed with words. For example, the screening of a mugshot as opposed to a smiling portrait works to instill different opinions in the eyes of the audience. The Trayvon Martin case is a perfect example of this!
ReplyDelete~Greg Fiola
It was great to see you bring up Mike Brown at the end. I wonder if a comparison between the reactions of the communities of Till, Martin, and Brown would help further the discussion of kairos? I don't remember any Ferguson-scale protests happening after the death of Trayvon Martin, but I might have been completely unaware of what was going on at the time.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the pictures you chose of Trayvon Martin remind me of the #iftheygunnedmedown movement that's been going around social media. Personally, I found that #iftheygunnedmedown emphasized the severity of the racial bias in mainstream media to a degree that I hadn't been seeing before.
- Hayley A.