Computers as Journalists? NO, thanks.

There's this company, Narrative Science, and they specialize in creating computer generated narratives, articles, etc. With the help of the Northwestern University school of Journalism, they have been having computers write data-driven articles for Forbes and other media outlets. Whaaaaaaaaat?! A computer writing articles? This is crazy. But apparently, you can hardly tell when you read it. The Chief Product Officer at Forbes, Lewis DVorkin, says that it's actually been helpful to the journalists because they can focus on other things that they would rather write and let the computers do the other,  more data focused stuff. He says they attach the story arcs to the data, and they merge, creating a well written story.

The company has perfected the algorithms for finance and sports score stories, but here's the thing. What about human interest stories? A computer can be super smart and organize data into a written story, which is actually pretty cool. But a computer can't pick up on human interaction and be able to tell a story as eloquently as a writer, you know, someone who dedicated their life to observing humans and documenting it. I just don't buy it. But according to the co-founder of Narrative Science, Kristian Hammond, computers are projected to write 90% of news in the next 15 years. So people are freaking out because that means no more journalist jobs.
As gatekeepers to the media, human journalists can sometimes fail in being completely objective. They shape the way we see the world, and what's going on in it, but it's impossible to write about everything, so not all the important things are covered. But news outlets strategically plan what they will and won't cover, and how. I guess the computers could be helpful, in covering sections of the news, because humans simply can't do everything, and users can even customize the tone of the articles, from "breathless financial reporter to dry analyst". Narrative Science has also figured out that it could be helpful in analyzing huge data information. So if you are trying to look at hundreds of pages of spreadsheets, the computer can go through it and summarize it for you in a written paragraph. That's pretty cool. But as far as writing journalistic stories, I don't like it, even if you can customize it.
The algorithm learns from other published articles, and figures out the important aspects to include. But I worry that news stories will become cookie cutter, with no individuality, so that everything we read will be pretty much the exact same format and tone. Humans integrate their individual tone and sometimes personality in their writing, and it's enjoyable. Computers don't have experiences, and experiences are what shape us as humans. I also worry that, since the computers look at other articles and learn, they will continue to perpetuate the same issues with the media that we already have, rather than learning from it and changing it, because it learns and bases itself off of it instead. So since the media disproportionately shows Brown and Black faces when talking about welfare, crime, and poverty, wouldn't the computer do the same? I think we need more human journalists that are aware of these issues and doing what they can to change it, rather than a computer continuing to perpetuate prevalent stereotypes in the media.

Bill O'Reilly and White Privilege

            Racial privilege is the unearned benefits and entitlements that accrue to members of the racially dominant group. I am part of that dominant group. I am white and therefore my whiteness grants me privileges that are not really mine to claim. They are given to me just because I’m white. But are white people really the majority of this world? Or do we just like to think we are? How does one group of people have so much power over other groups? There are many systems in the United States that are rooted in racism and thus protect the status quo. Privilege allows for power, and such power is used to marginalize groups of people. 

            According to Bill O'Reilly, White privilege does not exist. On an episode of Talking Points he claims that "African-Americans have a much harder time succeeding in our society" because of education, not race. He backs up his claims with statistics stating that Asian Americans earn the most money and have the smallest unemployment rate because they have, "stable homes and an emphasis on education." He also argues that Asians have the highest graduation rate while Blacks have the lowest. He argues that because Asian American households tend to stay together more than Black families, and because of the push for education, that Asians succeed more than anyone, and he wonders if there is actually an Asian American privilege. All he is doing is perpetuating the Model Minority stereotype that Asians must be the better minority because they have assimilated and are submissive and successful. They don't cause trouble like the Black folks, trying to take our rights away. This line of thinking is racist and ignorant. He completely negates the long history of segregation (that was separate but definitely not equal) in the education system in the U.S. not to mention the history of structural and institutional inequalities that have marginalized people of color since the "discovery" of this country. 

"Instead of preaching a cultural revolution, the leadership provides excuses for failure. The race hustlers blame white privilege, and unfair society, a terrible country. So the message is, it's not your fault if you abandon your children, if you become a substance abuser, if you are a criminal. No, it's not your fault; it's society's fault."

          He basically argues the fallacy of the American Dream. Anyone can achieve anything in the United States as long as they try hard enough. And if they're poor, and in jail, it certainly has nothing to do with how the corrupt justice system or any historical implications, it's only because you haven't tried hard enough.  But the reality is that the American Dream does not apply to everyone, it's not even a real thing. The fact that Bill O'Reilly doesn't realize he has privilege is just an example of his privilege. He doesn't have to think about it because he's not affected by the lack of white people in the media and in power positions because, oh wait, he's one of them. No one ever tells him that he's quite articulate, for a white man.  He argues that personal responsibility and cultural change are needed, and that the federal government can't fix it. He just doesn't get it, and he makes these ignorant statements on national television, which do not help anyone.

Family Guy and Stereotypes

Shows like Family Guy, South Park, American Dad, and The Simpsons have grown in popularity in the past decade or so. As for me, I don’t really enjoy watching any of them, but I will occasionally watch Family Guy if there’s nothing else on TV. However, such shows are excellent for analyzing the media.

I flipped the channel to Family Guy the other day. This particular episode featured an elderly homosexual male character named Mr. Herbert. In learning more about the character, I discovered his nickname is “Herbert the Pervert.” He has a very high, raspy voice. It’s actually somewhat creepy. He seems to be middle class, living in a house by himself, uses a walker, and almost always wearing just a bathrobe. He also has a “crush” on Chris, the teenage son of the Griffin family. In this episode, Chris’ parents want him to find a new hobby, so after Peter tries to unsuccessfully introduce him to stamp collecting and drinking, Chris discovers a puppet shop and becomes friends with the elderly German man that owns it. Mr. Herbert tries to help and warn Chris that the man is actually a Nazi and he should stay away from him, but Chris doesn’t listen, pointing out when Mr. Herbert tried to help him by having him clean the pool with his shirt off, wash his car in jean shorts and bend over in front of him to clean the rug. He then states that Mr. Herbert is only about free labor. This shows that Chris doesn’t see Mr. Herbert as a “pervert” as he is insinuated to be, by the show. But by listing such jobs he has had Chris do, tells the audience that Chris is too naïve to see what is really going on and that Mr. Herbert really is a pervert who preys on Chris.

This kind of representation is very stereotypical and homophobic. Mr. Herbert’s high-pitched voice and “feminine” qualities represent him as the stereotypical “swishy” gay man. This makes audiences think that all gay men are super flamboyant and no other representations are plausible. If that stereotype wasn’t bad enough, Family Guy goes even further, giving Mr. Herbert the predator stereotype as a gay man pedophile. The way he acts around Chris and treats him, by making inappropriate sexual comments could very well be classified as sexual harassment. No, scratch that, It's definitely harassment. Every time Chris leaves, Mr. Herbert’s comments become even more aggressive and sometimes almost like he wants to hurt Chris. He squints his eyes and his voice gets harsher, saying things like, “Get your fat ass back here,” and, “Please, I just want to smell his hat, that’s all I want,” then suddenly when the wind blows Chris’ hat off and into Mr. Herbert’s hands he sniffs it he says, “Now I need more.” Another example is when Mr. Herbert was talking to some kids including Chris, that were fighting with each other and he says, “We can settle this like reasonable and sexy teenagers. Whoever can swallow the most Tylenol p.m. wins,” insinuating that Mr. Herbert wants all the young boys to be unconscious in his presence.

These stereotypes have been around since the early 1970’s, when the first few representations of gay men even surfaced. A lot of the early representations were horror movies or thrillers, where the psychotic killer was a gay man, telling the audiences that gay men are bad and will probably kill you because they are pedophiles. Other early representations were gay men depicted as extremely feminine, or that all gay men had AIDS. This is the first step in perception, Selection. Watching shows like Family Guy and most media begin to shape the public's perception. We see things in the media, we organize them in our minds based on the ways they are represented, like appearance, social positions and behavior. We relate to what we see, and it becomes meaningful. Then we organize the meanings and interpret them according to what we have been socialized to see. These representations and stereotypes shaped the public’s views on homosexuality, making them think it was something to fear. This has affected society negatively, especially since these stereotypes are still around. People have feared queer people because of these representations, allowing them to be dehumanized, and therefore being able to strip their rights, not allowing them to get married, taking away opportunities because of discrimination in the work force, and thinking it’s okay to treat queer people like dirt simply because they don’t fit into their hetero-normative sexist roles that they have been socialized to believe is the only way to live in this world.     

Fighting the hegemony with love

As I nonchalantly scrolled through my Facebook feed, looking for something to pique my interest, I came across a compelling article featured in the Huffington Post by author, columnist and blogger, Shawn Burcaw. The title, "Laughing at My Nightmare: Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse" grabbed my attention immediately.  Shawn, 22, is living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and has been in a wheelchair since the age of two. In the post, he talks about a night he went out for dinner with his girlfriend. Someone came up to their table, complementing his work, and then asked if Shawn's girlfriend was his sister. Shawn explains that they are used to such things, and have witty comebacks prepared like, "He's my dad" or "I pay her to be my friend". If you saw two youngsters out for a nice meal, wouldn't you think they were on a date? The wheelchair, obscures such a thought. 

"The mindset that causes a stranger to automatically assume that any female in my presence is my nurse, or family, is one that ignores the reality that people with disabilities can and do have "normal" romantic relationships. I place normal in quotations because I'm not sure there is such a thing when it comes to Iove." 

He's completely correct. Such an ideology (system of meaning that defines and explains the world) ignores the reality and normalizes certain social relations, ultimately serving the status quo and the hegemony (the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group). It's all about power relations, but the hegemonic (middle class, heterosexual, white, male, able-bodied, Christian) ideology becomes a staple as the dominant group view becomes the worldview that is accepted and seen as the "norm", and is often perpetuated in the media. Therefore, the public doesn't see someone in a wheelchair as "normal" because they hardly ever see them on TV or in movies in romantic relationships, so they wouldn't think that the person with them is their partner, because the hegemonic mass media avoids the unpopular and unconventional. The show "Friday Night Lights" follows the ups and downs of a Texas high school football team. One of the main characters is Jason Street. He was the best player and the top ranked quarter back in the nation. But in his senior year on the first game, he tackles a defender in a game-winning play, and severely injures his spinal cord, making him paralyzed from the waist down. But here's the thing about how his story line was portrayed: it's not all about his impairment. Of course it is a part of his story, but it's not the entire story. While he is in the hospital, his girlfriend, Lyla cheats on him with his best friend Tim. He finds out, leaves her and punches his friend. Eventually they get back together, but this time he cheats on her. Now if you ask me, this sounds like a pretty "typical" high school love triangle storyline. The only thing out of the "norm" is that Jason is paralyzed. He still has romantic relationships, he plays rugby, he works, he helps coach, he even eventually has a baby. So, what even is "normal"? The idea of the "norm" is socially constructed through the hegemony. If someone is not educated in Ethnic or gender studies, or doesn't have a personal relationship with someone with an impairment, they  wouldn't necessarily know this because they are most likely seeing the world through a hegemonized view. There needs to be more visibility of non-able bodied people in the media, and they need to be portrayed in various relationships, classes, ages, genders, sexual orientations and different situations because everyone and I do mean everyone has multiple facets to their individuality. No one is one-dimensional, and no one can be or should be defined by one aspect of themselves, because people are not their disabilities.