Culture Portfolio: Paris Metro News, Three Comments on the Vote Question, and Does Italy Have a Racism Problem?

For this assignment I have selected the text on Paris Metro News, Three comments on the vote question, and Does Italy have a racism problem? I have chosen these three texts particularly because it relates to the subject under study. All the texts correlate in the sense that it underlines the common topic of racism in the current society. According to these texts, racism has been perpetrated primarily based on biological features, appearance, cultural practices, customs, traditions, and, language.

1. Analysis

On the case of Paris Metro News, Chelsea fans we recorded to be stopping a black man from boarding a train. Video footage appears to show the Chelsea fans to be chanting We are racist, and that is the way we like it. Clearly, that is an act of racism as it can perpetuate racial hate among the affected social groups of people. Consequently, this action led to an investigation probe to establish the authenticity of the incident. Substantial evidence was obtained which found three fans of the London club. As a result, the club took the action of suspending the three individuals from their playground. Despite not speaking English, the victim noted that it was evident they were picking on him simply because of his skin color.

As we would expect, racism is usually perpetrated with reference to groups of a different ethnicity. Present in this case, the perpetrators pick on the victim based on his skin color. The incident cannot be mistaken for an act of prejudice basically because the incident was more associated with power. The perpetrators were perceived to be claiming power and superiority over the black man because they viewed him to be less superior and less deserving to use the same facilities as like the rest of the mainstream population. In view to the interests of this paper, we express this scenario as an apparent act of racism in the modern society.

Race-relations paradigm clearly comes to play in this scenario. This concept states that racism usually results when two groups are considered to face off in relations of superiority and inferiority. Contextualizing the Paris Metro event, the perpetrators seem to perceive themselves as the superior race and the black man as the inferior. As a result, they made attempts to stop the black man from boarding the same metro that they were in on just because of the mere fact that they perceived the black man to be lesser and should be boarding a different class of the train.

Underneath the iconic images, fashion, food. Art, and architecture which Italy is famous for, lies the ugly reality of racism. The ugly face of racism surfaced with the appointment of Italys first black Cabinet minister. This appointment was greeted by a host of racist comments from several political leaders in the country. Several members of the Northern League gave some very racist comments about the appointment of someone they regarded a Congolese monkey. By being in government for a long time, this party has passed some very strict laws on illegal immigration, that, in a way has legalized racism in a certain sense in the country (Martin, 2013).

The first-ever black minister was referred to as a Congolese monkey simply because of her skin color. The use of such a term to refer to an individual clearly highlights an event of racism. The events from this article clearly show acts of racism primarily based on an individuals biological features. The language and the words used in the texts make the entire scenario to be viewed as an act of racism. The study has shown that the choice of words and the language which an individual choose to use can be used to demonstrate the incident as an act of racism.

Acts of racism are also associated with power and the quest for superiority over other ethnic groups. The difference can be highlighted in several forms. The common trend which underlines this scenario is the thought that the appointed minister was not equal to others because of her origin. Origin model of racism is clearly brought out because the Northern League party viewed the appointed minister as a non-Italian and because of that did not deserve to be appointed in government. The origin model capitalizes on the origin of an individual, and from there, arguments can be made regarding their suitability of if they are racially fit to be included.

Three comments on the vote question. In this case, we shall take a critical discourse analysis of the political media text I am glad he takes the English pronunciation of Farage rather than the rather poncey foreign-sounding one that he seems to prefer. This statement is attributed to Prime Minister when he mocked Nigel Farage over his foreign-sounding name. The starting point of this discussion is by making the consideration of the rise of the English language in the world. The issue of English power has constructed an image of superiority over other languages and as a result, it is perceived to possess command over the other languages.

Linguistic imperialism is said to involve the transfer of a dominant language and some of its aspects to other individuals (Harmon and Wilson,2006, see reference). The transfer is usually done as an indication of transfer of power and more importantly the show of economic strength. The point that the English language has transformed rapidly and is associated with significant changes supports the idea that the speakers hold a high social standing. It is believed that the power of English is a reflection of power which is held by the speakers. For this reason, the Prime Minister thought it wise for Nigel to adopt the English pronunciation of his second name, Farage because that would make him seem to possess more power.

The case mentioned above is just but an illustration of situations where linguistic imperialism has aggressively and overtly be used and in the process seize control of others. The above statement is an indication of the ideologies which people hold. For example, the prime minister perceived the use English pronunciation as the most appropriate means of showing and commanding power (Wareing, 2004:12, see reference). The incident included social practices on a national scale which can be regarded as a cause for violent acts on a personal scale and can thus be construed to be racist.

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is one strategy which can be applied in a variety of analytical frameworks and models. One of the most significant roles that CDA plays is unraveling some hidden ideologies while also revealing the real identity of the social players. In the past and recent years, there have been scenarios where ideologies are conceived and adopted without the in-depth scrutiny of the authenticity of the ideology. The study has revealed that the use of CDA has enabled the public to widely unmask the ideologies which are meant to discriminate against the oppressed groups while presenting a positive image of the oppressing group. A clear example is the case of the Prime Minister. His statement appears to lack malice, but a closer and deeper analysis reveals an entrenched aspect of superiority. The supposed dominance comes from the fact that he regards English as the superior language as compared to other languages which he considers to be inferior.

Van Dijk (2008) points out that CDA can be used systematically reveal the cases of power abuse by hiding the role that the elite has played on the issue. When the negative consequences come out, the elite are not in any way associated with the incident. Critical Discourse Analysis achieves this through the process of nominalization which is more like any other scientific discourse. Through that systematic analysis, it is possible to highlight and reveal the hidden agendas in the ideologies brought to oppressed groups by the elite. At the same time, CDA reveals the role that was played by elite individuals.

Media discourse studies also help in scrutinizing the power present in the media. Media thrives on the power of language to play its designated role. For that reason, the media is in most cases prone to abuse because it can be used to pass messages of power abuse, dominance, and inequality. CDA goes beyond the issue of why and how, and through the cumulative methods, CDA can reproduce the highlights and traces of cultural and ideological meanings which are packaged in media messages. Various fields of language are crucial to the enactment of power and dominance. The media gives the best platform through which all these areas can be analyzed and established therefore scrutinizing and disclosing the power possessed by the various media platforms. It is through the process of CDA that it was possible to identify the hidden and malicious message present in the Prime Ministers message. Clearly, the message being passed was the fact that the English language is more superior to other languages in the world.

Critical Discourse Analysis also plays the fundamental role of showing the power and importance of text and talk in the transfer and reproduction of power and domination in the society (Van Dijk, 2011). CDA is no longer considered to be about the why and how of issues, it is also used to show the conception of texts and verbal talk. Furthermore, this approach encompasses the act of highlighting the nature and the context in which the communicative events took place. The very many varieties of subjects in the CDA seeks to highlight the functions and role of text and talk in everyday formal, informal, and institutional interaction. The incident at the Paris metro can be understood by analyzing the context in which the words were said. As established by the court, there was apparent malice on the words that were chanted by the Chelsea fans as it was clear demonstration of acts of racism.

The role of cognitive disorder analysis has evolved other time. It is no longer restricted to the analyzing the abstract structures of words, clauses or sentences. It has further been used to form the basis for gaining an integrated point of view of social and cultural issues as based on human communication models. CDA further stress the fact that human communication takes the form of natural language through the use of texts and talk. Through this realization, it becomes easier to study language and the various forms through which it can be placed in unlike the previous models which insisted on abstract word structure, clauses and sentences. Perhaps most fundamentally is the fact that the CDA creates a more coherent and contextually appropriate approach.

2. Reflection.

CDA plays a very critical role in understanding how language as a form of social practice. Notable, CDA is one approach which can be used to analyzed and reveal hidden messages which could be packaged in media messages. The perpetrators of the message can be easily revealed by the use of the CDA. The CDA approach can also be used to underline the role and power of the media. The media is a dominant tool when it comes to the delivery of messages. For this reason, it is prone to abuse from various parties who intend to deliver their messages using the media platform. I also noted that Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary strategy used to study the discourse that defines language as an imperative and common form of social practice. The knowledge and skills from this study are relevant in my study of culture and all the issues that relate to cultural practices.

One the other hand I hold criticism about this strategy. This is because the study presumes that individuals are active agents who actively and intentionally resist oppression. From reality, this is not always the case thus discrediting the CDA to some extent. Another assumption that the CDA has is that individuals are objects restricted to reproduction and reinvention of different forms of speech. Intentions ar...