Joan Didion
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Global Issues in the Media
Paper#1
9/26/10
Genocide
The dictionary defines Genocide as “the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group”. This definition is not based on a rate of death, although if genocide were to truly completed the numbers would be very large indeed. Through history it seems the human race has made several attempts at this atrocity yet has never truly completely exterminated any group.
“Hotel Rwanda” is a depiction of an attempted Genocide in Rwanda utilizing the true heroic story of “Paul Rusesabagina” a hotel manager who is thrown into the position of savior during this conflict.
The reaction of the people to media in this conflict is the targeted reaction; it incites people to rage and supplants seemingly legitimate reasoning. The Hutu led government planned this Genocide behind the back of their own president, assassinating him to further enrage the Hutu. When most Americans listen to the media they have many sources none of which are run by the government. Rwanda may be part of the Belgian colonies but the Hutu government has through superior numbers gained control of the media. All people are responsible for their own actions yet some like to hide behind their leadership to excuse them from infanticide, rape, murder and torture. Do we ever have the right to commit these acts? The foreign journalists in this film are forced to walk the line between their safety and the story not unlike the media in Iraq or Afghanistan. The reaction of the Europeans and the Americans that were in Rwanda was one of guilt and shame. The international media covered the event but did not get a decisive message to people so it became just another tragedy on the nightly news.
The role played by the radio in Rwanda served to discourage the responsibility for people’s actions, like Hitler’s speeches fueled hatred for the Jewish people. A way to encourage responsibility would be with the use of other...
Paper#1
9/26/10
Genocide
The dictionary defines Genocide as “the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group”. This definition is not based on a rate of death, although if genocide were to truly completed the numbers would be very large indeed. Through history it seems the human race has made several attempts at this atrocity yet has never truly completely exterminated any group.
“Hotel Rwanda” is a depiction of an attempted Genocide in Rwanda utilizing the true heroic story of “Paul Rusesabagina” a hotel manager who is thrown into the position of savior during this conflict.
The reaction of the people to media in this conflict is the targeted reaction; it incites people to rage and supplants seemingly legitimate reasoning. The Hutu led government planned this Genocide behind the back of their own president, assassinating him to further enrage the Hutu. When most Americans listen to the media they have many sources none of which are run by the government. Rwanda may be part of the Belgian colonies but the Hutu government has through superior numbers gained control of the media. All people are responsible for their own actions yet some like to hide behind their leadership to excuse them from infanticide, rape, murder and torture. Do we ever have the right to commit these acts? The foreign journalists in this film are forced to walk the line between their safety and the story not unlike the media in Iraq or Afghanistan. The reaction of the Europeans and the Americans that were in Rwanda was one of guilt and shame. The international media covered the event but did not get a decisive message to people so it became just another tragedy on the nightly news.
The role played by the radio in Rwanda served to discourage the responsibility for people’s actions, like Hitler’s speeches fueled hatred for the Jewish people. A way to encourage responsibility would be with the use of other...