The medium that I have chosen to exemplify media grammar literacy as defined by Meyrowitz draws to the ongoing clashes between civilians and law enforcement after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson. Depicted in a photo is a black child holding a “free hugs” sign, tears streaming down his face, while a police officer embraces him. Taken at a Portland, Oregon demonstration advocating for civilian rights and a stop to the subsequent violence after Brown’s death, the context of this photo touched the hearts of many and quickly went viral. The photo even warranted coverage by CNN, who reported after an interview that the police man noticed the young boy’s terror at his approach and the tears streaming down his face and proceeded to “break the ice by talking about life, travel, and summer vacations before asking for a hug (1)” to show that he meant no harm to him.
However after the photo began its viral spread across social media and content sharing sites, other reporting sites quickly began to debunk the photo as a fraud. Photos taken before the iconic moment heavily suggest that it was staged by the boy’s adoptive mother, who took the photo and was seen posing her son and encouraging him to approach the officer as a crowd gathered to watch the photos being taken (2). This evoked the argument that the boy was coerced into fabricating the emotional moment and has since caused outrage among members of the community for turning the efforts of a social movement into a photo op that severely marginalizes the true issues at hand.
This particular example is what I think of when Meyrowitz describes as grammar literacy in terms of the manipulation of aesthetic variables causing different impressions upon viewers. The framing of this photograph and the little context that it originated with evoked a positive reaction from its consumers. In terms of social roles, the original image established the police officer (and perhaps the view of police officers in general) as a compassionate protector shielding a young boy from any perceived harm — whether physically or symbolically. However, when we are introduced to to the true context of the photo and how its contents may have been staged or manipulated, that facade begins to come undone and our views change for the worse.
- http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/29/living/ferguson-protest-hug/
- http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/12/was-the-ferguson-protest-hug-photo-staged
jcp5283 says
This post is a very good example of media grammar literacy in action. The close-up visual of the police officer embracing the young boy allows for readers to feel the emotions of the moment. This photo also serves as a gateway for positive perceptions towards police officers after the incident that occurred in Ferguson, because it portrays the police officer as a kindhearted human-being. Before reading this post, I was not aware that the image received controversy regarding the events leading up to the hug. I would find it very surprising if the hug was actually manipulated or staged, because it would place different perceptions on the officer and the situation as a whole.
hsp5042 says
This post was very interesting to me especially since it just changed my view point on the picture you posted. I have seen that picture several times on the news and social media portrayed as it just being a police officer comforting the child, I had no idea until reading this post that there was controversy behind it as well. Media literacy as the power to manipulate how we see and interpret things and it did just that for me after learning it could have been potentially staged because I now question wether the emotions in this picture are genuine. Before reading this post I had one impression on this photo and now it has completely changed simply due to the fact of the way others interpreted it made me begin to wonder as well.