Takenaga !

Hallie Takenaga

Professor Brody

ENGL 301, session 2:30-3:45pm

11 February 2019

Racial Frames

People tend to peer through the confinements of a frame when discerning upon a

judgment, whether it be racially or politically influenced, people can not help but ascribe their

own biased opinion on the outcome. Harris’s and Carbado’s analysis on the media coverage of

the Hurricane Katrina images ascribed a racial controversy and inquiry on the cultural deficiency

placed in heed of black disadvantages. As shown within the text, the first picture shows a young

black man with a black trash bag and the second picture displays a white male and woman

carrying food supplies. It is the caption attached to the image that raises much speculation, the

first image labels the black man as “looting a grocery store” while the second image captures the

woman “finding food”. This grave bond between the caption and the participant(s within the

images has given rise to questions regarding the racial frames in which how people see others.

African Americans in particular are seen through the frames of law, order, and black criminality,

thus being seen as dangerous and threatening (Harris and Carbado 630). This negative

interpretation of African Americans within the frames of those unaffected by such stereotypes

mainly results from the analysis of the media. Nowadays the media accounts for the main

widespread account of information throughout the world and ultimately shapes the way in which

people view each other. The black man in the image is seen as more criminalistic due to the

reports and representation of African Americans within the media and therefore is more likely to
 Takenaga !2

be seen in the context of”looting” rather than supposedly finding food. This also applies to the

white male and female who are both not seen through negative frames constructed by the media

and are therefore more likely to be seen as “finding food”. Thus illustrating Holtzman’s and

Sharpe’s view on how media frames construct racially sculpted views in which leave the

opposing party strangulated in times of need. One prominent example centers around Charmaine

Neville who was raped by a group of men while waiting to be evacuated to obtain medical care,

in which she stated that if she had not been left behind, she would have not been assaulted

( Harris and Carbado 631). All people are influenced by the media and this includes law

enforcement in which readily ignored Neville’s reports on her assault showing that the media’s

constructed form of racially discriminating frames do in some degree influence decisions and

thoughts of those within the law enforcements altering their priorities. However, all this can be

overridden by just facts, since the captured photos were both taken by different photographers

from two different services. The photographer may have in fact seen the black man “looting” the

store or the white woman and man “finding food”, he/she might have different preference in

wording, overall the general picture without a caption could have been interpreted in many

different ways in which could debunk the whole controversy ( Harris and Carbado 622). Some

counter narratives include different frames such as the most dominant dealing with color

blindness where race is not seen as a factor in how people see others. And based upon this frame

people will treat others equally despite the differences seen, however this does not take into

account of how people view cultural aspects or behavioral aspects in which can cause frames to

shift unconsciously. Overall, people are all subject to their own influences whether it be the

media, family, or friends and it’s through these different frames that people derive their opinions.