Narrative framing-Jacob Swanson

In any situation there may exist more than one perspective. Comic framing and tragic framing are terms that seek to classify seemingly oppositional perspectives of a singular situation/ event/ person etc. In comic framing the perspective taken is typically a more optimistic view while tragic framing is a more damning perspective.

There is one situation example that immediately comes to mind, this is the case of State vs. Zimmerman, the George Zimmerman trial. Many of us undoubtedly are fairly knowledgeable about this particular court case so in the interest of time I will not go heavily into the actual case itself, but rather take a look at the ways comic or tragic framing may have showed Zimmerman.

Tragic framing certainly depicts a disturbed man who followed an unarmed kid at night and then ultimately ended up murdering him in cold blood. Comic framing however would take Zimmerman and say here is a guy who saw suspicious behavior from a hooded teenager at night and thought he should see what was going on, when he was suddenly attacked and Zimmerman had no choice but to shoot his attacker. These were certainly the two foundational arguments made at the trial in far more words of course.

There is no doubt in my mind that Zimmerman should have been found guilty of second degree murder in the shooting and killing of unarmed Trayvon Martin, but comic framing won this particular case. Zimmerman was found not guilty against what definitely seemed to be the publics opinion causing uproar. In the end comic framing outdid tragic framing

Counter Memory Example

One of my absolute favorite novel's is Herman Melville's masterpiece, Moby-Dick.
Linguistically, stylistically, and character-wise, it's pound for pound the most generous helping of literary genius I think I've ever read. It's also, though, tremendously long and difficult to go through, like a root canal.
For this reason, among others, upon publication contemporary critics almost universally panned it.

"Mr. Melville is evidently trying to ascertain how far the public will consent to be imposed upon," wrote one critic for the New York United States Magazine and Democratic Review. 

"Mr. Melville has to thank himself only if his horrors and his heroics are flung aside by the general reader, as so much trash belonging to the worst school of Bedlam literature — since he seems not so much unable to learn as disdainful of learning the craft of an artist," wrote another, Henry F. Chorley. 

All this and more they wrote in response to what has come to be known as the greatest American novel ever written. Melville, largely because of this kind of critical and public reception, was forced to make his living outside of writing, and worked as a customs officer for the last half of his life. 

This is an example of counter memory insofar as the public consciousness changed with regard to Melville, from having an overwhelmingly negative reaction to having now (at least among literary types of people) an overwhelmingly positive reaction. "Melville is a kind of God to me," said one of my English teachers. 

There is less an empirical truth about one's opinion about Melville than there is a social truth. Social truth now is that he is a truly great writer. Thank goodness that collective, public memory has righted itself and aligned itself on the right side of Melville! 

Counter Memory Example

Find and example of counter memory. What parts of the official memory are being contested and how is that being done?

Counter memory is defined as “a practice of memory formation that is social and political, one that runs counter to the official histories of governments, mainstream mass media, and the society of the spectacle. It involves memorialization-a collective practice of relearning-of forgotten, suppress, and excluded histories.”

News breaks all day, everyday; so it’s easy for us to get caught up in the moment and forget things that have happened in the past. Although, not all news stories are easily forgotten. For example, 9/11 will never be forgotten. We all remember where we were on that fateful day and can recite it for everyone to hear - because it’s made a lasting impact on all American citizens.

But what about other major news stories? Like the Boston Marathons bombings? Or what about the Sandy Hook shooting? We as a society tend to get caught up in the moment. We care about a specific news story for a while, but as soon as something bigger comes along, we put that event in the back of our memories.

Of course these news stories are important, and we’ll always remember them when the anniversaries come around, but who really thinks about them on a daily basis besides those who were personally affected? We don’t think about these events if we weren’t personally affected. It’s like it never even happens.

Another major news story that you never hear anyone talk about is the Steubenville High School rapes. In August of 2012, a high school girl, while under the influence of alcohol, was publicly sexually assaulted by her peers, many of whom posted it on social media. They posted the assaults on Facebook, Twitter, text messages and even recorded the acts on their phones. Two high school students were convicted in juvenile court for the rape of a minor.

When this case first came out, it cased a national conversation about rape and rape culture.One of the most controversial arguments came from a biased coverage from CNN. A CNN reporter stated that it was "Incredibly difficult, even for an outsider like me, to watch what happened as these two young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students, literally watched as they believed their lives fell apart...when that sentence came down, [Ma'lik] collapsed in the arms of his attorney...He said to him, 'My life is over. No one is going to want me now.’” Many Americans were outraged by this comment, because it’s hard for us to understand how someone could feel sympathy for a rapist.

The two teenagers were given their sentence almost a year ago exactly; and at the time it was all anyone would talk about. Now a days, no one ever mentions it. A few of my friends and I were just talking about this event the other day, and to be honest, I also completely forgot that it happened. It’s sad that something so prominent in our culture can be easily forgotten. Of course, this case will most likely come up with future rape cases, but it will never be as prominent in culture as it was last year.

Some memories will forever last in our minds, like the events of 9/11. However, memories that should make a lasting impact on us are just as easily forgotten.

9/11 Tragic Memory

What parts of the official memory are being contested and how is that being done? The world is a tricky place. Society has taught people to terminate conversation related to the past in order to heal deep wounds. At the same time, people are producing the risk of its repetition. Michel Foucault, a French philosopher, historian, social theorist and literary critic, defined counter memory as an individual's resistance against the official versions of historical continuity. When it comes to counter memory, one must remember who is involved, the context, and what it opposes. With certain memories, some past events are easily forgotten and others receive importance and worthy of memorizing. Some memories will become evident after disappearing for a period.

Remembering September 11th is an example of retrieving counter-memories as it's also an exercise in an act of remembrance of the lives lost. September 11th is a remembrance of the traumatic events of grief, compassion, responsibility, and a newfound respect for the power of mourning. People have memories of witnessing nationwide displays of politics and war.

People must contest the events of 9/11 in order to fully understand our nations stride of patriotism. Americans have the ability to engage more fully with memories and in order to have counter memories, we must reflect on the past events. We contest the events in a kind of public debate. We seem to push to provide a form of witnessing that refuses human rights violations and violation of civil liberties.

Collective Memory as a process - Gaby

A good example of collective memory being a process would be the hostage crisis of 1979 and 1980 that took place in Iran. For those of you who do not know much about this event, it was when Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981), after a group of Iranian students supporting the Iranian Revolution took over the US Embassy in Tehran. Following his overthrow, the Shah was allowed into the U.S. for medical treatment.

The Iranians wanted the United States to return the Shah to them for trial of the crimes committed by him during his reign on ordinary citizens with the help of his secret police, the SAVAK. The U.S did not comply with their demands, so they decided to overthrow the U.S embassy. The really cool thing about the whole scenario was that this whole time, the CIA was working to perform an emergency rescue of six U.S diplomats and us as civilians didn’t gain knowledge of this until years later.

On the day the hostages were seized, six American diplomats evaded capture and remained in hiding at the home of Canadian diplomat John Sheardown, under the protection of Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor. And even still after that, the in depth information of the entire operation was kept under wraps. Until about a year ago when a 2012 American political thriller film directed by Ben Affleck came to our theaters that finally gave us an inside and visual look into what really happened in Iran and what the CIA had to do to rescue to diplomats. The entire rescue was coded as “the Canadian Caper” and it involved a fake film crew going in to Iran to scouting for an appropriate location to shoot a scene for the nominal science-fiction film Argo.

The way that is event ties in with collective memory being a process and that it’s continuously unfolding is that yes, people knew about this event and that people were held hostage in Iran and then they were recued – end of story. Over the years, more and more information has developed and become available to the public and then eventually a movie was made about it and all of a sudden this was a HUGE thing. Everyone was talking about how clever and brave the CIA was and how helpful Canada was. But before, it was never really talked about. All of a sudden, our memory of this event or knowledge of this event was greatly expanded because of this movie and a lot of credit was given to the people involved even years and years later.

D-Day Rememorial Moment in History ----Amber Robinson

         On June 6, 1944 will be a day that will not be forgotten to many Americans, Soldiers, Family Members, and many others that day will be forever known as D-day. Over 9,000 American Soldiers lost their lives that day for doing what was right, what they were order to do, and being an American Soldier, so 100,000 soldiers could continue their march across Europe.
        That day was a living hell for everything that could possible go wrong that day, went wrong for those soldiers. Their many mission was to take over the beaches get control, so American Soldiers could get control of the English Channel and advance forward into Europe. There is one beach that I would like to focus on and that is Omaha Beach.

    
       The 29th Infantry Division joined forces with the 1st Infantry Division to take over the western side of the beach and secure the beach. First problem, that occur that day was the navigation having a huge impact of missing their targets that day. When, the soldiers landed on the beach they soon came to realize that they were walking into their death, for they were heavily outnumber and the defense was stronger than expected. When all said done the soldiers were able to take over the beach and more forward with their objective.
       "We will accept nothing less than full victory," is what was stated from President Eisenhower when D-day becoming an objective. I think this quote fits that situation on how certain day was seen through many peoples' eyes in the year 1944 and in the present day. Every soldier knew their was a strong chance of losing their lives, thus they were still willing to give it for the bigger picture, and that was to take one step forward to being closer to winning the war. By accepting nothing less than victory on June 6, 1944 allowed all allies to advance forward and shut down Hitler and Germany, if American soldiers did push through and over come all the odds it would most likely that Hitler would taken over.
        Today, as American think about the American Soldiers that were willing to go against all odds and give their lives for their country. We as Americans are reminded by D-day in every history textbook, the momentums that are built to remember the American Soldiers that have fallen that day. Most all for the freedom we are still able to have to do this day for their bravery, because they would not accept anything else than full victory.

Narrative Framing - Bryce Anderson

In our culture our language is barriered through narrative frames.  Kenneth Burke discussed two types of narrative frames in which individuals can view one situation in two different aspects.  Comic framing is where people are mistaken for their actions.  The second type of framing is tragic framing, where people are seen as viscous and evil.

In 2013 Gregory Kinsey was convicted for murdering two people with a machete.  It seems that an argument had erupted between the individuals and Gregory took the act of violence as a result.  Society viewed Gregory through a tragic frame saying that Gregory is evil and should be sentenced to life for his crime.  On the website NYDailyNews.com you can view comments posted from individuals who call Gregory a “psycho.”  You also see many people discussing that this individual should be “put down” for his crime.

Gregory’s mother later came out to the press to tell them that her son is misunderstood.   She said her son was a victim of bullying as a child and that he would often cut himself.  She mentioned that because her son was bullied throughout his life he carried a machete with him for protection.  This type of view is a comic frame, because she feels her son is misunderstood and it’s because he was bullied as a child which led to him killing these two people.

Gregory Kinsey’s crime is a perfect example of how there’s tragic framing and comic framing within one situation.  One group of people seen Gregory as evil and should be sentenced to life.  Another side of the story was that Gregory was bullied as a child which led him to protect himself.  Kenneth Burke’s two types of narrative frames helps us distinguish how and why people view a situation so differently.

Link to source:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mother-alleged-machete-killer-son-misunderstood-article-1.1386008

INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27th as the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and also as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this annual day of commemoration, the UN urges every member state to honor the victims of the Nazi era and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides. Produced by the Museum, this 38-minute film provides a concise overview of the Holocaust. It is intended to provoke reflection and discussion about the role of ordinary people, institutions, and nations between 1918 and 1945.

The Museum has partnered with the United Nations Outreach Programme to make the film available in all UN official languages.

For the 2014 commemoration, the Museum will host a candle-lighting ceremony at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 24, for Holocaust survivors, the Washington, DC, diplomatic community, and the general public in the Hall of Remembrance. Visitors also will be invited to read aloud the names of Holocaust victims in the Hall of Remembrance

From April 27 through May 4, the Museum will lead the United States in observing the Days of Remembrance, the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust. 

I believe that this is a part of Zelizer’s premise seven, The Universal / Particular which is composed of individual memories and shared universal stories.

Anika - Memory, Counter Memory, and Mythology.

Greek Mythology and Memory

Studying Greek Mythology is always an interesting endeavor, since the stories and legends tend to alter every few hundred years. Why, you ask? Well, just look at how Greek culture passed along its own true histories: memory and oration. Most of us have played the game “Telephone”, where you pass along a whispered phrase around a circle and when it gets to the person who started the phrase, that person then states the new and usually completely different phrase. This game usually involves less than 20 people, take this same concept and plug it into Greek history. Thousands of people were told stories and each one of them remembered different bits and changed other facts slightly; but hundreds of years in the future, all of these varied accounts of the same story are floating around and who can say what the original version was exactly. With just one story, an account would be so varied years later, but this society has their entire history of wars, famous people, orations and belief system to remember(not read and remember, just listening to the stories). No wonder there are so many versions of different myths. To add to the confusion, the Romans were oddly interested in adapting the Greek system of ‘religion’ to their own.  The result was quite complicated: each Roman god/goddess had a Greek counterpart with similar stories, but stories from both the Greeks and Romans. The Romans had developed their own religious traditions, themes, and ideas, but decided that they needed more stories and legends to add to the mix. Now an extra layer of confusion blankets the whole issue with new/same names, two different languages which adds translating errors, and different images/icons of each of these gods. No wonder there are so many versions of the classic myths.

                        Another interesting lens to view the idea of mythology and memory through is that of the film adaptations that have been done in the past decade or so. Troy, the 2004 movie starring Peter O’Toole, Eric Bana, Brad Pitt, Diane Kreuger, and Orlando Bloom, contains many historical inaccuracies, in terms of how it differs from both the Iliad and Odyssey and Aeneid. However, one could argue that no one really knows the truth about the Trojan War. Recent archeological digs have discovered remains of what they believe used to be “Troy” and there was evidence that a great battle was fought on the shores in front of the city in ~1250 BC. The other army is believed to be that of the Mycenaeans (the army headed by Menelaus). There are many other movies which base their storyline in Homer’s and Vergil’s works. One of my favorite adaptations that is not “obviously” descended from these myths is the film Winter’s Bone, starring Jennifer Lawrence. Winter’s Bone explores many themes similar to the ones found in Greek mythology, from Odysseus’ Odyssey to the voyage for the Golden Fleece as well as the issues found in the Orestia Trilogy. Ree, the main character, is left to take care of her invalid mother and siblings while her father has disappeared, having put up their home for his jail bond.  She must seek for her meth-cooking father in order to figure out what has happened in order to save her family from homelessness.  The inclusion of an underworld visit, secrets and unknown actions, journeys, xenia and hospitality expectations, the patriarchal society, and strong blood ties make this film akin to a modern myth.

            However, with the authorship of these epic works in question in the air, none of these adaptations or original works can truly be held up to light of true history. Since no one can prove that Homer actually wrote these works, it seems that the whole issue of memory and historical accuracy may be irrelevant. Perhaps the entire true history of the Greeks died with their society thousands of years ago. Might this same “blackout” of history happen with us, since everything is now on the internet? What would happen if future generations used a completely different system of communication? I suppose this only encourages us to communicate through stories, even if they are not completely accurate, so that future generations might have some interesting stories to pass along hundreds of years in the future.

            Memory. Can we bring it back as a form of communication and rhetoric?

Inaccurate Media Coverage As An Established Norm

 

 

Take one of the premises of collective memory offered by Zelizer and show how it works in digital/networked media.

Within Zelizer’s article, he stated that, “Forgetting reflects a choice to put aside, for whatever reason, what no longer matters. American journalists conveniently “forgot” about the problems that accompanied the coverage of Harvey Oswald’s murder, because they needed to do so in order to construct that coverage as a high point of television journalism. (Zelizer, 1992)”

 

In order to provide some background information on the situation, Lee Harvey Oswald was the accused killer of John F. Kennedy. After the shooting, he had been taken under police custody with inadequate security forces present. While under police custody, Jack Ruby had made his way through the crowd and managed to fatally injure Oswald by shooting him in the abdomen. This series of events was inaccurately portrayed in the media due to the competition amongst broadcasters to release their information first.

An archive from the National Archives (231) states that, "Consistent with its policy of allowing news representatives to remain within the working quarters of the Police and Courts Building, the police department made every effort to keep the press fully informed about the progress of the investigation. As a result, from Friday afternoon until after the killing of Oswald on Sunday, the press was able to publicize virtually all of the information about the case which had been gathered until that time. In the process, a great deal of misinformation was disseminated to a worldwide audience."

 

 

l believe that this often happens within the media’s portrayal of major events today as well. Mostly, rather than portraying accurate information about events, the media purposely emphasizes points within an event that will capture the public’s attention. A modern example of the media using this premise of collective memory would be during the Boston Bombing. In an article by USA today, it stated that during the Boston Bombing news coverage, "The New York Post, worshipped by some for its brilliant tabloid headlines but rarely regarded as a paragon of ethical journalism, has done a particularly wretched job covering the Boston massacre. It reported Monday that 12 people had died in the Boston bombing, four times as many as the actual total. Today, its front page features a photo of two men who might — might — have had something to do with the heinous crime."

 



This is just one of many countless examples of how the media conveniently "forgets" about problems in their coverage in order to achieve high publicity as Zelizer had stated in his article. Although accurate information is highly regarded and searched for, due to living in a technological world where information can travel worldwide by the click of a button, news broadcasters have felt pressure in competing to receive the most attention. Unfortunately, however, if they portray inaccurate information the broadcasting network instead suffers consequences and receives negative attention. Thus, up until this point of time this form of collective memory tends to have a negative impact on both digital and networked media.

     

Sources:

"Lee Harvey Oswald: Guilty or Not Guilty?" Lee Harvey Oswald: Guilty or Not Guilty? : The JFK Assassination. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

"Chapter 5." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Rieder, Rem. "On Boston Bombing, Media Are Wrong." USA Today. Gannett, 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

"HINTERGRUND: Auf Den Spuren Von Lee Harvey Oswald." Yahoo Nachrichten Deutschland. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lee_Harvey_Oswald_arrest_card_1963.jpg

Ross, Brian, Megan Chuchmach, Randy Kreider, and Rym Momtaz. "Times Square Was Next Stop for Accused Bombers, Mayor Says." ABC News. ABC News Network, 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.