Media has become a mirror of the disconnected state of humanity. There is a saturation of current affair programs built on false ideologies that manipulate the Australian public. The media has power to create and enforce stereotypes; media in Australia promotes these stereotypes. News reporters and current affair programs are often perceived as the most factual; however, deliberate choices have been made regarding all aspects of a story’s construction. Aesthetic aspects including camera shots, music and language, influences the promotion of chosen perspectives while silencing others.

Media portrayal and reflections of Islam and Muslims perpetuate cultural stereotypes. There is an increasing trend of people associating all Muslims with terrorists …show more content…
By posting shockingly negative stories about teenage behavior the media is exacerbating this cycle. Although there are still teenagers who break the law, these incidents must be kept in perspective as they are in a relative minority. A current affair story titled “young rat bags,” portrays teenagers as troublemakers and out of control. Going further to state; “they have no respect for the law, the authorities, property or people” and that “this generation has no care factor.” The current affair program employs aesthetic features such as music, language and creative camera angles to convey the emotions the audience should feel about this behavior. For example, the music played while showing footage and images of teenage parties is upbeat and intense depicting both the teens and the parties they throw as violent and dangerous. Additionally, the following clip demonstrates how the use of close ups of biased interview subjects conveys a more dramatic message. The media is presenting false ideologies of teenage behavior and manipulating the Australian public to stereotype teenagers as out of control and dangerous. We are a society that replaces real news and facts with shock TV for entertainment. Furthermore, if society truly believes that this generation should become more respectful, we must start with respectful treatment of youth in the …show more content…
Stating “there’s a time and there’s a place for everything and an age care facility is not for refugees.” Current Affair uses techniques such as interviews from upset members of the community who appear to lack any sympathy for the circumstances of refugees, due to negative stereotypes that have been portrayed in the media. The program is constructed to stir xenophobic attitudes towards refugees amongst the audience, by appealing to Australian society’s protective instinct. The patrons of the aged care facility are depicted as weak and vulnerable, whereas the refugees are promoted as hostile and parasitic outsiders. When the viewer is presented with this less than flattering depiction of refugees, they associate it with the harmful stereotype of Muslims and refugees that currently saturates current affair programs, and accept the idea that they are dangerous invaders. The current affair program reports the belief that the move is a ‘money grab’ to support funding of the age care facility and quotes an individual saying, “there is other places that can house these people.” While the story overall was reasonably balanced in its coverage of the incident, the sheer inclusion of opinions reflecting cultural stereotypes without offering any editorial or commentary is irresponsible at best and allows for the propagation of