E u p h e m i s m s
In our society, euphemisms are commonplace. The majority of euphemisms are used to convey thoughtfulness during a potentially sensitive time, like "passed away" instead of "died", or "downsizing" instead of "job cuts". However, euphemisms are also inherently dangerous, as they can "make it easier to shrug off the seriousness of the situation" (Kakutani). There is no greater modern example of this than the phrase "alternative facts" used by Kellyanne Conway in 2017 instead of demonstrable falsehoods.
After we read The Word Police in class, I happened to see this tweet on my timeline that I thought fit perfectly with what we discussed:
The full story is linked here: Story Link
I thought it was interesting how the actual article itself uses the right words: hero instead of shooter, and undressed man instead of stranger––while the person who tweeted the video(an anchor at the same station) clearly changed the language, and as a result, the meaning.
Unintentional or not, this example is clearly indicative of "Americans' puritanical zeal for reform and their unwavering faith in the talismanic power of words" (Kakutani). The choice of words for headlines and titles is especially important, because in the age of instant gratification on the internet, the majority of people don't take the time to read the article itself. In this case, whatever impression the reader takes from the title ends up as their summary and viewpoint on the situation. With regards to this tweet, "An undressed man walked into a 12-year-old girl's room wearing no pants. Her father shot the man 6 times. Listen to what this hero said about it." conveys a totally different message, although still not completely bias-free. And I think that is ultimately what's important: that we try to reduce the inherent bias found in our language, while keeping what makes sense (unlike "payola" instead of "blackmail").
After we read The Word Police in class, I happened to see this tweet on my timeline that I thought fit perfectly with what we discussed:
The full story is linked here: Story Link
I thought it was interesting how the actual article itself uses the right words: hero instead of shooter, and undressed man instead of stranger––while the person who tweeted the video(an anchor at the same station) clearly changed the language, and as a result, the meaning.
Unintentional or not, this example is clearly indicative of "Americans' puritanical zeal for reform and their unwavering faith in the talismanic power of words" (Kakutani). The choice of words for headlines and titles is especially important, because in the age of instant gratification on the internet, the majority of people don't take the time to read the article itself. In this case, whatever impression the reader takes from the title ends up as their summary and viewpoint on the situation. With regards to this tweet, "An undressed man walked into a 12-year-old girl's room wearing no pants. Her father shot the man 6 times. Listen to what this hero said about it." conveys a totally different message, although still not completely bias-free. And I think that is ultimately what's important: that we try to reduce the inherent bias found in our language, while keeping what makes sense (unlike "payola" instead of "blackmail").
Nice post, Amogh. I was originally going to talk about euphemisms but changed my topic at the last second, so it was nice to see someone write about it. It's interesting how changing the words (though still technically true) can change the narrative.
ReplyDeleteI like how you used a real life example so we could better connect with the point that you are trying to make. You really make a good point that the choice of words in a headline is important because many people these days are too busy to read the whole article which causes assumptions to form. Great Work!
ReplyDeleteI love how you link our class discussions to real events and apps such as twitter, it provides a new insight on the weight of what we are talking about in our safe 1st hour class.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Amogh! I love how you tend to relate what we do in class to current events that represent the very issues we discussed in class. It is a nice change of pace from the historical and older pieces that we tend to be analyzing.
ReplyDelete