Media Framing: Pop star gone crazy

Source of photo: 

http://lineout.thestranger.com/2007/04/carlys_britney_disease_dream

    Erupting images of disgrace and scandal, media framing easily takes the cake for getting away with unceasing bias. Framing is something that I have encountered an innumerable amount of times, and it is something I have thought about before I took this class. Framing seems to be used primarily for dismantling celebrity and political reputations: this is more prominent in media in terms of what is popular and what stays buzzing on the internet and in the news.  Brittany Spears is a fitting representation of how a celebrity can be framed in a negative light through the use of images and gossip.

    Framing is a routine practice used by different media sources to influence and skew the opinions of the public. As a result of attempts to maintain hegemony, according to Professor Straubhaar, it is used along with gate-keeping and agenda setting to keep the ideologies of society more consistent. Whether agreed with or not, norms are exercised and, for the most part, accepted virtually everywhere within a culture. Therefore, framing may be used by showing an image and taking the scene out of context with an opinionated headline or story tagged along with it. Such as the example in class with the woman and boy who either "found" a source of food or "stole" it, framing is under the discretion of those who have authority to publish what they choose. It is important to consider who decides what is published and shown, and why they chose what they chose. There is a great power behind the selection of what is considered newsworthy. If left unchallenged, it is evident that the state of race relations, politics and equality will remain unflinchingly unstable and unchanging.

    Rising to stardom at a young, impressionable age, Brittany Spears seized the world with her commercialized pop music and sexy schoolgirl look. Her image was thought to be innocent until her music videos came out, and she became increasingly famous. Through her portrayal in the media, particularly magazines, she is an apparent example of media framing. As one of the world's most recognizable celebrities, it is no surprise that her actions are chronicled. I remember seeing the images, that I posted above, when they began to spread like wildfire of Spears shaving her hair. These magazine covers help my understanding of media framing, because they are representing her as "crazy" for a simple, yet symbolic act. While it may have been a publicity stunt and I certainly have no way of knowing the truth, the lingo the editor's chose to surround her image is reflective of their supposed contempt for her.  It is considerably taboo in American culture for a woman to have a bald head, but it is important to see that it is automatically assumed that she is having a mental breakdown. Instead of perhaps hailing her for being rebellious or resisting the standards of beauty, she was instead labeled as falling apart and uncontrollable. Through this framing, she is consistently characterized as volatile while there is no way of knowing her true intentions.

    Media framing is habitually used to further an idea in a diverting way. Editors, presumably, will decide on what they want to expose and how they want it to be interpreted. Though more effortless to see as a negative concept, framing is an essential part of marketing and advertising. For example, Spears shaving her head would have been less significant if her status surrounding the event was held in a better light or if pictures of her had never gone mainstream in the first place. Media framing is important and the more it is exposed for being prejudiced the less ignorant the public will remain.