Analysis: The Black Lives Matter Movement

Beyoncé, a popular recording artist, released her new song “Formation,” drawing massive amounts of attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement originating in the African-American community. Members of the movement regularly organize protests following the deaths of innocent Black people and instances of racial profiling and racial inequality. The Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013 after the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen. A year later, the movement grew nationally after two men, Mike Brown and Eric Garner, were killed by police officers. The media has spread the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” giving communities the chance to understand the movement and gain knowledge

of what is happening across America. The media uses pathos and logos to evoke emotion and appeal to logic in television, music, and magazines.
Pathos is a quality that evokes emotion, and that is what Chris Rock did using humor. During the Oscars, Chris Rock used his eminence to speak of injustices happening in the world. Chris Rock used a plethora of jokes regarding racial issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement and the “Oscars so white” hashtag, using humor as a way to get his point across made his audience laugh and think about the jokes. In television, the Black Lives Matter movement is not taken very seriously. People tend to make jokes regarding it so people will laugh and not feel upset. Although speaking on it makes a person aware, using jokes make people take it in a joking manner. Rock said, "I thought about quitting. I thought about it real hard, but I realized they're going to have the Oscars anyway. They're not going to cancel the Oscars because I quit. And the last thing I need is to lose another job to Kevin Hart." The fact that the Oscars would have still went on without the support of prevalent Black actors was covered up by Chris Rock making a joke about Kevin Hart. Rock used crude humor because he knew it would leave a lasting impact on people and it would be discussed. Even though people took it as a joke at the moment, it was discussed again with all jokes aside making it a big step for making people more aware. Using humor brought up the topic lightly, then it evolved into something serious when discussed at later times.
Music is a prime way to let a voice be heard and persuade.

Songs are replayed often and are catchy, making the issues stick stronger. When using music, one has a prodigious voice and ability to portray a deeper message that could not be done by just speaking. In the song “White Privilege” by Macklemore, he uses logic and common sense to get his point across. Logos is a Greek word meaning logic. Logos is a literary device that can be defined as a statement, sentence or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing reason or logic. Macklemore uses his privilege to talk about the illogical counter to the Black Lives Matter movement, which is All Lives Matter. In his song, he says, “If there’s a subdivision and a house is on fire… the fire department wouldn't show up and put water on all the houses because all houses matter, they would show up and turn on their water on the house that was burning, because that's the one that needs it the most.” Macklemore uses this analogy in his song to get the point across that all lives do matter, however black lives are the ones in danger. After the song is played so often, people subconsciously remember the words and are persuaded by what the singer says, connecting it to real

life.
In magazines, the author uses emotions and interests to capture the reader’s attention.When writing, one can hide behind a pseudonym or the label of the magazine they write for, making it easier to express their opinion without backlash.

Writers are typically passionate in what they write, making pathos prevalent in their writing. Whether they are for or against the Black Lives Matter movement, the authors use words that appeal to emotions to persuade people to think their way or do something. In an article called “Black Lives Matter, Sometimes” written by Dolores Puterbaugh, the author uses words to make a person feel angry at the injustice. She states, “If black lives (really) mattered to the mainstream media, we would hear as much about the deaths of African-American teenagers and young adults as we do when something bad happens to a white person… The local pro football team's latest, predictable loss is on page one of the news section. A story about an innocent (brown or black) child dying in a drive-by shooting probably is in Section B, on page two or three--the smaller local section.” She uses words to make images come to mind and force a reaction. The reaction she is going for would be rage. She wants readers to feel outraged that a simple football game can get more coverage than a death. On the other side of the spectrum is an article entitled “The Rise of Black Lives Matter.” Sara Sidner, the author, appears to be neutral in the topic with a slight pull toward the

Black Lives Matter movement. Having a moderate stance will typically pull in more readers. If the opinions are too strong, then readers who do not agree will not read it. Sidner says, “Still, it is praised as much as it is criticized.” then continues to give both sides of the argument. By showing both sides, she draws readers to also look at both sides and persuade them into what she thinks by using bias. The authors persuade their audience in a subtle way with by appealing to their emotions.
Conclusively, using the media is an exceptional way to speak one’s mind and persuade. There are various types of medias to use depending on how the author would like to portray the topic. If one wants to speak their mind or wants someone to speak their mind, then an article is ideal. Deep topics and repetitiveness are characteristics of music. Lastly, television can be used to spread awareness to a large amount of people. Appealing to emotions draw people in and make them empathize, making it widely used in the media. Logos is used by providing facts and logic making it known that it is not just their opinion. In television, music, and magazines, pathos and logos are used to conjure emotion and promote logic.