Presentation of Muslims in Carol Sarler's Article Sunday People and Everlasting Love

Presentation of Muslims in Carol Sarler's Article Sunday People and Everlasting Love

I have recently studied two different media texts. I did this in an

effort to find out how Muslim people are sometimes treated and

presented in the British media.

The first piece that I studied was an article written by Carol Sarler

in the "Sunday People". The article's headline was "It's time we stood

up to these Muslim bullies".

The second piece that I studied was an episode of Casualty. This was

called "Everlasting Love" and was written by Barbara Machin.

Casualty is one of the BBC's flagship shows and is shown on a Saturday

night at 8 o'clock. The episode concerned was, in the

public's/audience's view, the best ever. When it was shown, it

received an audience of around 15 million, it's biggest ever.

First of all, I would like to discuss the audiences of both pieces.

Carol Sarler's article, having been on page 33 of the Sunday People

would not have had a very big audience. However small the audience

though, it was definitely aimed at the white community. I can see this

just by looking at the headline. The word "we" is used as if she

thinks there is only one culture in Britain, the white community.

I also think that this article is potentially very dangerous. If its

target audience (the white community) was to read it and believe

statements that are written, such as "mosques in public places

preaching the annihilation of infidels (that's you and me?)"

They would most likely be angered and therefore turn against the

Muslim community. It would cause unrest on the part of the target

audience. The minority audience, the Muslim commu...

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...a way that makes the reader believe it.

Casualty is also poorly written by Barbara Machin. She too cannot get

her facts right about the Muslim people.

The sister of the "bad-guy" in Casualty is called Lamisha. This name,

as a matter of fact, is not even a Muslim name! The Muslim people in

my class have never even heard the name or even associated the name

with Islam.

It's ironic isn't it? That this writer can write a whole story on a

Muslim family's problems, but then can't even get a name correct?!

I do think, overall, that these texts are very poorly and very weakly

written. I think that it is quite dangerous to write about and

criticise a culture when the writer doesn't even know the facts.

The two pieces can create a lot of fear in the Muslim community

because they both turn the majority against them.