Media Text Analysis #1

In a meme that we chose, there is a character from Star Trek, Captain Picard, is seen with his arm is stretched out and hand is palm up and fingers spread. There is another character in the back with his head slightly tilted and arms straight down.  The words written are “Why the f*** can you not just spit the damn word out?” His mouth is open like he is in mid-sentence. This is only what we visually see and what Fairclough’s model calls the text analysis (description). The process analysis (interpretation) is taking what we visually see and interpreting it for what it could mean. Seeing this meme, we feel it could be interpreted that overall he is frustrated and impatient. The curse words insinuate that he is yelling, angry and hostile. His hand gesture could be portrayed as dominating towards the person he is speaking to lacking patience and understanding. It generally seems like an offensive position. Using the social analysis (explanation) step, we will take the interpretation and explain what they means and how it relates to our oppressed group.  It is obvious that this is meant toward someone who has a stutter and is therefore an oppressive form of media towards those with speech impediments. Also, from what we interpret, there is a negative, frustrated feeling towards people who have a speech impediment, specifically ones that speak with a stutter.  This also shows that people assume that people with stutters are “stupid” and should be able to just say what they are thinking without hesitation.  By asking this question, people wrongly assume that they are purposely taking their own time or not “just spitting the word out.” In society, time is considered to be money so anything or anyone, in this matter, who is “wasting time” is just treated negatively. Overall, this perpetuates impatience within our society and discrimination against people who have no control over how they speak.