The Rhetoric in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev News Reporting
Stories about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been in the media for quite a while. The stories about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev began with the revelation that he was the mastermind of the Boston bombing on 15th April 2013. On several occasions, the print and online media have explored Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from different angles. In fact, much of the revelations about the suspect have been of admiration and adoration. The essay explores the rhetoric in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev news reporting.
The rhetoric on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is because he is young and handsome. Tsarnaev’s handsomeness and youthfulness seem to have driven the news article writers to develop positive attitude towards him. Janet Reitman kin her article “Jahar’s World” described Tsarnaev as young and belonged in the same age group as the readers of the Rolling Stone. Reitman’s article went deeper to describe Tsarnaev’s childhood life and the positive outlook the society had towards. As such, the reader gets a sense of a good child gone evil. Besides that, the article makes the reader believe that Tsarnaev’s bombing activities are product of his innocence.
At the same time, Bloom, in “Feeling Sorry for Tsarnaev,” wanted readers to develop empathy towards the Tsarnaev. This is in spite of the fact that Tsarnaev is a terrorist. Other new article writers such as Allen and Polizzi reported the growing pro-Tsarnaev movement. Much of supporters felt that he was innocent and should not be in jail. Nonetheless, the love for Tsarnaev is based entirely on his white color, good-looking and innocent face. The society is in disbelief that such a young and innocent-looking man could be a killer. Much of the support for Tsarnaev’s release came from women who believed that the FBI and other security agencies had fabricated evidence in their “conspiracy theories” to link Tsarnaev to the crime scene (Polizzi, para. 3).
The continued media coverage of Tsarnaev’s story enhanced favorable attitude towards Tsarnaev. According to Anastasio the media has a role in creating “public opinion” regarding any matter (152). In this context, the news articles painted a good image of Tsarnaev thereby generative positive public opinion about him. This is evident in the reporting of the 9/11 incident where the media refered to the perpetrators as “evil” and posted images of fire billowing from the buildings (Barron, para. 6). In the reporting of Tsarnaev, the media posted his good-looking photos accompanied by kind headlines. The media reports indicate that many young women have fallen in love with beautiful terror suspects. For example, Giove and underscores the fact that young women had fallen in love with Tsarnaev because he is young. One can make the same observation in “Columbiner” saga where many young women were in love with the killer suspect (Monroe). Nonetheless, one has to appreciate the fact that both Columbiner and Tsarnaev are young and handsome. As such, the media acted as a glass through which the public made their decisions on whether to support or denounce Tsarnaev (Zhao 387). Nonetheless, the positive media publicity has made individuals to change their feelings towards Tsarnaev. This is because the young man’s good-looking features influenced the opinion of the news article writers. As such, most writers searched for positive stories about Starwave, which were not limited to young women falling in love with him and his purported innocence.
In conclusion, the rhetoric in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev-related news reporting relies on the cultural and social constructs of innocence and love. Tsarnaev has an innocent-looking face and he is young. He is also white. Most of the individuals who supported the notion that Tsarnaev acquired their positive attitudes from his appearance. The media capitalized on the society love for fairness and beauty/handsomeness to create news stories.
Works Cited
Allen, Charlotte. “Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his Fangirls.” Los Angeles Times. 22 May 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Anastasio, Phyllis A., Karen C. Rose, and Judith Chapman. “Can the Media Create Public
Opinion? A Social Identity Approach.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 8.5
(1999): 152-155. Web. 15 Mar. 2013.
Barron, James. “Thousands Feared Dead as World Trade Center Is Toppled.” The New York Times. 11 Sep. 2001. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Bloom, Paul. “Feeling Sorry for Tsarnaev.” The New Yorker. 16 May 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Giove M. Candice. “Smitten Teen Girls stir up #FreeJahar mania for Boston Marathon Bombings Suspect.” The New York Post. 12 May 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Monroe, Rachel. “The Killer Crush: The Horror of Teen Girls, from Columbiners to Beliebers.” Theawl.com. 5 Oct. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Polizzi, Nicole. #FreeJahar Fandom: Why Are Teenagers So Susceptible to Crackpot Conspiracy Theories? PolicyMic. 27 April 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Reitman, Janet. “Jahar’s World.” Rollingstone.com. 17 Jul. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
Zhao, Shanyang. “The Digital Self: Through the Looking Glass of Telecopresent Others.” Symbolic Interaction 28.3 (2005): 387-405. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
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