This thesis uses critical race theory to investigate and explain the ways in which the media discourse of the opioid crisis compared to the crack epidemic. This research combines critical discourse...Show moreThis thesis uses critical race theory to investigate and explain the ways in which the media discourse of the opioid crisis compared to the crack epidemic. This research combines critical discourse analysis and digital methods to analyze the narratives and rhetoric of a range of articles published in the National Review. These findings are compared to published secondary literature that explore trends in media coverage about the crack epidemic to draw conclusions about the shifting media narratives between the 1980s and 2010s. The findings reveal that 1980s media largely constructed crack users as the perpetrators of the crack epidemic. At the same time, the media largely promoted the key components of the War on Drugs campaign, include more regulation and criminalization. Coverage of opioid users contrastingly, were met with greater empathetic concern and their recovery became seen as a priority. By exploring these findings through the lens of critical race theory, this research finds that these narratives reveal significant racial inequities of conservative media coverage.Show less
The United States has a long record of racial inequality that has been perpetuated over time. It is well established that this has had a significant influence on the way in which the American...Show moreThe United States has a long record of racial inequality that has been perpetuated over time. It is well established that this has had a significant influence on the way in which the American justice system operates, resulting in the diverging treatment of different races. This thesis will be looking at the treatment of one such racial group and aims to determine how black men are disproportionately targeted by the American Prison Industrial Complex (PIC). To ascertain in what specific ways the PIC has disparaged black men, this thesis first supplies an overview of the already existing academic literature surrounding the PIC and America’s history concerning racism. Finally, this thesis conducts a comparison of the treatment of two Capitol rioters; a black man called Emanuel Jackson and a white man called Eric Gavelek Munchel. The results indicate that America has much work that remains to be done in order to constitute a justice system based on impartiality and equality.Show less
