Black+Widow-Sochi+Olympics

[|http://www.today.com/video/today/54132301#54132301]

0.10- Matt Lawyer says, “So called black widows,” The incorporation of the phrase “so called” lessens the threat of the black widow, which should be taken very seriously. It makes the term “black widow” have a sarcastic connotation which makes the story almost seem like a joke.

0.33- At this point in the newscast, three black and white pictures of black widows flash onto the screen. The black and white pictures make the women seem more evil and serious, than if they were to appear in color. The expressions on the women’s faces are also very straight faced, and serious. Both of these tactics are used to alert the public and create a more stern vibe.

0:55- At this point, very loud, machine gun shots are fired repeatedly and the guns are also shown in use. The gun shots instill fear, which is a common tactic used to scare the public, which inevitably promotes awareness.

1:00- The news reporter says, “Rosanna was made a widow last year, when Russian forces killed her husband.” The use of the phrase, opens a window for the women to have a reason to want to perform terrorist attacks to hurt others and Russia as a country. It almost makes it seem like their retaliation towards Russia is for a good reason, which makes their actions okay.

1:10- The news reporter says, “ The four women are from the caucuses, the heart of Russia’s Islamic insurgency,” which further continues the connection between people of Islamic faith and terrorism. In some ways, it depicts people of Islamic faith in a very negative way, solely on the actions of very few members.

1:15- At this point, speculation towards why women are used as the terrorists begins. It seems as though women are used because they’re seen as the weaker gender, which lessens people’s impression of what they’re capable of. This is a smart tactic, because it allows terrorists groups to get away with much more.