Individual Assignment Movie Analysis of Marshall, Retelling the Achievements of Thurgood Marshall

“Marshall” is a film about Thurgood Marshall a lawyer for the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) who together with his partner Sam Friedman a Jewish lawyer, take on the case of Joseph Spell a black chauffeur who had been accused of raping and attempting to murder his wealthy white employer Eleanor Strubing.

The media’s ability to promote certain issues influences the public but only to a certain extent such as the African-Americans who were afraid to speak up for themselves, however the public can also be influenced by opinion leaders.

Firstly, the African-Americans were fearful of expressing their opinions reflecting the spiral of silence theory which “suggests that people want to see themselves as holding a majority opinion and will therefore remain silent if they perceive that they hold a minority opinion” (Hanson 41). In the movie, the effects of the spiral of silence theory can be seen when Spell revealed to Marshall that he lied in his sworn statement as he was scared of what was going to happen to him if he revealed the truth. In another scene where Spell was questioned by the prosecutor Lorin Willis about why should anybody believe that he did not rape Mrs Strubing and that it was consensual, he replied about how in Louisiana if he was found to be with a white woman he would be killed, he then makes the statement that the truth will get him killed.

In 2016, almost 6,000 Saudi Arabian women wrote to The New York Times about their lives through the New York Time’s website and twitter. Through these media platforms these Saudi women were able to share how they were oppressed by their male counterparts, such as being beaten up for going to a bookstore without asking for permission, being placed in a prison for running away from home to seek refuge with a human rights organisation and having to conform to beliefs and religions just to survive and not get killed (El-Naggar). Additionally, the Saudi government has also locked up more than a dozen women rights activists in jail and they may “face up to 20 years in prison” (“The Saudi women detained for demanding basic human rights”).

These examples show how both the African-Americans and the Saudi women are the minority and therefore, to not be out casted in their communities, they conform to what the society view them as even if it is negative. The way the African-Americans were treated by the white majority forced them to conform to society out of fear. Similarly, the Saudi women also conformed to their male counterparts as they were afraid of the consequences of going against the male majority. The fear of isolation affects the Saudi women as they rather remain in silent than to be imprisoned like the numerous women rights activists.

There is also a male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia where women have to seek consent from their male relatives for important decisions (“The Saudi women detained for demanding basic human rights”). This system oppresses the Saudi women and hinders them from expressing their opinions. Therefore, the spiral of silence theory is evident in such communities. However, social media is able to reverse the spiral of silence theory as it gives minority groups a platform to voice their frustrations and opinions. The power of social media allows the content from these minority groups to go viral through social media users liking and sharing their post. Therefore, making the unpopular opinion become popular and reversing the spiral of silence.

Secondly, the media’s ability to promote certain issues and its effects on society through agenda setting. The agenda setting theory is “a theory of media effects that says that the media tell the public not what to think but rather what to think about, thus the terms of public disclosure are set by what is covered in the media” (Hanson 39). This is shown in the movie when Walter White, the man who sends Marshall to Bridgeport, shows him the various newspapers and their headlines such as “Nightmare in Greenwich, Wife Attacked by Negro Driver and Fear Grips Connecticut”. White then explains that as a result of the way this issue is being reported in the news, African-Americans are getting fired and white families are afraid of them. Recently, a 14-month old girl, Siba Abu Arar and her pregnant aunt were killed in Gaza (McBride). However, there was not much media attention given to this issue, it was neither viral nor covered heavily. With reference to the agenda setting theory, this example of Siba Abu Arar shows how the media can affect what the audiences think about and in this case there is not much thought given to this issue due to the lack of coverage as compared to Spell’s case where it was covered all over the news and therefore held more importance in the minds of the audience. This shows that the media is able to influence the public’s thinking and that the more an issue is being reported the larger the impact on the public as seen in “Marshall”.

In the movie, Spell’s case was reported in such a manner as the media wanted to create the perception that African-Americans are dangerous and that the white Americans should stay away from them. Through gatekeeping which is the “process of information control that includes all aspects of message encoding: not just selection but also withholding, transmission, shaping, display, rendition, and timing of information as it goes from sender to receiver” (Shoemaker 1). The media was able to create the perception that the African-Americans were dangerous in the minds of the white majority as there was a large amount of information released to the audience. In the case of Siba Abu Arar, the lack of coverage means that not enough information is being displayed, hence the use of gatekeeping is evident as the lack of information results in the audience having the perception that this issue is not that important.

In addition, racial tensions were a factor that influenced white Americans to react the way they did to Spell’s case. This is because white Americans already had a negative predetermined mindset of the African-Americans which was further encouraged by the way the media portrayed this case. The media leads the public to think in a certain way that may not actually be what is happening in reality because of the way that issues and stories are being reported. Therefore, it can be clearly seen that the agenda setting theory impacts the public’s view of issues and reality.

However, audiences are not just influenced by the media but also by the presence and authority of opinion leaders. Opinion leaders are people whom “attend more fully to the media than others and become more knowledgeable than their families, friends or neighbours in certain areas of media content” (DeFleur and Dennis 437). Opinion leaders pass on information from the media to audiences who have lesser contact to the media, as such opinion leaders can influence the way information is interpreted (DeFleur and Dennis 437). The scene where Marshall was able to influence Friedman to help him with Spell’s case by quoting the bible and the toilet scene where both Marshall and Friedman looked beat up and talked about how they were both targets of racism showed that Marshall is an opinion leader. Lee Kuan Yew is another opinion leader who had great influence on the public, his “Battle for Merger” talk attracted many listeners and his tough growing up years made him relatable to many Singaporeans at the time (“Remembering Lee Kuan Yew”).

Marshall and Lee Kuan Yew both exhibit traits of opinion leaders as the people whom they influence are similar to them and they are also respected and trusted by those they influence. The concept of opinion leaders comes from the two-step flow of communication theory which states that information moves from “media to opinion leaders” and then from opinion leaders to “people whom they influence with their information and interpretations” (DeFleur and Dennis 437). Therefore, opinion leaders are influential as they are able to affect the thoughts and views of their audience by passing down their own interpretations of issues and topics. This is possible because the audience is passive and therefore does not question what the opinion leader tells them.

Opinion leaders benefit the society as not only do they spread information to people who are not well connected to the media, they are also able to promote positive change in a certain community as a result of their influence. This can be seen in today’s society where social media influencers and celebrities help share information of certain issues to their followers, they also advocate for causes which resonate with their beliefs. However, interpretations by opinion leaders can be biased, misleading and inaccurate therefore, it can have a negative impact on the perceptions of their audience. Thus, showing how opinion leaders are able to influence the society both positively and negatively.

In conclusion, fear is a key factor in causing people to remain silent especially those from a minority group. Secondly, through agenda setting, the media is able to influence the importance of an issue and the public’s views towards that issue. Lastly, opinion leaders are able to influence their followers as they are similar to them and are held in high regard by their audience. The various theories seen in both movies and real life shows how the media can influence the public’s perceptions but only to a certain extent as there are other influential factors as well.