Friday, December 6, 2013

What does mainstream media say about "Pink Ribbons, Inc"

In 2011, director Lea Pool released "Pink Ribbons, Inc", a documentary that outlines the problematic components of the Pink Ribbon movement. We watched this documentary in class. The claims of the film are, for the most part, counter-cultural and call viewers to action against the ineffective and inefficient parts of the pink ribbon movement and the so-called 'fight against breast cancer.' As we saw in the documentary, much of what the documentary critiques is financial inconsistencies in the pink ribbon movement. Given the political lean of many mainstream media sources, it only seems right that different media sources would paint the problems presented in the documentary in a variety of lights. Some will call their own viewers to adhere to the changes intended by the documentary. Some will water-down and avoid the real claims of the documentary to display their lack of allegiance to the anti-pink movement. Some media sources have gone so far as to avoid publicizing anything about the documentary because as the adage goes, 'any press is good press.'

Have a look at this Canadian news source's coverage of the documentary. I know it's six minutes, but just a couple minutes of the video will give you a good idea of their position on the movement.

CBC's The National covers "Pink Ribbons, Inc"


Clearly, The National has taken an endorsing stance on the pink ribbon movement- they are not the norm. Let's let this lead to a discussion on the way media avoids covering potentially view-changing or view-shaping stories. Mainstream media has the opportunity to influence and engage a large group of people, where as "Pink Ribbons, Inc." can only engage a small group of people- most of which probably already agree with what the documentary will argue. Consider that many of us in our class would not have seen the documentary lest Dr. Hurt had shown it to us. However, we have all engaged mainstream media in almost a daily basis since 2011. Still, many of us had never even heard of the documentary.

                                                       

I aim to look into a myriad of mainstream news sources to see just what they published about "Pink Ribbons, Inc" (if anything at all), then discuss the implications of their portrayal (or lack thereof) of the documentary.

Discussion Questions:

Why would a mainstream media source avoid covering a documentary like "Pink Ribbons, Inc"? What are the benefits of avoiding coverage of the documentary?

Also, on the other hand, why would a media source benefit from covering this documentary?

Does this issue run deeper than just the anti-pink movement? What other kinds of important news are mainstream media sources avoiding for financial and political reasons? Do we approve of this?
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2 comments:

  1. Sydney MarshallDecember 9, 2013 at 10:03 AM

    The Pink Ribbons, Inc. documentary definitely had an impact on how I currently view Breast Cancer campaigns and Pink Ribbon products. I recently found myself refusing to enter in a 1/2 marathon because I did not trust that my money would actually go to Breast Cancer research like the race said it would. I do not like that the documentary had such an impact on me, but until I take the time to research more about the issue, it probably will remain this way. The benefits of avoiding coverage of this type of documentary can be seen as selfish because the corporations are most likely wanting to stay in the "safe zone" when it comes to breast cancer awareness. Avoiding coverage of this type of documentary allows them to stay out of the controversial realm. The documentary raises much concern about the actual use of the money raised through these breast cancer campaigns and how we have yet to discover an actual cause for the disease. I do think this issue runs deeper than just the anti-pink movement. The environmental impact that fundraising campaigns have on our planet is not of any concern it seems. The documentary talked briefly about the idea that the increase in the consumption and use of plastics in the world might be a link to the increase in breast cancer. However, this does not seem to be of any concern to the campaigns or the public. At these walks and runs, participants are gathering all of the free items they can. All of these items are made of plastic for the most part. The fact that the environmental impact of these campaign walks/runs as well as the possible connection to breast cancer are not further researched is saddening.

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    1. UnknownDecember 9, 2013 at 6:41 PM

      Well said, Sydney. There is overwhelming negligence on the part of many of the organizations raising money for the so-called 'fight against breast cancer'. However, I tread lightly regarding the environmental effects of the fundraisers. Remember that one of the main tennets of the film was that the fight against breast cancer is somewhat ineffective because we don't know the specific causes of breast cancer. Therefore, I see a slight contradiction in the film for saying the causes of breast cancer are unknown but that certain products that raise money for BC also cause it- I thought we didn't know what caused it! It's not a total fallacy though, because though we don't know specifically what causes breast cancer, there are some convincing cases that claim that carsenogens and plastics do lead to greater risk of breast cancer. That said, I simply think it is important not to draw hard lines where we don't have all the facts. The documentary does a good job of exposing why this practice is detrimental for any effort against breast cancer.

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