Media in Home Fire

     One important theme I gravitated towards in Home Fire is the theme relating to the media. I specifically found an interest in the theme regarding the media when Parvaiz died and the spotlight was on him, and eventually Aneeka when the public found out about her relationship with Eamonn. The media sees Parvaiz as a terrorist from the beginning, but as a reader we know the truth and the steps it took Parvaiz to get to the position he was in which resulted in his death. Even if the media knew Parvaiz was heading to the consulate to find help and get out of his situation, he would still be painted as the rebel and terrorist going against his people. In Aneeka’s section, the media presented Parvaiz as a terrorist following his death, and the media is using Parvaiz as an example in this situation. When the media began speaking about Parvaiz in a negative manner, one source stated,'' It's a cause of profound concern that the children of jihadis, many of them British-born, are not closely watched by the state. How many more Parvaiz Pashas will it take for things to change?(Shamsie 211) The media is using him as a symbol to tighten the watch on people like him, and the side of Parvaiz is not shown to the media. Another very important topic regarding the media is when they began creating names for Aneeka when they found out she has relations with Eamonn. She was seen as a manipulative woman who was only with Eamonn to help her brother out and sleep her way to the top to get assistance. The media released an article that was named,” Ho-jabi! Pervy Pasha’s Twin Sister Engineered Sex Trysts With Home Secretary’s Son.” Aneeka is presented as a ho, but in reality, Eamonn was also contributing to the relationship and they had a true connection before Aneeka asked him for help with Parvaiz. The media twists the truth and creates headlines to get the attention of the media, having non regard for the feelings of Aneeka. This is a recurring issue in the novel and the headlines are absurd, but although they may stray away from the truth, the readers eat up the gossip and information. 



Comments

  1. KrisOctober 11, 2021 at 7:39 PM

    Like all writings, the media has an intended audience, and curates the information they send out in order to best promote the ideas of their audiences. Are there media outlets that are objective? Maybe, but they are few in number.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michelle BOctober 14, 2021 at 2:16 PM

    Great focus on the way that media embeds perspectives and biases that can then get easily reproduced without realizing they are biased.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Isabella FernandezOctober 15, 2021 at 11:18 AM

    Great points, Bianca! Adding onto your point about media's perception about his visit to the consulate: page 192, shows how the media was unaware of why he was approaching the consulate but they still go on to say that a terror attack has not been ruled out. Based on this news stream, anyone who does not know Parvaiz would automatically assume that he went to the consulate with bad intentions rather than wanting to escape.

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