Answer to Question #293978 in English for RICK

Question

Question 1

Refer to the headlines below which were taken from different newspapers and answer the questions that follow.

Headline A - Cancel culture: Have any two words become more weaponised?

Headline B - Conservatives claim to hate "cancel culture" - but it's the heart of the right-wing agenda

Headline C - Cancel culture looks a lot like old-fashioned church discipline

Headline D: Cancel culture falters in the shadows of SA's pop culture brutes

1.1 Explain the denotative and connotative meanings of the words used in Headline A. (4 marks)

1.2 Discuss the use of punctuation in “cancel culture” in Headline B. (2 marks)

1.3 Whose voices are represented in Headline B? (2 marks)

1.4 Discuss the stance (position) adopted by Headline C. (2 marks)

1.5 Comment on the linguistic choices (diction) used in Headline D. (5 marks) 

Answer 1

1.1  The Emotional Aspect of Toxic Tribalism and Cancel Culture Psychology. Feeling strong negative emotions, such as outrage, disgust, and fear is a key aspect of cancel culture psychology. Cancel culture psychology gives people tacit permission to bypass empathy and forgiveness in favour of righteous anger. On the other hand, cancel culture is the process of publicly calling for accountability, and boycotting if nothing else seems to work, has become an important tool of social justice — a way of combatting, through collective action, some of the huge power imbalances that often exist between public figures with far-reaching platforms and audiences, and the people and communities their words and actions may harm.

1.2  The word cancel has a verb and noun definitions in the dictionary, but nothing as an adjective. In this sense cancel culture is something of a neologism, creating new meaning — one that’s easily understandable — out of older words. It’s a nifty trick that makes our brains sit up and take notice — and while we’re paused on the phrase, it lodges itself in our minds. The words get stickier, which is exactly what a good slogan or rallying cry should be.

1.3  An intolerant minority of politically motivated campaigners are trying to shut down debates and cancel the views of people they disagree with, and their voice is getting louder because of the platform they’re being given by the mainstream media and big corporations.

1.4  Extensive debate has swirled around the purpose, effectiveness and even the very existence of what has been called “cancel culture.” The phrase itself may have originated as a joke. But the phenomenon is rooted in what has been characterized as efforts by political progressives to “call out” individuals and organizations engaged in offensive or damaging behaviour. It entails public efforts, usually on social media, to shame the perpetrator and instil consequences and has been seized on by many on the political right as a wedge issue in the so-called culture wars. But “cancelling” is not wholly embraced on the left, nor is it unknown among political or religious conservatives.

1.5  The culture of denigrating protesters or participants in cancel culture through classism or privilege has made it increasingly difficult to genuinely make a change.