Discursively framing U.S. media and state hegemony: Police shootings, rape culture, and the transnational struggle

This dissertation intends to thematically integrate issues of race, class, gender as they relate to state-sanctioned and media (discursive) violence. This is done using three case studies that take different, but interconnected routes. The first case study traces the relationship between people of color and the state, outlining the asymmetric war occurring between them. The second case study examines a part of the state apparatus, law-enforcement, and its narratives used to justify lethal force. The final case study examines how news media frames violence against women as personal, isolated incidents as opposed to a social problem. Taken together, these case studies demonstrate how both the state and mass media are involved in the generating or reinforcing violence against marginalized groups.