”I Can’t Breathe” : A rhetorical content analysis of news portrayals of African-American murder victims in American news

The following thesis’s purpose is to target the frames of victims Trayvon Martin and George Floyd. Martin and Floyd were killed by white perpetrators and the events later received mass attention by The United States population and media. The subject matter of the victims’ deaths suggested possible motives of ethnic profiling from the perpetrators. Both cases started a debate surrounding the outcome of American culture where discrimination towards African Americans still existed. The thesis has chosen four news articles by two different American newspapers as test material. These tells perspectives of the cases involving the victims. The news articles were published during a month period after the victims’ deaths. Chosen test materials are examined by a qualitative content analysis, exploring the theoretical concepts of rhetoric. By analyzing the artistic- and inartistic proofs and the dispositions of the news articles, the study finds perspectives and deeper interpreted meanings that can apply certain framings to Trayvon Martin and George Floyd. The purpose of the examination was to determine the frames’ similarities, differences and if they have changed over the years. Also, by examining frames the study was to find emotional reactions through the rhetoric perspective and discuss what these represent. The result confirms that there are certain frames that suggest emotional traits from a form of sympathy for the African American society. Some of these emotional reactions are anger and sorrow which determine sympathy and possible empathy for the victims and the ones affected. The analysis also suggests Martin’s frames are similar to Floyd’s but are treated differently. For example, Martin is framed as a young victim of a possible hate crime that caused his death, but Floyd is framed as a symbol for a cause that spread world-wide. The content of the news articles differentiates where for example, the focus lays upon the outcomes of the victims’ deaths. These outcomes depend on the cause at hand and how they were impacted by society and not to mention the Black Lives Matter- movement.