This 5 step critical analysis is on Bruna's BBC News article on India's mental health crisis due to Covid-19, which I defend due to the neutral reporting, descriptive and effective language, and the subject that article calls attention to.
Description: Covid-19 has not only been affecting people’s physical health, but it has equally affected their mental state. The number of people contracting this virus have been increasing all over the world, and different countries have been dealing with this critical situation in different ways. As stated in the article from BBC News, India doesn't have enough medical resources and hospitals for their citizens, and as they recover from the virus some people’s mental health has been affected because it’s a very “lonely” situation to experience. Without the presence of enough local hospitals and physicians that could help these people to promptly recover, India is currently confronting a situation that seems at ease to have no considerable improvement.
Analysis: A pattern that emerges in this published article is the marked emphasis the author gives to those patients who are not receiving the medical attention they need for their mental health. This is noted with the different interviews done with local families who are currently facing this situation. The interviews create an emotional appeal to those who are unaware of what is happening to the vast number of Indian patients that even if they are recovered from the coronavirus, their mental health is getting completely affected. As well as it illustrates how they are truly feeling and how hopeless they feel as they are not obtaining the necessary aid and help from their government. The emotive language employed contributes to the importance this situation has, it persuades the reader to inform themselves better about what is happening and how people are struggling with this traumatic situation. For instance, words like “uncertainty”, “disrupting”, “unfortunately” are some examples that illustrate the emotional appeal this article conveys. "We could focus on recurring topics chosen for front-page treatment..." (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2010, p. 31). The concern of other problems that Covid-19 has caused are ones that we are more frequently seeing.
Interpretation: This report includes interviews with the patients and their families as its primary intention is to raise awareness of their medical conditions and the lack of assistance they have received over the last few of months. As most of us know, India is considered an impoverished nation. Thus, the social and cultural context plays a big role in this article as most of the population of this country is unable to receive proper medical assistance on a regular basis, and it has been getting worse with a global pandemic taking place. Described with the different interviews and personal stories shared, the reader is able to perceive how these communities are desperate, having no sense of hope to properly recover from their mental health. As doctors and nurses stated, India’s government has not taken into consideration the vast number of people whose mental health has been affected with depression and PTSD, therefore, there’s an absence of mental health infrastructures and education about this topic.
Evaluation: This article reports events in an accurate manner, as it shares proper evidence of the number of people who are getting mentally ill after the coronavirus. Statistics, proves this issue has been getting worse in such a little amount of time. The message this article is seeking to communicate is that the coronavirus has the ability to powerfully affect people’s mental state. It educates readers about the complex situation India is currently facing: how community members are being extremely affected and how there’s a notable lack of action from its government to resolve this urgent issue. With the choice of words and language, the article can be considered unbiased as it does not express any personal opinion on the topic. It doesn’t create any prejudice or judgment, rather, it seeks to inform the reader about this issue without trying to convince a specific idea or position.
Engagement: To properly address some of the problematic discourses that I have identified in this specific news story by ensuring that there is proper mental health care provided along with a typical doctor's appointment or visit. As well as creating campaigns to raise money that will directly go into those mental health institutions that are currently facing a lack of resources and materials for their patients. "Producing actual work for media outlets might involve doing news stories for a local newspaper..." (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2010, p. 31). Publishing news stories for a local news paper in India and/or for a city in the U.S. where people might be able to donate more money to this cause is what I would do.
Wonderful analysis and application of the 5-step process Isabella. I agree that language here it's intentionally crafted to trigger an emotional reaction in the reader, which at this stage is probably much needed. Here, I think we need to consider how beneficial or useful using an "emotive language" is in terms of making this case newsworthy enough for the audience. Great work.
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