Loaded Language within the Media

You may have heard, back in February, when the musical artist Kesha (Ke$ha) was all over every news website and newspaper for her legal dealings with Sony Music involving her accused rapist and producer, Dr. Luke. It was, and still very much is, a controversial topic.

Some people believe that Kesha is making this all up, and is only pursuing the lawsuit for the money, as well as to get out of her five album contract with Dr. Luke. Although the artist has, on many occasions, posted on Instagram and other social media about her plights.

Kesha's Instagram post regarding an offer that Sony offered her.

In my opinion, at this point, why lie? What does she have to gain from this? She has risked everything in order to bring this man to justice. She has said before that it's not about her anymore. It's about, and for, every person who has experienced sexual assault and not been able to speak up about it.

I read many articles on the this whole ordeal. One such is this one that gives a very general overview of the situation; the language is fairly unbiased. However there could be a few exceptions. For example, this article particularly talks about all of the other artists that "expressed their solidarity" with Kesha. This is phrased differently than a line earlier in the article, "people around the world stood with Kesha." Why are other artists expressing solidarity, but other people are simply standing with her? Yes, the denotations are the same, and both connotations are very similar; the only difference, I think, is that celebrities know her on a more personal level and are able to be there for her that much more. It states that she received "overwhelming support," and hearing phrases like that, we as people tend to go with the majority and think, 'well if most people are on her side, she must be telling the truth!' even if she is not.

The next article I read dealt more with thinking she is not telling the truth. As the headline reads, this article is written by someone who believes that Kesha wrongly accused Dr. Luke for drugging and raping her. This article states that she "resorted to law to try to extricate themselves from their contracts." The words "resorted" and "extricated" imply a desperate person who is in need of escape from a situation, which could definitely be applied in this case. However, I believe this person has twisted the reality; Kesha is not trying to get out because she does not like the contract, but because she cannot take it anymore, as stated in one of her instagram posts. The author also shows their opinion when saying that the judges denied her "extravagant claims," as if they are so unbelievable that they could never be true.

Finally, with little hope of finding an article that sides with the artist, I stumbled upon this. In this article, it takes into consideration the more legal technicalities, in that the judges may not have denied her because they were convinced that these things did not occur, but that she just did not have sufficient evidence. This article is also rich with loaded language, using connotative words in phrases such as "championed her efforts," "revive her lawsuit," "profound depression," etc. These words all give connotative meaning to what the article is trying to say, and appeals to the reader's pathos by inspiring certain emotions within them. For example, using the ones stated above, "championed" has a strong connotative meaning, and it makes us feel like we are helping a hero on their journey, helping someone who is doing the right thing. "Revive" is used because it is tied with life, and those are both positive lights to shine on Kesha and this case. "Profound," though only an adjective, enhances the word depression, and really informs the reader that the depression is having a serious impact on Kesha, and that this situation needs to end in order for her happiness and wellbeing restored. This article does a very good job of getting the reader to take Kesha's side.

More to report.
-M