The Gospel According to Tim Tebow: Sporting Celebrity, Whiteness, and the Cultural Politics of Christian Fundamentalism in America

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew G. Hawzen ◽  
Joshua I. Newman
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Politics ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
National Football League ◽  
Racial Politics ◽  
White Identity ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
American Media ◽  
The Media ◽  
Christian Fundamentalism

In this article, we explore the media and cultural politics of former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Tim Tebow. More specifically, we investigate paradoxical and contradictory media representations of Tebow as his celebrity surfaced within, and came to dominate, the Obama-era ‘American’ media landscape. In so doing, we draw lines of articulation from Tebow—as performative and representative embodiment of white identity politics and Christian fundamentalism—to broader frames of nation-based morality and racialized meritocracy. We end the article with a discussion on why mediated and mediating Tebow—as framed in contradictory yet religiously significant ways—was at once polarizing and codifying in the media’s ability to galvanize a contextually-significant set of cultural and racial politics.Dans cet article, nous explorons les politiques médiatiques et culturelles de l’ancien quarterback de la National Football League (NFL) Tim Tebow. Plus spécifiquement, nous étudions les représentations médiatiques paradoxales et contradictoires de Tebow étant donné que sa célébrité est apparue, et a fini par dominer, le paysage médiatique ‘américain’ pendant l’ère Obama. Pour ce faire, nous envisageons l’articulation de pistes allant de Tebow – en tant qu’incarnation performative et représentative des politiques identitaires blanches et du fondamentalisme chrétien – à des cadres plus larges de moralité nationale et de méritocratie racialisée. Nous terminons l’article sur une discussion expliquant pourquoi le médiatique et médiatisé Tebow – décrit dans des termes significativement contradictoires bien que religieux – a été immédiatement polarisé et codifié par la capacité des médias à galvaniser un ensemble contextuellement significatif de politiques culturelles et raciales.

Making the revolution intelligible, rendering political imaginations unthinkable: A postcolonial reading of British and American media representations of Rojava

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-338
Author(s):  
Cihan Erdost Akin
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Social Revolution ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Ecological Principles ◽  
Media Portrayal ◽  
American Media ◽  
The Media ◽  
Political Model ◽  
The Revolution

Although the gendered media portrayal of female Kurdish fighters has drawn academic attention, the representation of the socio-political model of Rojava by the British and American media is often neglected. This paper surveys the British and American media to understand the kinds of opinions found in the media, the discursive means that make the Rojava model intelligible, and what is rendered either commonsensical or unimaginable. The Rojava project is framed as “a separatist rebellion”, “an experiment”, and “a genuine social revolution”. By excluding the anti-capitalist and ecological principles of Rojava, and either dismissing or romanticising its achievements, these discourses render an alternative to capitalism and the nation-state unthinkable, and reproduce Orientalist images of the region, thus serving capitalist and imperialist interests. This study suggests that we should pay more attention to socio-political imaginations and representations of non-state paradigms in order to understand the hegemony of the state. Abstract in Kurmanji Fehmbarkirina şoreşê, pêşkêşkirina nemumkiniya tesewira polîtîk: Xwendineke postkolonyal a temsîlên Rojava di medyaya Brîtanya û Amerîkayê de Li hember teswîra zayendî ya şervanên kurd ên jin ku gelek bala akademiyê kişandiye, temsîla modela sosyo-polîtîk a Rojava ji teref medyaya brîtanyayî û emerîkî ve pirî caran hate paşguhkirin. Ev nivîs li medyaya brîtanyayî û emerîkî dinêre da ku cureyên fikrên di medyayê de, amûrên vegotinê yên ku modela Rojavayê fehmbar dikin vebikole û fehm bike ka çi û çiqas beraqil an jî nexeyalbar tê pêşkêşkirin. Projeya Rojava, weke “serhildaneke cudaxwaz”, “ceribandek” û “şoreşeke civakî ya resen” tê resmkirin. Bi derkirina prensîbên dij-kapîtalîst û ekolojîk yên Rojava û bi paşguhkirin an jî romantîzekirina destkeftên wê, ev dîskûr nemumkiniya alternatîfa kapîtalîzmê û netewe-dewletê îfade dikin û wêneyekî Oryantalîst ya herêmê diafirînin ku xizmeta berjewendiyên kapîtalîst û emperyalîst dike. Ev xebat pêşniyar dike ku divê em bêtir bala xwe bidin tesewirên sosyo-polîtîk û temsîlên paradîgmaya ne-dewlet ji bo fehmkirina hegemonyaya dewletê. Abstract in Sorani Be têgeyandin kirdnî şorrş, bê mana kirdnî endêşe syasîyekan: Xwêndneweyekî postkolonyalaney wênakirdnî mîdyay berîtanî û emrîkî bo rojawa Egerçî wêne mîdyayye cênderekanî jne şervanekanî kurd sernicî ekadîmîyekanî rakêşawe, zorcar wênakirdnî modêlî syasî-cvakî rojava lelayen mîdyay berîtanî û emrîkayewe feramoşkrawe. Bo têgeyîştin lew bîruboçunaney le mîdyakanda bedî dekrêt, em babete rumallêkî mîdyay berîtanî û emrîkî dekat, amraze gutarîyekan ke modêlî rojava bê mana deken û  yan wek ştêkî asayî yan xeyallî dexrête rû . Projey rojava xrawete çwarçîwey “yaxîbunêkî cudaxwazî”, “ezmunêk” we “şorşêkî rasteqîney komellayetî”. Be wedernanî bnema dje-sermayedarî û îkolojîyekanî rojava, we yan be nadîdekirdin û romantîkirdnî deskewtekan, em gutarane bedîlêk bo sermayedarî û dewllet-netewe dexate derewey bîrkirdnewe.  Em twêjîneweye pêşnyar dekat ke bo ewey le hejmûnî dewllet têbgeyn, pêwîste bayexî zyatir be endêşey syasî-cvakî û nwênerayetîkrinî paradaymî nadewlletî bdeyn. Abstract in Zazaki Şoreşî dayîşfehmkerdiş, fikranê sîyasîyan nêdayîşfikirîyayîş: Medyaya Brîtanya û Amerîka de temsîlê Rojawanî ser o wendişêko postkolonîyalîst   Herçiqas ke nawitişê medyaya cinsîyetperwere de rolê şêrvananê cinîkanê kurdan bala akademîkan ante, modelê komel û sîyasetê Rojawanî zafê reyan hetê medyaya Brîtanya û Amerîka ra peygoş bî. Na meqale qayîtê medyaya Brîtanya û Amerîka kena ke wina tede qeneatê ci yê cîya-cîyayî, usûlê munaqeşeyî yê îzahkerdişê modelê Rojawanî û çîyê bimantiqkerde yan zî nefikrbarî fehm bibê. Projeyê Rojawanî sey “serewedaritişo cîyaker”, “ceribnayîş” û “şoreşê komelî yo raştikên” name beno. Bi îhmalkerdişê prensîpanê Rojawanî yê antîkapîtalîst û ekolojîkan û bi redkerdiş yan zî romantîzekerdişê serkewtişanê ci, nê munaqeşeyî alternatîfê kapîtalîzm û dewleta netewe nêdanê fikirîyayene. Wina herêm ra resimo oryantalîst yeno xêzkerdene ke menfeatanê kapîtalîst û emperyalîstan rê fayde dano. No cigêrayîş pêşnîyaz keno ke ma hîna zaf bala xo bidîme fikranê komelkî û sîyasîyan û estbîyayîşê paradîgmayanê nedewlete ser ke bandura dewlete fehm bikerîme.

scholarly journals A New Twist on the 'un-African' Script: Representing Gay and Lesbian African Weddings in Democratic South Africa

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Yarbrough
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cultural Politics ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Gay Couples ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Lesbian And Gay ◽  
The Media

This essay examines the media coverage surrounding two African weddings of lesbian and gay couples in South Africa, as a lens onto the evolving cultural politics of black queerness in that country. Two decades after South Africa launched a world-leading legal framework for LGBTI protections, I argue that these media representations depict the growing inclusion of black LGBTIQ people as a process of bridging the supposed “gap” between homosexuality and African culture. This new “bridging the gap” script seemingly rejects the older, dominant script portraying homosexuality as intrinsically “un-African.” But I argue that it instead reproduces the “un-African” script in a new, liberal guise, offering inclusion to black LGBTIQ South Africans on limited terms that continue to obscure their embeddedness within African histories and communities.

The participation of Palestinian-Israeli politicians in public and commercial television and radio in Israel as capability

2021 ◽  
pp. 174804852199056
Author(s):  
Baruch Shomron ◽  
Amit Schejter
Keyword(s):  
Capabilities Approach ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Commercial Television ◽  
Radio Stations ◽  
Modes Of Representation ◽  
Current Affairs ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Media ◽  
Insight Into

This study examines how media representations of Palestinian-Israeli politicians, can help community members realize their capabilities. The study’s database is comprised of 1,207 interviews conducted with Palestinian-Israeli politicians on news and current affairs programs on the three national television channels and the two national radio stations in Israel, for 24 months (2016-2017). We identified and analyzed the differences in the modes of representation between national and local Palestinian-Israeli politicians and between Palestinian-Israeli parliament members in the Joint List and Palestinian-Israeli parliament members in Zionist parties, all through the capabilities prism. In this study, we demonstrated how different types of Palestinian-Israeli politicians may potentially affect the realization of different political functions and capabilities. Analyzing political representations in the media through the theoretical framework of the ‘capabilities approach’ contributes to a more comprehensive insight into the roles the media can play promoting people’s wellbeing and human rights, relative to traditional media theories.

When Whites Feel Threatened

Contexts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-73
Author(s):  
Woody Doane
Keyword(s):  
Identity Politics ◽  
White Identity

The author examines The Politics of Losing: Trump, The Klan, and the Mainstreaming of Resentment by Rory McVeigh and Kevin Estepwere in investigating the changing terrain of White “identity politics.”

White Identity Politics

The Forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-290
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Merolla
Keyword(s):  
Identity Politics ◽  
White Identity

A corpus-based study of representation of Islam and Muslims in American media: Critical Discourse Analysis Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 174804852098744
Author(s):  
Ke Li ◽  
Qiang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
The New York Times ◽  
Strong Conclusion ◽  
American Media

Media representations have significant power to shape opinions and influence public response to communities or groups around the world. This study investigates media representations of Islam and Muslims in the American media, drawing upon an analysis of reports in the New York Times over a 17-year period (from Jan.1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2016) within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis. It examines how Islam and Muslims are represented in media coverage and how discursive power is penetrated step by step through such media representations. Most important, it investigates whether Islam and Muslims have been stigmatized through stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. The findings reveal that the New York Times’ representations of Islam and Muslims are negative and stereotypical: Islam is stereotyped as the unacclimatized outsider and the turmoil maker and Muslims as the negative receiver. The stereotypes contribute to people’s prejudice, such as Islamophobia from the “us” group and fear of the “them” group but do not support a strong conclusion of discrimination.

The American Ghetto, Gangster, and Respect on the Streets of Copenhagen: Media(tion)s between Structure and Street Culture

2021 ◽  
pp. 089124162110569
Author(s):  
Hakan Kalkan
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Perceived Similarity ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Street Culture ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Relationship

“Street culture” is often considered a response to structural factors. However, the relationship between culture and structure has rarely been empirically analyzed. This article analyzes the role of three media representations of American street culture and gangsters—two films and the music of a rap artist—in the street culture of a disadvantaged part of Copenhagen. Based on years of ethnographic fieldwork, this article demonstrates that these media representations are highly valuable to and influential among young men because of their perceived similarity between their intersectional structural positions and those represented in the media. Thus, the article illuminates the interaction between structural and cultural factors in street culture. It further offers a local explanation of the scarcely studied phenomenon of the influence of mass media on street culture, and a novel, media-based, local explanation of global similarities in different street cultures.

From ‘filth’ and ‘insanity’ to ‘peaceful moral watchdogs’: Police, news media, and the gang label

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Linnemann ◽  
Bill McClanahan
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Politics ◽  
News Media ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Threat Assessment ◽  
Straight Edge ◽  
Police Power ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Relationship

This paper engages the cultural politics of criminal classifications by aiming at one of the state’s most powerful, yet ambiguous markers—the ‘gang.’ Focusing on the unique cases of ‘crews’ and collectives within the ‘straight edge’ and ‘Juggalo’ subcultures, this paper considers what leads members of the media and police to construct—or fail to construct—these street collectives as gangs in a seemingly haphazard and disparate fashion. Juxtaposing media, cultural, and police representations of straight edge ‘crews’ and Juggalo collectives with the FBI’s Gang Threat Assessment, we detail how cultural politics and ideology underpin the social reality of gangs and thus the application of the police power. This paper, furthermore, considers critical conceptualizations of the relationship between police and criminal gangs.

scholarly journals Serbs as threat the extreme negative portrayal of the Serb “minority” in Albanian-language newspapers in Kosovo

Balcanica ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 165-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Zdravkovic-Zonta
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Master Narrative ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Natural Response ◽  
The Media ◽  
State Of Affairs

Through perpetuating negative stereotypes and rigid dichotomous identities, the media play a significant part in sustaining conflict dynamics in Kosovo. Examining their discourse in terms of ideological production and representations is crucial in order to understand the power relations between the majority and the minority, the identity politics involved in sustaining them, and the intractability of the conflict. In an effort to provide a deeper understanding of the intractable conflict in Kosovo, and the role of the media in protracting it, this study uses critical discourse analysis to examine articles related to issues affecting the Serb community, published in Albanian language print media. The master narrative that comes out of the analysis is that of ?threat? - the threat that Kosovo Albanians continue to face from Serbs and Serbia; a threat that is portrayed as historical and constant. The discourse further strengthens the conflict dynamics of opposition, polarization and even hatred. This master narrative implies that Serbs are enemies, to be feared, contested, fought against; conflict is thus the normal state of affairs. The study also looks at the implications of media discourse for reconciliation efforts and the prospects of the Serb minority in Kosovo society, arguing that when the Other is presented as dangerous and threatening, fear of the Other and a desire to eliminate the threat, physically and symbolically, become perceived as a ?natural? response, and thus constitute a significant conflict-sustaining dynamic.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document