Fabricating the American Dream in US media portrayals of Syrian refugees: A discourse analytical study

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditi Bhatia ◽  
Christopher J Jenks
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
American Dream ◽  
The United States ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Media Portrayals ◽  
Discursive Formation ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
The Media ◽  
Syrian Refugee Crisis

The months preceding and following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States have incited furious debate about the authenticity of media discourse in the shaping of reality (cf. fake news), including in particular the reporting of refugees from predominantly Muslim regions and their resettlement in Western nations. Much of this debate is rooted in how opposing discourse clans, such as liberal and conservative ideologies, construct a narrative of nationhood around contested views of refugees. Examining mainstream and alternative media from a critical discourse analytic perspective, the article uncovers how two key narratives about the Syrian refugee crisis emerge when the media attempt to orient their respective audiences to government policy through the discursive formation of the American Dream. Drawing on aspects of historicity, linguistic and semiotic action, and social impact, the analysis of the data reveals a discursive fracas between a humanistic perspective on the crisis that exploits a banal understanding of the American Dream and a more dichotomous narrative that homogenises refugees as a threat to the American way of life. These observations add to the growing body of literature that questions the ways in which the media discursively shapes, and is shaped by, political ideologies.

Liberating Afghan Women

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Afghan Women ◽  
The Media ◽  
Policy Priority

Public opinion in the United States and elsewhere celebrated the liberation of Afghan women following the defeat of the Taliban government. The United States promised to stay in Afghanistan and foster security, economic development, and human rights for all, especially women. After years of funding various anti- Soviet Mujahidin warlords, the United States had agreed to help reconstruct the country once before in 1992, when the Soviet-backed government fell, but had lost interest when the warlords began to fight among themselves. This time, however, it was going to be different. To date, however, conditions have not improved for most Afghan women and reconstruction has barely begun. How did this happen? This article explores media presentations of Afghan women and then compares them with recent reports from human rights organizations and other eyewitness accounts. It argues that the media depictions were built on earlier conceptions of Muslim societies and allowed us to adopt a romantic view that disguised or covered up the more complex historical context of Afghan history and American involvement in it. We allowed ourselves to believe that Afghans were exotic characters who were modernizing or progressing toward a western way of life, despite the temporary setback imposed by the Taliban government. In Afghanistan, however, there was a new trope: the feminist Afghan woman activist. Images of prominent Afghan women sans burqa were much favored by the mass media and American policymakers. The result, however, was not a new focus on funding feminist political organizations or making women’s rights a foreign policy priority; rather, it was an unwillingness to fulfill obligations incurred during decades of American-funded mujahidin warfare, to face the existence of deteriorating conditions for women, resumed opium cultivation, and a resurgent Taliban, or to commit to a multilateral approach that would bring in the funds and expertise needed to sustain a long-term process of reconstruction.

“I Believe in America”

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-87
Author(s):  
Paul A. Cantor ◽  
Paul A. Cantor
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
American Dream ◽  
The United States ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Old World ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Francis Ford Coppola ◽  
American Experience ◽  
Corporate Organization ◽  
Difficult Transition

In his Godfather films, Francis Ford Coppola created American classics by dwelling on a classic American experience—immigration. In the story of the Corleone family, Coppola portrays Sicilian immigrants struggling to create a new and better life in the United States. They must navigate the difficult transition from the Old World to the New, and also from the past to the present, from a quasi-feudal way of life in Sicily to a modern America characterized by impersonal economic relations and corporate organization. Vito Corleone achieves the American dream by succeeding in business and providing for his family, but his hopes for his sons are dashed. Carrying on Vito’s struggle, Michael Corleone defeats all his enemies, and yet in the process he destroys his family. Coppola sees the American dream as a source of tragedy, and this chapter analyzes both Vito and Michael as tragic heroes.

Covering Muslims

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Bleich ◽  
Maurits van der Veen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Media Portrayals ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Large Scale Analysis ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Media ◽  
Comparative Measure

For decades, scholars and observers have criticized negative media portrayals of Muslims and Islam. Yet most of these critiques are limited by their focus on one specific location, a limited time period, or a single outlet. This book offers the first systematic, large-scale analysis of American newspaper coverage of Muslims through comparisons across groups, time, countries, and topics. It demonstrates conclusively that coverage of Muslims is strikingly negative by every comparative measure examined. Muslim articles are negative relative to those touching on Catholics, Jews, or Hindus, and to those mentioning marginalized groups within the United States as diverse as African Americans, Latinos, Mormons, and atheists. Coverage of Muslims has also been consistently and enduringly negative across the two-decade period from 1996 through 2016. This pattern is not unique to the United States; it also holds in countries such as Britain, Canada, and Australia, although less so in the Global South. Moreover, the strong negativity in the articles is not simply a function of stories about foreign conflict zones or radical Islamist violence, even though it is true that terrorism and extremism have become more prominent themes since 9/11. Strikingly, even articles about mundane topics tend to be negative. The findings suggest that American newspapers may, however inadvertently, contribute to reinforcing boundaries that generate Islamophobic attitudes. To overcome these drawbacks, journalists and citizens can consciously “tone-check” the media to limit the stigmatizing effect of negative coverage so commonly associated with Muslims and Islam.

Imagining 5G: Public sense-making through advertising in China and the US

2021 ◽  
pp. 205015792098523
Author(s):  
Scott W. Campbell ◽  
Fangwei Zhao ◽  
Jordan Frith ◽  
Fan Liang
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Media Portrayals ◽  
Fifth Generation ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
Social Shaping ◽  
The Media ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Wireless Infrastructure

This study initiates a line of research on how the fifth generation of wireless infrastructure (“5G”) is being imagined through media portrayals—in this case through advertising. At the time of this writing, 5G is not yet widely available, however the media is saturated with narratives about how it will revolutionize everyday life. Drawing from the social imaginaries and media infrastructures traditions, this textual analysis examines the social shaping of 5G through advertisements from leading telecoms in leading markets, including China and the United States. Findings reveal an overarching trend with ads from both societies imagining 5G in futuristic and utopian ways, suggesting new possibilities for people, objects, and places to be connected through smart homes, vehicles, factories, and cities—not just through smart phones. The findings also reveal distinctions in how 5G is envisioned at the societal level. For example, ads from China imagine 5G as a source of national pride that will elevate its global standing, while the US telecoms have a more inward focus on domestic competition. The discussion offers interpretations of these and other findings, along with directions for future research.

scholarly journals Words matter: Representation of Mexican immigrants in newspapers from Mexico and the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Galindo ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Mexican Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
The Media

The purpose of this study is to analyze how, in news articles published in online versions of print newspapers from both the United States and Mexico, media represent Mexican immigrants based on the wording they use in articles about immigration issues. The study was done by analyzing, counting and comparing the words used by newspapers. Using critical discourse analysis as methodology, this study aims to contribute to a growing body of literature on the language used by the media and its influence on media consumers. 

scholarly journals Impact of Compulsory Sexuality on LGB and Asexual Media Consumers

Perceptions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Selena Baugh
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Development ◽  
Gradual Increase ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Media Portrayals ◽  
The Social ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
The Media ◽  
Compulsory Sexuality ◽  
Effects Of Media

This paper seeks to explore the effects of media portrayals of heterosexuality on the romantic and sexual development of adolescent lesbian, gay, bisexual, (LGB) and asexual (ace) consumers. The media, specifically network programming, is a powerful tool of socialization which has been dominated by images of heterosexual love since its inception. As a result LGB and ace consumers have been systemically erased from the majority of the United States’ mediated social narratives. Non-straight viewers have therefore been precluded from receiving the social guidance and affirmation allotted to heterosexual consumers whose sexual and romantic behaviors are endorsed by the images portrayed onscreen. The underrepresentation of LGB and ace people is reflected in other major socializing institutions including the home, church, and academic institutions where heterosexuality is taken for granted as the only acceptable form of sexual or romantic behavior, and non-straight people are consequently erased. Furthermore, tracing the gradual increase in portrayals of love and sex in the media over time and the ubiquitous nature of sexuality throughout society, this paper will explore the nuances inherent in the effects of compulsory heterosexuality on LGB people and the effects of compulsory sexuality on asexual people. Ultimately, by understanding television and story-telling as society’s primary means of self-regulation and expression, this paper will interrogate the implications of predominantly heterosexual narratives on the minds and sexual development of young LGB and asexual consumers.

Liberal States and Print Media Coverage of Global Advocacy Events: The Case of the UN Beijing Conference for Women

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-139
Author(s):  
Carol Mueller ◽  
Carol Mueller ◽  
Salvatore J. Restifo ◽  
Carol Mueller ◽  
Salvatore J. Restifo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Global Media ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Media Portrayals ◽  
National Differences ◽  
The Media ◽  
Information Politics

Abstract UN conferences and summits have played a critical role in bringing local activists’ claims to international audiences. One might assume that UN conferences, like other fora of “information politics,” rely on the global media to convey advocates’ messages. Yet, extensive research on U.S. media portrayals of UN women’s conferences, 1975–1995, have not found this to be the case. To the contrary, U.S. press coverage of these conferences follows a seemingly universal pattern of negative representations of female political candidates and public officials in the media. However, since there are sharp national differences in social policies related to women, we question whether media in other liberal democracies follow the U.S. pattern for covering UN women’s conferences or reflect the more variable pattern of diverse national policies. Comparing elite media from the United States, Canada, and Britain, we find evidence suggesting variable coverage across countries.

Civil sphere and democracy in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 23-40
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Ch. Alexander ◽  
Carlo Tognato
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Class Stratification ◽  
Civil Sphere ◽  
The Everyday

The purpose of the article is to demonstrate that the civil spheres of Latin America remain in force, even when under threat, and to expand the method of theorizing democracy, understanding it not only as a state form, but also as a way of life. Moreover, the task of the authors goes beyond the purely application of the theory of the civil sphere in order to emphasize the relevance not only in practice, but also in the theory of democratic culture and institutions of Latin America. This task requires decolonizing the arrogant attitude of North theorists towards democratic processes outside the United States and Europe. The peculiarities of civil spheres in Latin America are emphasized. It is argued that over the course of the nineteenth century the non-civil institutions and value spheres that surrounded civil spheres deeply compromised them. The problems of development that pockmarked Latin America — lagging economies, racial and ethnic and class stratification, religious strife — were invariably filtered through the cultural aspirations and institutional patterns of civil spheres. The appeal of the theory of the civil sphere to the experience of Latin America reveals the ambitious nature of civil society and democracy on new and stronger foundations. Civil spheres had extended significantly as citizens confronted uncomfortable facts, collectively searched for solutions, and envisioned new courses of collective action. However when populism and authoritarianism advance, civil understandings of legitimacy come under pressure from alternative, anti-democratic conceptions of motives, social relations, and political institutions. In these times, a fine-grained understanding of the competitive dynamics between civil, non-civil, and anti-civil becomes particularly critical. Such a vision is constructively applied not only to the realities of Latin America, but also in a wider global context. The authors argue that in order to understand the realities and the limits of populism and polarization, civil sphere scholars need to dive straight into the everyday life of civil communities, setting the civil sphere theory (CST) in a more ethnographic, “anthropological” mode.

The Media Conspiracy Behind the Death of Diana, Princess Of Wales: A Study of Critical Discourse Analysis

Metahumaniora ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Indah Mustika Santhi
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Daily Mail ◽  
Daily Newspapers ◽  
Analysis Theory ◽  
The Media ◽  
Material Process ◽  
Social Level

ABSTRAKPenelitian ini berjudul “The Media Conspiracy Behind the Death of Diana, Princessof Wales: A Study of Critical Discourse Analysis”. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskanbagaimana kematian Putri Diana direpresentasikan oleh The Daily Mail dalam artikelartikelpemberitaannya melalui dimensi tekstual dan juga memaparkan cara pandang TheDaily Mail sebagai pelaku media konspirasi pada praktik kerjanya terkait berita kematianPutri Diana dalam dimensi sosiokultural. Objek penelitian ini adalah The Daily Mail, salahsatu tabloid harian terbesar di Inggris. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalahmetode kualitatif, analisis deskriptif. Penulis menggunakan teori analisis wacana kritisFairclough (1995), disertai dengan beberapa teori pendukung lainnya, seperti teori klausasebagai representasi Halliday (2004), teori konspirasi Feaster (2008), Birchall (2006),Barkun (2003), Hodapp dan von Kannun (2008). Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkanbahwa representasi kematian Putri Diana dalam dimensi tekstual didapat melalui prosesmaterial, proses mental, proses relasional, proses verbal, dan proses eksistensial yangterdapat dalam artikel-artikel The Daily Mail. Sementara itu, cara pandang The Daily Mailsebagai pelaku media konspirasi atas berita kematian Putri Diana didapat melalui prosestataran sosial, tataran institusional, tataran sosial pada dimensi praktik sosiokultural.Kata Kunci: Transitivitas, Analisis Wacana Kritis, Media konspirasi.ABSTRACTThis thesis is entitled “The Media Conspiracy Behind the Death of Diana, Princessof Wales: A Study of Critical Discourse Analysis”. This thesis is aimed to describe therepresentation of Princess Diana’s death and The Daily Mail’s perspective as a mediaconspiracy actor through textual and sociocultural dimension. The object of this thesis isThe Daily Mail, one of the widest national daily newspapers in England. The method that isused in this thesis is a qualitative method, a descriptive analytic method. The writer uses thecritical discourse analysis theory of Fairclough (1995) and some other supported theories,such as clause as representation theory by Halliday (2004), the conspiracy theory by Feaster(2008), Birchall (2006), Barkun (2003), Hodapp and von Kannun (2008). The result of thisresearch shows that the representation in textual dimension that appear on Princess Diana’sdeath is derived from material process, mental process, relational process, verbal process, andexistential process. While The Daily Mail’s perspective on Princess Diana’s death is derivedfrom situational level, institutional level and social level of sociocultural practice dimension.Keywords: Transitivity, Critical Discourse Analysis, Media Conspiracy.

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