Förortens paradox
En kritisk analys av mediala representationer
Interdisciplinary studiesMediaFörortRepresentationStereotyperRasifieringMedieskugga och kritisk diskursanalys MediaSuburbRepresentationStereotypesRacializationMeidashadow and critical discourse analysisTVÄRVETENSKAP
There are several typical ideas about the suburb. The suburb is often associated with criminality and other social problems such as segregation. The purpose of this essay is to study the picture of how the suburb is constructed in a media context. The method used to answer the purpose of this study is critical discourse analysis, based on the thoughts of Norman Fairclough. The central theoretical ideas for this study are representation, stereotypes and racialization. They are all in a way linked to power.Within the media suburb discourse I have distinguished two different discourses. The stereotyped discourse and the challenging alternative discourse have been found in both articles and interview. It is the alternative discourse that challenges the stereotyped one. You can say that the alternative discourse is created in an attempt to change the representations of the suburb. The stereotyped discourse is in spite of the changing attempts still the dominant one.The media treatment of the suburb has created several stereotypes and the negative and criminal picture has become a common frame of reference in a social consciousness. In my empirical material I have seen traces of a form of underlying ideology called racialization. Racialization is based on different simplifications and categorisations of gender, class and ?race?. This ideology has an influence in every level of society, which means that the editorial office despite their purpose also, reproduce the stereotyped discourse. It shows the difficulties to change an established discourse like the stereotyped one. It is important to challenge these ideas to be able to make a difference in the way we speak, think and stigmatize the suburb.