Reaching breaking point: right-wing migration rhetoric in mainstream media Douglas Ponton, University of Catania Peter Mantello, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Against a background of war and turmoil in the Middle East, the current refugee crisis shows no sign of abating, placing traditional socio-political structures in western countries under considerable strain. Where in the past it was possible for European nations to intervene, for example by performing acts of rescue in the Mediterranean or welcoming small groups of people in specific emergencies, the need for a massive, coordinated response to the unfolding humanitarian drama has so far seen only a partial response (Attinà 2016). Not only have EU mechanisms for dealing with the migratory phenomenon proved inadequate, but the crisis has accentuated tensions within the EU itself, arguably contributing to the emergence of right wing, populist political tendencies throughout Europe, to the Brexit referendum of 2016, and to the following inevitable dissolution of long-lasting political allegiances. In an exploration of multimodal patterns of discursive framing (Bell et al 2005, Baldry and Thibault 2006), this inter-disciplinary paper addresses the role of mainstream media in representing the crisis. It builds on past work which distinguished ideological patterns inherent in each of four main alternatives: refugee/asylum seeker/immigrant/migrant (Baker et al 2008), and suggests that recent events have imposed the necessary addition of a new figure to the list, best summed up in the label ‘Islamic terrorist’. Debate over the reception and assimilation of immigrants is now coloured by fears that new arrivals may conceal potential terrorists in their midst. The paper explores the way such fears may be configured in the discourse of populist right-wing European parties. References Attinà, Fulvio 2016. L’Europa alle prese con la crisi migratoria. In Panebianco, Stefania (ed) Sulle onde del Mediterraneo. Milano: EGEA. Baldry, Anthony and Thibault, Paul 2006. Multimodal transcription and text analysis. London: Equinox. Baker, Paul, Gabrielatos, Costas, Khosravinik, Majid, Anowski, Krzyz, Michal, McEnery, Tony and Wodak, Ruth 2008. A useful methodological synergy? Combining critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics to examine discourses of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK press. Discourse and Society 2008 Vol 19(3): 273–306. Bell, David (ed) 2005. Cybercultures. Critical concepts in media and cultural studies. London and New York: Routledge.

Breaking point: Mapping the politics and aesthetics of right-wing migration rhetoric in mainstream media

d ponton
Primo
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
2018-01-01

Abstract

Reaching breaking point: right-wing migration rhetoric in mainstream media Douglas Ponton, University of Catania Peter Mantello, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Against a background of war and turmoil in the Middle East, the current refugee crisis shows no sign of abating, placing traditional socio-political structures in western countries under considerable strain. Where in the past it was possible for European nations to intervene, for example by performing acts of rescue in the Mediterranean or welcoming small groups of people in specific emergencies, the need for a massive, coordinated response to the unfolding humanitarian drama has so far seen only a partial response (Attinà 2016). Not only have EU mechanisms for dealing with the migratory phenomenon proved inadequate, but the crisis has accentuated tensions within the EU itself, arguably contributing to the emergence of right wing, populist political tendencies throughout Europe, to the Brexit referendum of 2016, and to the following inevitable dissolution of long-lasting political allegiances. In an exploration of multimodal patterns of discursive framing (Bell et al 2005, Baldry and Thibault 2006), this inter-disciplinary paper addresses the role of mainstream media in representing the crisis. It builds on past work which distinguished ideological patterns inherent in each of four main alternatives: refugee/asylum seeker/immigrant/migrant (Baker et al 2008), and suggests that recent events have imposed the necessary addition of a new figure to the list, best summed up in the label ‘Islamic terrorist’. Debate over the reception and assimilation of immigrants is now coloured by fears that new arrivals may conceal potential terrorists in their midst. The paper explores the way such fears may be configured in the discourse of populist right-wing European parties. References Attinà, Fulvio 2016. L’Europa alle prese con la crisi migratoria. In Panebianco, Stefania (ed) Sulle onde del Mediterraneo. Milano: EGEA. Baldry, Anthony and Thibault, Paul 2006. Multimodal transcription and text analysis. London: Equinox. Baker, Paul, Gabrielatos, Costas, Khosravinik, Majid, Anowski, Krzyz, Michal, McEnery, Tony and Wodak, Ruth 2008. A useful methodological synergy? Combining critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics to examine discourses of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK press. Discourse and Society 2008 Vol 19(3): 273–306. Bell, David (ed) 2005. Cybercultures. Critical concepts in media and cultural studies. London and New York: Routledge.
2018
1-893127-42-7
Migration, media, representation, political discourse analysis, right-wing
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/358067
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