Collectively Empathizing with the ‘Innocent Victim’
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COLLECTIVELY EMPATHIZING WITH THE ‘INNOCENT VICTIM’ Source: ANP FRAMING THE ASYLUM - S E E K I N G CHILD IN A CROSS - MED I A ENVIRONMENT BRECHT VISSER JUNE 28, 2019 | STUDENTNUMBER: 10571396 MA TELEVISION & CROSSMEDIA CULTURE | UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM SUPERVISOR: DRS. M.C.C.J. REESINK | SECOND READER: DR. J.A. TEURLINGS Abstract The notion of framing plays a role in all forms of social interaction. Especially in a cross-media environment, the way reality is represented cannot be ignored. However, research mostly focus on the impact of framing and relatively little attention has been given to the display of frames in an ongoing debate. This thesis aims to demonstrate the ways in which personalizing the political issue ensures a shared discourse about the Children’s Pardon between various media organizations. The case studies on the online documentary Terug Naar Je Eige Land and the subsequent interactive debate on television explain the repetition of one specific frame. While focusing on the empathy that is used to define the situation of several children that will be deported in the form of a frame analysis, I will describe this “victim frame”. Furthermore, by elaborating on the notion of celebrity politics and examining the political responses, I argue that the “victim frame” is reinforced over time, what makes it impossible to establish a conflicting frame in television that is not being refuted. By examining the role of (both online and broadcast) television in this debate, I clarify the concept of framing in the current media environment. Keywords media frames, media agenda, frame analysis, agenda-setting, political issues, personalization, Children’s Pardon, immigrants, Terug Naar Je Eige Land 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 4 2. Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Agenda-setting and media logic in a digital era ................................................................ 9 2.2 The context of framing ................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Shared empathy to present political issues .................................................................... 14 2.4 Framing immigrants and steering immigration policies.................................................. 17 3. Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 20 3.1 Children as innocent victims in Terug Naar Je Eige Land (BNNVARA 2018) ................... 23 3.1.1 Setting the tone: laughter vs. seriousness ................................................................ 24 3.1.2 Defining the situation: personal problems vs. political issue .................................... 27 3.1.3 The responsible parties appointed: confronting and mocking the politicians .......... 29 3.1.4 Situate the immigrants: multicultural and assimilation frame................................. 32 3.2 Cross-media attention to the Children’s Pardon ............................................................ 35 3.2.1 The interactive debate: compliant or conflicting to the documentary ..................... 36 3.2.2 Celebrity politics: making the political issue personal .............................................. 40 3.2.3 Political responses: justifying the policies and statements ...................................... 44 3.2.4 The emotional approach: framing the political decisions ........................................ 47 4. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 49 5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 51 6. Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 52 7. Audiovisual Sources .............................................................................................................. 56 8. Appendix ............................................................................................................................... 59 8.1 The interactive debate surrounding the Children’s Pardon on television ...................... 59 3 1. Introduction “In a few minutes they will shoot me, and I will die.” These are the words of the eight- year-old boy Nemr, when he explains what he thinks is going to happen when he arrives in Iraq after being deported from the Netherlands, his country of birth. Television presenter, Tim Hofman argues in the online documentary Terug Naar Je Eige Land (BNNVARA, 2018) that children without a residence permit should not be deported after staying in the Netherlands for a period longer than five years. He refers to a policy that was introduced by the Dutch government in 2013. The so-called Children’s Pardon gives families with children the possibility to stay in the Netherlands when they have been living in this country for more than five years, but they only receive a residence permit when they meet certain conditions that are set by the government. The documentary claims that the policy is not working properly since it is difficult for many families to meet the predetermined conditions. Terug Naar Je Eige Land (transl. Back to Your Own Country) follows five children that are or will be deported to their (or their parents’) country of origin, even though they were born or grew up in the Netherlands. After releasing the online documentary, a petition was initiated by the makers of the documentary to raise awareness among politicians about the citizens’ dissatisfaction with the current Children’s Pardon. By producing the documentary, distributing it online and broadcasting it on national television, the public broadcaster BNNVARA did encourage the public debate. They also shared additional online videos and addressed the topic many times in their prominent talk shows De Wereld Draait Door (BNNVARA) and Pauw (BNNVARA) to reach a broader and more diverse audience, to spread their ideals and to ensure that the topic remains relevant. Consequently, the overall attention of other media organizations, politicians, experts and celebrities towards the documentary and the shortcomings of the Children’s Pardon was helpful in sharing the message and setting the political agenda. The online petition was signed over 250.000 times, which made it possible for the documentary makers to address the House of Representatives in person about this topic. Before this address could happen, one of the ruling parties changed their mind about deporting these children and, within three months after the release of the documentary, the ruling parties came to an agreement and decided to immediately end the policies surrounding the Children’s Pardon. The already existing cases, that were not eligible for the policy before, will be reconsidered again and because of temporarily (easier to follow) 4 rules, most of them will receive a residence permit. By changing the policies and spending more money, the government expects that in the future these families will not even have the ability to stay in the Netherlands for such a long period waiting for a decision about their deportation (Adriaanse and Rijlaarsdam). According to Roggeband and Vliegenthart, the public attention to migration issues increased significantly in the Netherlands after 9/11 (543). There are more discussions about welcoming immigrants and more often the negative impact of immigrants on Dutch society is part of these discussions. Nowadays there is frequent talk of a completely failed immigration policy in the Netherlands (524-525). This is not only discussed within the political sphere, but the media also try to explain these abstract political ideas to the public and provoke a public debate. Most of the time, the debate that is being initiated or addressed by the media consists of individual cases (e.g. Mauro 2011; Howick and Lili 2018; Hayarpi 2018). The documentary Terug Naar Je Eige Land also depicts personal stories of only a few children to explain the political issue in a way that is easy to understand. Literally, a face is put on the abstract discussion. Later on, I will explain that the way media organizations like BNNVARA or RTL represent the political situation, affect the interpretation of the responding media and the public’s ideas around this topic (Haynes, Merolla and Karthick Ramakrishnan). In their turn the cross-media responses can have its influence as well. By framing the topic, only a certain point of view will be explained. It has been shown that politicians also intervene in the public debate and respond to the media’s attention. Consequently, the politics intervention in previous cases, that were highlighted by the media, have led to exceptions to the policies for only these children. Right now, in case of the Children’s Pardon and the extensive commotion about it in the media, a more general solution has been found, despite the presentation of several personal situations. How is it that this media attention seems to affect the political agenda? Furthermore, how is the media actually representing the political issue of migration in a multimedia environment and how do other media organizations or individuals react to that? In other