Delineating Boundaries Between 'Us' and 'Them'
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Delineating boundaries between 'us' and 'them' $UHFHSWLRQVWXG\RIWKHUHSUHVHQWDWLRQRI Muslim characters in the television serial 24 5ROI+DOVH Dissertation for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of Bergen Abstract This thesis presents an examination of the US television serial 24’s representation of Muslim characters, and it explores to what extent the perception of these characters can be determined by the cultural and ethnic belonging of the audience. The present thesis shows how 24 participated in forming an arena in which representations, mental images, social relations, and boundaries between ingroup members and outgroup members are constructed and negotiated. The main reason for choosing to study 24 exclusively is that after 9/11 the serial played a central role in the public debate about whether Muslims are being stereotyped in US television entertainment. Hence, the thesis examines whether the critics of 24 have a valid point with regards to the show’s portrayal of negative stereotypes. It also assesses to what extent the serial’s effort to introduce Muslim counter-stereotypes proved to be an adequate response to the criticism. A qualitative research approach is used for examining 24 by combining textual and audience reception analysis. Close readings of selected episodes of the TV serial is carried out, and the crux of the analysis centres on whether, and if so in what respects the representation of the characters are stereotypical/counter-stereotypical. Moreover, it is examined how different interpretive communities of young adults, mainly from Norway, but also from the United States, read and perceive the portrayal of Muslim characters in the same television texts. In the thesis, the analysis of 24 is presented in the form of four scholarly articles. Each article emphasizes different dimensions of the stereotype or counter-stereotype, each draws on different theoretical perspectives, and each can be related to different debates in media studies. The use of the stereotype and the counter-stereotype as analytical tools is pivotal for shedding light on the struggle over meanings of specific representational modes. The thesis aims to contribute to making research on these concepts more relevant for media studies by offering demonstrations of how they can be applied in the investigation of media texts. 3 4 Sammendrag Denne avhandlingen presenterer en studie av den amerikanske TV serien 24’s representasjon av muslimske karakterer, og den undersøker i hvilken grad oppfatningen av disse karakterene kan bli bestemt av et publikums kulturelle og etniske bakgrunn. Avhandlingen viser hvordan 24 deltok i å skape en arena hvor representasjoner, mentale bilder, sosiale relasjoner og grenser mellom inngrupper og utgrupper blir konstruert og forhandlet om. Etter 11. september 2001 spilte 24 en sentral rolle i debatten om hvorvidt muslimer blir negativt og stereotypisk fremstilt i amerikansk TV underholdning. Dette er hovedgrunnen for å velge denne TV-serien som case. I studiet blir det undersøkt om kritikken rettet mot serien i forhold til dens mediering av muslimske stereotypier har substans. I tillegg vurderes det i hvilken grad seriens introduksjon av kontra-stereotypiske muslimske karakterer imøtekommer kritikken på en god måte. TV-serien blir undersøkt ved bruk av en kvalitativ tilnærming der tekstanalyse og resepsjonsanalyse er kombinert. Først blir det utført analyser av utvalgte episoder av TV-serien, og et sentralt spørsmål er her om fremstillingen av karakterene kan sies å være stereotyp/kontra-stereotyp. Det blir så studert hvordan ulike fortolkningsfelleskap av unge voksne, hovedsakelig fra Norge, men også USA, leser, oppfatter og fortolker fremstillingen av muslimske karakterer i de samme medietekstene. Analysen av serien er utformet som fire vitenskapelige artikler. I hver artikkel vektlegges ulike dimensjoner ved begrepet stereotypi eller kontra-stereotypi. Artiklene trekker veksler på forskjellige teoretiske perspektiver og kan kobles til forskjellige diskusjoner innenfor medievitenskapen. Bruken av stereotypi- og kontra-stereotypi som analytiske verktøy er av avgjørende betydning for å kunne belyse hvordan kampen over meningsinnholdet til spesifikke representasjoner foregikk. Denne avhandlingen ønsker å bidra til å gjøre forskning på stereotypier og kontra-stereotypier mer relevant for medievitenskap ved gi demonstrasjoner på hvordan begrepene kan anvendes i studiet av medietekster. 5 6 List of publications Article 1: Halse, Rolf (2013) ‘The Muslim-American neighbour as terrorist: the representation of a Muslim family in 24’, was published in Journal of Arab and Muslim Media Research 5(1). Final version submitted July 2012 and published November 2012. All rights reserved. Copyright: Intellect Ltd, 2012. Article 2: Halse, Rolf (2012) ‘Negotiating boundaries between us and them: Ethnic Norwegians and Norwegian Muslims speak out about the ‘next door neighbour terrorist’ in 24’ was published in Nordicom Review 33(1). Final version submitted November 2010 and published August 2012. All rights reserved. Copyright: Nordicom, 2012. Article 3: Halse, Rolf (forthcoming) ‘Counter-stereotypical images of Muslim characters in the television serial 24: A difference that makes no difference?’, was accepted for publication by Critical Studies in Television: the International Journal of TV Studies in February 2014, and the final version was submitted March 2014. All rights reserved. Copyright: Manchester University Press. Article 4: Halse, Rolf (2014) ‘Textual poaching, gamekeeping and the counter-stereotype: US and Norwegian online fans’ perceptions of positive portrayals of Muslims in 24’, was accepted for publication by Nordicom Review in March 2013, and the final version was submitted April 2013. The article is scheduled for publication June 2014. All rights reserved. Copyright: Nordicom, 2014. 7 8 Acknowledgements A number of people have helped me with this thesis. I would first of all like to thank in huge amounts my main supervisor Leif Ove Larsen and my co-supervisor Helge Østbye for their encouragement, support and critical and valuable advice on my thesis. I am grateful for the dedicated help and valuable feedback that Simone Knox of the Department of Film, Theatre & Television at the University of Reading gave me during my stay at the University of Reading Spring 2012. I would also like to give thanks to the informants for sharing their readings on 24 with me. Next, I would like to thank all the nice people at the Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen. I would like to say thank you to Barbara Gentikow for the good feedback on my research project and to Jostein Gripsrud for his encouragement and advice. I would like to thank my office cohabitants Linda Olsen and Kathrine Duarte. I give also thanks to those who have read and commented upon earlier versions of my texts that are brought together in the thesis: Torgeir Nerland, Ole Johan Mjøs, Irena Reifová, Lars Nyre, Elisbeth Eide, Øyvind Økland, Tonje Haugland Sørensen, Hilde Arntsen, Helle Sjøvaag, Asbjørn Grønstad, Tonia Kazakopoulou and Brita Ytre-Arne have been helpful in this regard. Furthermore, I am grateful for the dedicated and rewarding contribution to Charly Hulten regarding proofreading. Finally, I thank my parents, Per Halse and Eva Sundsback, my brother Bjørn Halse, my daughter Selma Nybø Halse, my son Gustav Nybø Halse, my mother-in-law Grethe Søfteland Nybø and father-in-law Stig Nybø. Last, but not least, I would like to show my gratitude to my dear Mailen Nybø for the never ending support and help during this time. Bergen, March 2014 9 10 Table of contents PART 1: FINAL CONTRIBUTION 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 17 1.1 Why investigate 24’s portrayal of Muslims?.................................................................. 19 1.2 24 in US political discourse............................................................................................ 23 1.3 The structure of the ‘Final contribution’ ........................................................................ 28 2. The research articles........................................................................................ 30 2.1 Why a collection of articles? .......................................................................................... 32 2.2 A summary of the research articles ................................................................................ 35 3. Theoretical perspectives.................................................................................. 40 3.1 Representation and the notions of the stereotype/counter-stereotype ............................ 40 A brief historical perspective on the stereotype concept ........................................... 43 Defining features of the stereotype ............................................................................ 46 Counter-stereotypes in the ‘postracial’ era ............................................................... 49 Research on Muslim stereotypes and counter-stereotypes in US TV series and film 52 3.2 Reception........................................................................................................................ 57 The School of Constance’s reception theory.............................................................. 59 The encoding/decoding paradigm.............................................................................. 61 4.