Coalitions and Counternarratives to SB 1070 DISSERTATION
Creating Resistance on the Border: Coalitions and Counternarratives to S.B. 1070 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Denise Ann Fuller Graduate Program in Women's Studies The Ohio State University 2017 Dissertation Committee: Mary Thomas, Advisor Guisela Latorre Theresa Delgadillo Copyrighted by Denise Ann Fuller 2017 Abstract With the passing of Arizona’s immigration bill S.B. 1070, the controversial “Papers Please” law ignited strong responses from its supporters and detractors. This dissertation focuses on the resistance to Arizona’s law by examining the role of artists in the protest movement. This dissertation examines films, both documentary and narrative; songs and their accompanying music videos; and the Sound Strike boycott of Arizona begun by prominent musicians in order to explore the discourse utilized by these groups in their protest of S.B. 1070. Through an analysis of visuals, narrative structure, lyrics, Facebook posts, and public press conferences, this dissertation argues that these creative productions change the discourse around immigration and undocumented immigrants. Focusing on undocumented immigrants as laborers, parents, and children, these artistic forms of protest create a counternarrative to the dangerous, violent, immigrant evoked by S.B. 1070 supporters. In film, music, and the Sound Strike boycott, artists emphasized the connection between racial profiling in S.B. 1070 to other fights against state surveillance and violence, calling for a multiracial, multiethnic coalition. This dissertation argues that the protests of S.B. 1070 show the opportunities and importance of coalitional building outside of identity groups while simultaneously recognizing that the reliance upon the heteronormative family and gender essentialism limits the protest both in coalitional opportunities and in protecting already marginalized undocumented immigrants.
[Show full text]