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Netflix's Sense8 and Accompanying Twitter Communication Transnationale Ident Transnational Identity in Online Discourse – Netflix’s Sense8 and accompanying Twitter communication Transnationale Identität im Online Diskurs – Netflix’s Sense8 und Anschlusskommunikation auf Twitter by Anna Carolin Antonia Rohmann A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo and the Universitaet Mannheim in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Intercultural German Studies Waterloo, Ontario, Canada / Mannheim, Germany, 2020 © Anna Carolin Antonia Rohmann 2020 Author’s declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, in- cluding any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. Ehrenwörtliche Erklärung Ich versichere, dass ich die Arbeit selbstständig und ohne Benutzung anderer als der angege- benen Hilfsmittel angefertigt habe. Alle Stellen, die wörtlich oder sinngemäß aus Veröffentli- chungen in schriftlicher oder elektronischer Form entnommen sind, habe ich als solche unter Angabe der Quelle kenntlich gemacht. Mir ist bekannt, dass im Falle einer falschen Versiche- rung die Arbeit mit „nicht ausreichend“ bewertet wird. Ich bin ferner damit einverstanden, dass meine Arbeit zum Zwecke eines Plagiatsabgleichs in elektronischer Form versendet und gespeichert werden kann. Mannheim, 10.08.2020 ii Abstract Digital media has become ubiquitous and immensely shapes communitarisation, and thus identity construction. As media does not rely on physical border crossing to bring us in con- tact with different subject positions, traditional forms of mobility are not necessary to include people in transnational discourse and narratives of transnational identification. However, scholarly attention has been focused on discourses of transnational identities tied to tradition- al transgressions of national space. To bridge this gap the question of how digital transnation- al identity is constructed in a fictional narrative and through accompanying non-fictional communication is answered. The method employed for this examination is digital discourse analysis. Objects of investigation are the Netflix Original sci-fi production Sense8, that tells a story about transnational community formation, and accompanying communication on Twit- ter. I argue that narratives of Sense8 are taken up in tweets featuring #Sense8 and #Sense8NetflixRewatch to construct transnational identities. Five discursive strategies are present in fictional and non-fictional environments, which are constitutive for digital transna- tional identities: emphasizing connectivity, foregrounding shared values in the identity nego- tiation, displaying network aesthetics, communicating in transnational spaces, and replacing nationality through the interplay of local and global. Transnational challenges (e.g. the refu- gee crisis or the Covid19- pandemic) show how interconnected the world is, but simultane- ously increasing national isolation tendencies and negative identity politics illustrate that it is crucial to look at what connects people beyond nationality. Developing an understanding of how people place themselves in global connections can aid facilitating worldwide coopera- tion, migration policies and help managing otherness. Keywords. transnationalism, digital discourse analysis, identity, Twitter, Sense8 iii Acknowledgements My sincere gratitude goes to Grit Liebscher and Justus Fetscher for their guidance, valued advice throughout this project, and willingness to support my interdisciplinary research. I would also like to acknowledge all the teachers and professors that taught me so much more than just the tools for completing this program over the years. In addition, I want to thank my writing partner Kira for bringing the fun and ‘rocket science’ to our work. Lysanne, thank you for your input on early human migration and expanding my scientific horizon. Many thanks to Corinna, Sebastian, and Zoe for taking the time out of their workweek or vacation to read my drafts and provide me with feedback. A special thanks goes to Marissa, who always had an open ear and endless support and motivation for my writing. Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family. Paul and Theo, thank you for not letting me take my studies to serious and making me laugh. Jule, you are the best sister, roommate, and editor there is, and I cannot wait to read your thesis one day. I am grateful for my grandparents and parents, who allowed me to be curious and nurtured my love for stories. Mom, thank you for encouraging me to pursue this degree, even if it meant moving halfway across the world, and always believing in me. My (chosen) family provided me with so many great memories and examples of transnational relationships over the last few years – I really appreciate every one of you. It means the world to me to have so many amazing people in my corner. Without all of you this thesis would not have been possible! iv Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. VII LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF TWEETS ............................................................................................................... IX INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1 Overview of existing research ................................................................................................. 4 GLOBALIZATION, SPACE, MEDIA, AND IDENTIFICATION POTENTIALS.......... 5 TRANSNATIONAL IDENTITY ............................................................................................ 8 Identity ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Identity and nationality ......................................................................................................... 11 Identity and transnationalism ............................................................................................... 13 RESEARCH METHOD ........................................................................................................ 16 Discourse ................................................................................................................................. 16 Digital Discourse Analysis ..................................................................................................... 17 Data selection .......................................................................................................................... 20 ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................. 23 How is transnational identity constructed in Netflix’s Sense8?......................................... 23 Netflix as medium 23 Architecture of content creation 25 Production context of Sense8 27 ‘What’s going on’ - Sense8 31 How is transnational identity constructed on Twitter? ...................................................... 51 Twitter as medium 51 Architecture of participation 52 Metadata 58 v ‘What’s happening’ - Tweets 60 What overarching discursive strategies emerge in the construction of digital transnational identity? .................................................................................................................................. 81 Emphasizing connectivity 81 Foregrounding shared values in identity creation 82 Network aesthetics 83 Communicating in transnational spaces 84 Replacing nationality through interplay of local and global 85 Discussion 87 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 90 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 95 APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................... 107 Tables. ................................................................................................................................... 107 Figures. .................................................................................................................................. 113 Tweets.................................................................................................................................... 124 Additional Data. ................................................................................................................... 132 vi List of figures Figure_Appendix 1 Number of posts containing #Sense8, users, engagement, and reach .. 113 Figure_Appendix 2 Percentage of population not using the internet in 2019...................... 114 Figure_Appendix 3 Gender gap in internet usage in 2019 .................................................. 115 Figure_Appendix 4 Screenshot of NetflixParty browser extension in use .......................... 116 Figure_Appendix 5 Screenshot of NetflixParty browser extension in use – zoomed in on NetflixParty ............................................................................................................................ 117 Figure_Appendix 6 Main characters and their cities ..........................................................
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