PARADISE, FOR SALE: HGTV’S CARIBBEAN LIFE AND THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION BY STEPHANIE DENARDO A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2017 1 © 2017 Stephanie Denardo 2 To my family, who first exposed me to new places and ideas 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not have completed this paper without the endless support, insights, and critiques from my chair and committee members, who pushed me beyond typical disciplinary boundaries to see the world through many lenses. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................... 6 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................ 7 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: HGTV AND THE VISUAL ESCAPE ......................... 10 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY ................................... 13 Examining HGTV in North America ....................................................... 13 Representation and Identity Power Politics in IR ................................... 17 Paradise: Defining a Discourse and Its History ..................................... 21 Methodology: Critical Visual Discourse Analysis ................................... 24 3 ANALYSIS: HGTV’S CARIBBEAN LIFE AND THE PRODUCTION OF PARADISE ............................................................................................ 28 The Scripting of Caribbean Life ............................................................. 29 The Meta Narrative ................................................................................ 32 The Evidence in Images ........................................................................ 33 Landscapes ..................................................................................... 33 Colonial architecture ....................................................................... 35 Leisure activities ............................................................................. 37 Indigenous people in service roles .................................................. 39 Summary of Analysis: Why Caribbean Visual Representations Matters to IR ....................................................................................... 41 Pushback to Paradise: Indigenous Caribbean Responses .................... 42 4 CONCLUSION: POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF PARADISE MASS PRODUCED .......................................................................................... 57 APPENDIX: SAMPLE OF VISUAL NOTES ................................................. 60 LIST OF REFERENCES .............................................................................. 76 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................... 81 5 LIST OF TABLES Table page 3-1 Demographics of Caribbean Life Buyers and Sellers 2014 – 2017... 46 6 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 2-1 ‘Palme’ from The Drake Manuscript Histoire Naturelle des Indes (1586), in Sheller 2003, pg. 41. ......................................................... 26 2-2 ‘Hindes De Ihona’ from The Drake Manuscript Histoire Naturelle des Indes (1586) courtesy of The Morgan Library and Museum. ............. 26 2-3 ‘Planting the Sugar-Cane’ by William Clark (1823), Courtesy of the British Library. ................................................................................... 27 3-1 “Beach” Landscape Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 7 Episode 4, (2017)..……………………………………………………………………..46 3-2 “Fruit Drink” Landscape Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 1 Episode 7 (2014)..……………………………………………………………………..47 3-3 “Jungle and Ocean” Landscape Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 8 Episode 9 (2017). .............................................................................. 47 3-4 “Tropical Flowers” Landscape Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 7 Episode 2 (2017). .............................................................................. 48 3-5 “Tiki Beach” Landscape Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 5 Episode 12 (2016)………………………………………………………………………48 3-6 “Plantation Historical Site” Architecture Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 6 Episode 4 (2016). .............................................................. 49 3-7 “Ocean-Front Homes” Architecture Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 7 Episode 9 (2017). .............................................................................. 49 3-8 “Pool With a View” Architecture Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 6 Episode 13 (2016). ............................................................................ 50 3-9 “Colonial Historical Site” Architecture Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 6 Episode 7 (2016). ........................................................................... 50 3-10 “Water-front Village” Architecture Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 8 Episode 3 (2017). .............................................................................. 51 3-11 “Master of All I Survey” Architecture Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 7 Episode 9 (2017). .............................................................................. 51 3-12 “Lounging in Hammock” Leisure Activity Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 6 Episode 8 (2016). .............................................................. 52 7 3-13 “Zip Lining Through Jungle” Leisure Activity Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 4 Episode 4 (2016). .............................................................. 52 3-14 “Paddle Boarding Up River” Leisure Activity Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 2 Episode 8 (2015). .............................................................. 53 3-15 “Horseback Riding on the Beach” Leisure Activity Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 7 Episode 11 (2017). .................................................... 53 3-16 “Windsurfing” Leisure Activity Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 3 Episode 10 (2015). ............................................................................ 54 3-17 “Music Performance” Indigenous Population Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 7 Episode 6 (2017). .............................................................. 54 3-18 “Local Woman Carrying Fruit” Indigenous Population Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 1 Episode 10 (2014).................................... 55 3-19 “Boat Tour” Indigenous Population Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 6 Episode 5 (2016). .............................................................................. 55 3-20 “Serving Up Drinks and Smiles” Indigenous Population Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 5 Episode 1 (2016)...................................... 56 3-21 “Enjoying Drinks” Indigenous Population Shot on Caribbean Life, Season 7 Episode 13 (2017). ............................................................ 56 8 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts PARADISE, FOR SALE: HGTV’S CARIBBEAN LIFE AND THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION By Stephanie Denardo December 2017 Chair: Aida Hozic Major: Political Science This thesis examines the HGTV hit series Caribbean Life and its implications for North American perceptions of their tropical neighbors. By employing a critical visual discourse analysis of the 112 episodes (seasons one through eight), the research shows the series produces and reproduces a vision of “paradise” echoing familiar colonial representations of the Caribbean. These visual tropes include abundant nature, colorful colonial architecture, historical plantation sites, luxurious modern homes, smiling indigenous individuals as service workers, and North American couples engaging in leisure activities at the beach. The absence of local populations, non-tourist parts of the islands, and any other visual representations that do not fit North American stereotypes about the Caribbean speaks just as loudly. Caribbean Life reinforces the myth that these tropical islands are for the exploration, purchase, and pleasure of North Americans, concealing the centuries of material exploitation, colonization, and forced labor across the region through the visual guise of paradise. 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: HGTV AND THE VISUAL ESCAPE Watching paint dry or caulking bath tile might not seem like fun, but that’s what millions of Americans tune into every week in the United States (Smith 2016). The Tennessee-based Home and Garden Television Network (HGTV) overtook CNN as the third most-watched cable channel in the U.S. in 2016, booming in popularity after the worst housing market crash in U.S. history and the onset of the Great Recession in 2007 (Smith 2016; Stoller 2012). HGTV seduces viewers with programs showcasing everyday people touring beautiful houses and scenic environments, what Smith (2016) describes as “The escapist appeal” of peeking through the windows of other people’s lives; HGTV produces a world for viewers where the worst problems an individual faces are choosing between backsplash tile or compromising on one versus two sinks in the master bathroom (Smith 2016). The network launched a block of content called “Life’s a Beach” with special weekend programming dedicated to house hunting along the coastlines in and outside the U.S. beginning in 2013; nearly five percent of U.S. households faced foreclosure only two years before, the highest rate recorded to