Seeing Ourselves
Suppressed Narratives a Lens Through the Life Cycle of Visual Rhetors in East Africa View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lydia Ouma Radoli
Journalism is sometimes described as a ‘macho practice’ (Feinsten, 2014) imbibed in the media agency of complex socio-political and economic issues. The practice demands sturdy and objective professionals unhinged by emotional burdens. In this competitive and impersonalized environment, journalists are subdued to a culture of ‘silence in newsrooms’ (Papadopoulou et al, 2022), in ounces of suppressed narratives. This situation may present a mental and emotional challenge to journalists who are expected to cover depressing stories as part of daily news production. The health state of journalists could adversely affect the outcome of media practice, which significantly contributes to societal well-being. In East Africa, journalists have been covering cases of terror, violent crime, and road carnages, without pausing to reflect and assess the toll the stories could be taking on their Psycho-social well-being. Through in-depth interviews, narrative analysis, and adopting theories of trauma journalism, this study unearths and gives voice to suppressed narratives of visual rhetors in East Africa (Journalists Covering Terror and Violent Crimes). These theoretical and methodological underpinnings allow the researcher to step into the private spaces of visual rhetors and adjust the lens towards them, and away from the story. The study chronicles the life cycle of visual rhetors from the point of taking the assignment, during the assignment, and experiences after the assignment. It is hoped that the outcomes of the study will suggest possible remedies that could help media professionals better negotiate the trauma that covering terror and violent crime stories entails.
Nostalgic Identity and Narrative Music Videos: Notes on Iranian Diaspora and the Quest for Sensemaking View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Hamid Asiayee
Nostalgia is a construct that, even when rooted in lived experiences, serves the ultimate purpose of creating a desired sense of world. Fundamental cognitive competencies, including memory and imagination, are utilized by the nostalgic subject to fulfill a need for narrative coherence. A temporal or spatial distance is necessary for the occurrence of a nostalgic episode, which can be conceptualized as a "had been" state of being, as direct access to the experience is often impossible. Nostalgia may thus be viewed as a tool for sense-making rather than solely as a yearning for the past. The nostalgic narrative form is a construct that permits human subjects to comprehend their existence in the world while drawing upon their roots. These tools for sense-making serve as bridges between past experiences and current conditions. Ultimately, nostalgic identity is not just about longing for the past but also about utilizing the past as a resource for navigating the labyrinths of the present. Analyses are conducted to examine the medium of music video at three levels - auditory, visual, and linguistic - in order to investigate the strategies and techniques employed by the Iranian diaspora to create nostalgic narratives. Samples of original pieces and renditions are contrasted in order to identify elements of nostalgic narrativity. Drawing on empirical research, it is argued that the unity of a music video arises from the integration of separate layers of sensory and conceptual inputs that have been composed towards an affective resonance and narrative coherence.
Infotainment or Infodemic? Popular Media and Health Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alongkorn (Al) Parivudhiphongs
While serious journalism and government public communication have dominated the dissemination of reliable information relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, popular media such as music, film, theatre, meme, and self-made clips have played an important role, too. But to what extent have they functioned as source of information for the public during the global pandemic? Have they promoted health communication or have they exacerbated the situation by promoting public disinformation? With an empirical focus on the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand, the qualitative research presented in this paper examines the role of popular media as vehicles for the dissemination of information relating to the pandemic. Content analysis of selected popular media (i.e. meme, animation, e-stickers, music and self-made movies) that appeared online and of social media during May 2020 and April 2022 shows that popular media have the capacity to communicate key health-related messages, including the virus’ effects on physical and mental health; reactions to preventive measures; criticism of state policy and of fake news; words of encouragements; mockery and satire of social panic. Through their infotainment quality, these popular media are likely to maintain informative and persuasive functions; they also offer more positive sentiments (optimism/encouraging/fun) than negative ones. At the same time, content simplification and infotainment can underplay complex issues entailed in COVID-19 news reports, which may affect knowledge about health protection and preventive measures. Within Thai contexts, the result suggests how infotainment media can be a useful source of health-related communication and new alternatives for networking during the pandemic crisis.
