Autor/es
Descripción
ver mas
Colaborador
Zylberman, Lior
Calzado, Mercedes
Spatial Coverage
Temporal Coverage
2015-2019
Idioma
spa
Extent
235 p.
Derechos
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Formato
application/pdf
Identificador
Cobertura
ARG
2015-2019
Abstract
During the period governed by Cambiemos in Argentina (2015-2019), the construction of alterities around crime deepened, particularly from the Ministry of National Security, introducing new “dangerous” subjects such as: members of indigenous communities, immigrants and protesters (Plaza, Morales and Brocca, 2019) that forged the image of a government committed to security (Pulleiro and Collazo, 2021). The deepening of the gap between “us” and “others” based on the marking of these dangerous subjects was not only configured through institutional-political instruments (such as the passing of laws, the modification of the Penal Code or the police repression), but was also constantly encouraged and supported by the media that, through their appeal to war metaphors (“war on crime”), sought to identify “enemies” (linked to the dangerousness of crime) towards which to focus (Matthews, 2016) and it is necessary to defeat (Garland, 2005; Sozzo, 2005).
In this context, two cases of homicide perpetrated by common citizens (Lino Villar Cataldo and Daniel Oyarzún) were made visible in the media. In the panelist programs, these cases were narrated, mainly, from the experiences and emotions of the murderers who were protagonists of the events. The focus of the audiovisual discourses was on showing their injured bodies, their anguish, relief and fears, but also their effort, their work and their family, to the detriment of the visuality of the victims of the violent events, which was almost non-existent. Both these TV programs, as well as the National Executive Power, through the Ministry of Security and the President, functioned as key agents in the construction of a visuality characterized by the widespread exposure of images and media discourses that exhibit a climate of fear, placing responsibility to the popular sectors and promoting punitive attitudes among citizens.
In the construction of these discourses, images play a central role, given that we find ourselves in a historical moment where they have become a fundamental part of existence and have the power to shape our perceptions (Mirzoeff, 1999) and produce subjectivities. Various works and academic research inserted in the disciplines of social communication and sociology have focused on the analysis of the media treatment of crime and security; however, these focus only on the verbal discursive level, often leaving aside the power of images to construct meanings (Boehm, 1996).
In this sense, our investigations are theoretically based on visual studies, which consider that vision is as important as language, as a mediator of social relations (Mitchell, 1992). For Mitchell (2009) modern thought has been reoriented around visual paradigms that seem to threaten any possibility of discursive control, this is what the author has defined as the Pictorial Turn. For visual studies, visuality is not only a set of visual perceptions in a physical sense, but rather encompasses a series of discursive practices that aim to regulate the real (Mirzoeff, 2016). Mirzoeff refers that the media are responsible for the creation of a “culture of the image in which the image is the main form of representation of reality” (1999: 7).
Regarding methodological issues, this research was based on qualitative data production and analysis techniques, since our interest lies in achieving a deep understanding of the phenomenon to be investigated. Qualitative methodology involves a flexible and interactive design through which the researcher privileges in-depth and detailed analysis in relation to the context and involves the generation of categories and concepts that emerge, inductively, at all times of the research process ( Sautu et al, 2005).
Given that the purpose of the thesis is to analyze the construction of media visualities around homicides perpetrated by neighbors, we focus our analytical approach on audiovisual images. We consider that images can be approached from three places: their production, the image itself and its reception. In our research we will focus specifically on the place of images themselves from a critical approach (Rose, 2002) that thinks about images in terms of cultural significance, social practices and power relations in which the visual is embedded, which which involves reflecting on the agency of the image, considering social practices and the effects of its visualization.
The central hypothesis that guided our research is that the images of cases of homicides perpetrated by neighbors presented in the panelist TV programs, by highlighting the condition of the perpetrators as "ordinary citizens", emphasizing values such as family, work and effort and by making victims invisible, contribute to the naturalization of violent and homicidal practices. These TV programs, along with the political discursivities of Cambiemos government, functioned as key agents in the construction of a punitive visuality, characterized by the
widespread exposure of images that exhibit a climate of fear, holding the popular sectors responsible and promoting punitive attitudes among the citizens. The term punitive visuality, the theoretical contribution of this thesis, refers to a visual phenomenon that manifests itself through an extensive repertoire of images transmitted constantly over a prolonged period, mainly in the media and social networks. This phenomenon operates from the perspective of the perpetrators, and is characterized by the visual antagonism of two opposing subjects (“us” and “others”), from which the “other” is eliminated from the visual representation, denying them the right to his image. We consider that punitive visuality is effective insofar as it has the capacity to naturalize feelings of hatred and punishment, and actions of violence towards the "other", making them socially acceptable.
To sum up, the thesis aims to reflect on the importance of critically addressing the visual constructions present in the media about events that are presented as part of the problem of insecurity. The lack of productions that reflect, from the Social Sciences, on the construction of meanings from the production and circulation of images, invites us to reflect on the importance of discussing topics such as those addressed in this thesis.
In this context, two cases of homicide perpetrated by common citizens (Lino Villar Cataldo and Daniel Oyarzún) were made visible in the media. In the panelist programs, these cases were narrated, mainly, from the experiences and emotions of the murderers who were protagonists of the events. The focus of the audiovisual discourses was on showing their injured bodies, their anguish, relief and fears, but also their effort, their work and their family, to the detriment of the visuality of the victims of the violent events, which was almost non-existent. Both these TV programs, as well as the National Executive Power, through the Ministry of Security and the President, functioned as key agents in the construction of a visuality characterized by the widespread exposure of images and media discourses that exhibit a climate of fear, placing responsibility to the popular sectors and promoting punitive attitudes among citizens.
In the construction of these discourses, images play a central role, given that we find ourselves in a historical moment where they have become a fundamental part of existence and have the power to shape our perceptions (Mirzoeff, 1999) and produce subjectivities. Various works and academic research inserted in the disciplines of social communication and sociology have focused on the analysis of the media treatment of crime and security; however, these focus only on the verbal discursive level, often leaving aside the power of images to construct meanings (Boehm, 1996).
In this sense, our investigations are theoretically based on visual studies, which consider that vision is as important as language, as a mediator of social relations (Mitchell, 1992). For Mitchell (2009) modern thought has been reoriented around visual paradigms that seem to threaten any possibility of discursive control, this is what the author has defined as the Pictorial Turn. For visual studies, visuality is not only a set of visual perceptions in a physical sense, but rather encompasses a series of discursive practices that aim to regulate the real (Mirzoeff, 2016). Mirzoeff refers that the media are responsible for the creation of a “culture of the image in which the image is the main form of representation of reality” (1999: 7).
Regarding methodological issues, this research was based on qualitative data production and analysis techniques, since our interest lies in achieving a deep understanding of the phenomenon to be investigated. Qualitative methodology involves a flexible and interactive design through which the researcher privileges in-depth and detailed analysis in relation to the context and involves the generation of categories and concepts that emerge, inductively, at all times of the research process ( Sautu et al, 2005).
Given that the purpose of the thesis is to analyze the construction of media visualities around homicides perpetrated by neighbors, we focus our analytical approach on audiovisual images. We consider that images can be approached from three places: their production, the image itself and its reception. In our research we will focus specifically on the place of images themselves from a critical approach (Rose, 2002) that thinks about images in terms of cultural significance, social practices and power relations in which the visual is embedded, which which involves reflecting on the agency of the image, considering social practices and the effects of its visualization.
The central hypothesis that guided our research is that the images of cases of homicides perpetrated by neighbors presented in the panelist TV programs, by highlighting the condition of the perpetrators as "ordinary citizens", emphasizing values such as family, work and effort and by making victims invisible, contribute to the naturalization of violent and homicidal practices. These TV programs, along with the political discursivities of Cambiemos government, functioned as key agents in the construction of a punitive visuality, characterized by the
widespread exposure of images that exhibit a climate of fear, holding the popular sectors responsible and promoting punitive attitudes among the citizens. The term punitive visuality, the theoretical contribution of this thesis, refers to a visual phenomenon that manifests itself through an extensive repertoire of images transmitted constantly over a prolonged period, mainly in the media and social networks. This phenomenon operates from the perspective of the perpetrators, and is characterized by the visual antagonism of two opposing subjects (“us” and “others”), from which the “other” is eliminated from the visual representation, denying them the right to his image. We consider that punitive visuality is effective insofar as it has the capacity to naturalize feelings of hatred and punishment, and actions of violence towards the "other", making them socially acceptable.
To sum up, the thesis aims to reflect on the importance of critically addressing the visual constructions present in the media about events that are presented as part of the problem of insecurity. The lack of productions that reflect, from the Social Sciences, on the construction of meanings from the production and circulation of images, invites us to reflect on the importance of discussing topics such as those addressed in this thesis.
Título obtenido
Doctora de la Universidad de Buenos Aires en Ciencias Sociales
Institución otorgante
Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales