The Representation Of Refugees Through A Political And...

Refugees are a prominent group of people in today’s society. ‘A refugee is someone who is outside his or her country of origin and is at risk of being persecuted if he or she returns’. The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees ‘establishes the basic human rights to which refugees are entitled wherever they are’ (Dauvergne, 2012, p. 1445). Refugees are talked about and handled in certain ways within different discourses. Foucault’s defines discourse as the rules and practices that produce meaningful statements about a topic at a particular historical moment. He argues that it ‘constricts the topic’. (Hall, 1997, p.44). This essay will analyse the representation of refugees through a political and media discourse. A political discourse on refugees is explored in Rocco Fazzari and Denis Carnahan’s video ‘Stop the Boats (with cash) Tony’. The video highlights the political language for talking about refugees and the ways in which they are viewed by the Australian government. In comparison the media discourse will be examined through Nilufer Demir’s (2015) photograph of a drowned Syrian child refugee. The image stresses the pivotal role the media plays in constructing and circulating meanings (Hightower, 2014, p.336). By analysing refugees through these two texts, an understanding of the different representation and meanings produced by separate discourses on the same topic can be developed. A political discourse allows the government’s policies on refugees and theShow MoreRelatedSocial Media, Though Relatively New,Is A Growing Part Of1529 Words   |  7 Pages Social media, though relatively new, is a growing part of everyday life. The question one must ask is: what impact does this form of communication have on global politics?   Whereas social media is not always a reliable source, it serves to engage the global population in a casual manner, weaving politics into the fabric of everyday life. 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