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Atavism and Modernity in Time's Portrayal of the Arab World, 2001-2011

Abowd, Mary R.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1374671433

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Journalism (Communication).
This study builds on research that has documented the persistence of negative stereotypes of Arabs and the Arab world in the U.S. media during more than a century. The specific focus is Time magazine's portrayal of Arabs and their societies between 2001 and 2011, a period that includes the September 11, 2001, attacks; the ensuing U.S.-led "war on terror" and the mass "Arab Spring" uprisings that spread across the Arab world beginning in late 2010. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study explores whether and to what extent Time's coverage employs what Said (1978) called Orientalism, a powerful binary between the West and the Orient characterized by a consistent portrayal of the West as superior--rational, ordered, cultured--and the Orient as its opposite--irrational, chaotic, depraved. A quantitative content analysis of 271 Time feature stories and photographs revealed that Time's coverage focused predominately on conflict, violence, and dysfunction. Nations that received the most frequent coverage were those where the United States was involved militarily, such as Iraq, as well as those that receive the most U.S. foreign aid or are strategically important to U.S. interests. These findings coalesce with the study's qualitative portion, a critical discourse analysis of approximately 20 percent of the data set that employs metaphor and framing theory. This thread of the study reveals an overarching Orientalist binary where Arabs are portrayed either as "atavistic"; or "modern." As "atavistic," they are backward and irrationally violent, possessing corrupt and failed leaders and terrified, preyed-upon women; as "modern," they strive to look, dress, act, and think like Westerners. Arab moderns oftentimes apologize for their societies'; atavistic ways. Media scholars have noted an apparent shift in coverage of Arabs after the events of September 11, with more favorable or complex portrayals found in journalism, television, and film. However, this study revealed no such shift in Time. In fact, as Time, a weekly, struggles to compete amid a transformed media environment of cable channels and 24-hour news cycles, the 90-year-old icon of American journalism now appears to cling ever more tightly to sensationalism and longstanding negative stereotypes of America's perceived enemies.
Anne Cooper, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Marilyn Greenwald, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Duncan Brown, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jaclyn Maxwell, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Sholeh Quinn, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
219 p.
Journalism
Time magazine; Arabs; Arab world; Orientalism; anti-Arab stereotypes; anti-Muslim stereotypes; metaphor theory, critical discourse analysis, content analysis; framing

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Abowd, M. R. (2013). Atavism and Modernity in Time's Portrayal of the Arab World, 2001-2011 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1374671433

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Abowd, Mary. Atavism and Modernity in Time's Portrayal of the Arab World, 2001-2011. 2013. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1374671433.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Abowd, Mary. "Atavism and Modernity in Time's Portrayal of the Arab World, 2001-2011." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1374671433

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.