Reflective Essay

For those avid readers, feel free to read my reflective esssay on the complete analysis and interpretation of my journey thoughout the minor.

Alanoud Al-Aqeedi

Mentor: Professor Banu Akdenizli

March 2023

Media and Politics Reflective Essay

In the media, there will always be politics. In politics, there will always be the media.

Throughout my investigation and analysis of my six courses at Northwestern University in Qatar and at Georgetown University in Qatar, I have found that the Media has strong integration with politics, despite different types and formatting. One common theme I found was the way both elements of media and politics integrate with each other to voice a particular political or social message. The only difference would be the source of the media, where it is coming from, and who is interpreting the message. I will discuss several examples that elaborate on this point across all six courses.

In my learning of the history of film, cinema was more focused on experimental and technical development in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Simple shorts started with amateur cinematography, human, and animal motion studies. Even a simple film of people leaving and entering a train station. I believe modernity and the individuality of society created that desire to use film to portray political messages. One of the earliest film production houses that did take advantage of this was the Pathé house (Thompson et al., 2022) . In 1906 Pathé began buying theaters and a few years later, became the largest film company in the world (Thompson et al., 2022). The Pathé firm was maybe one of the first to bring actualities which were documentary-style films with actual footage from political or historical events and historical films. One major example of using film to raise a political or social message was regarding right after the first World War, the Kammerspielfilm (Thompson et al., 2022). This type of film was developed in Germany in the early 1920s (Thompson et al., 2022). By concentrating on character psychology and storytelling of the struggles of the lower middle class, it was much more moving compared to a theatrical use of extreme emotion.  From a contrasting perspective, a theory that stood out to me was Vertov’s concept of fiction films being “cine-nicotine”, an almost drug-like experience that blurs the masses from being aware of war and politics but rather being immersed in fiction (Thompson et al., 2022). Vertov was in fact against this and cherished the utilization of radical documentary films. In the modern day, there are still many examples of cine-nicotine to blind or distract the masses of people from wars, news, social issues, and politics. One film released on Netflix in November of 2022 was The Swimmers. Based on a true story, this film showcased the life of two sisters who left their home and their family in Damascus due to war, to seize an opportunity to continue practicing their competitive swimming in Greece and eventually compete in the Rio Olympic games The Swimmers. (2022). Netflix.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023. This film raised awareness of the risks refugees take. When refugees do not have the resources to speak up for their stories, production houses manage to create breathtaking films to represent those minorities. Otherwise, there are always those who do use social media to portray a certain message.

I believe that my Alternative Media in the Middle East course allowed me to look at politics within the people and not only politics within the mainstream news. According to my studies in the course, Alternative Media as a rhizome showcases two spaces, one for political humor and one for online activism. Rhizome is defined as an underground or growing horizontal stem, this serves as a metaphor for the civil societies that use media to present their political messages underground, in fear of the dominant political leaders, or with an inability to influence News outlets that serve a government. One case study that gave me an insightful connection to my Alternative Media course to real-life examples I have personally witnessed was the Kurdish case study. A 30 million stateless population that used to inhabit a region called Kurdistan spread out and now live in parts of Turkey, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The people of Kurdistan have been at a Guerrilla war with the Turkish state for years. After the failed military coup in Turkey, Kurdish journalists were being treated as enemies of the state. Kurdish TV channels for children would be taken off satellites, and dozens of Kurdish channels had been suppressed. During my winter break in 2022, I met a Turkish-Kurdish barista who was very kind. Looking at their social media page that they shared with me, they talked about how they used indirect political humor through Instagram reels and TikTok to voice their opinions and political or social messages on their personal but public platform. In my mind, I saw this as an alternative media rhizome. In my interview with them, they emphasize how natural disasters such as the recent earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023, broke the fear in those who were afraid to speak against the government as an alternative media. “People were afraid to speak their true opinion. Because the government threatens anyone who speaks against it. We all lost a lot of loved ones in the earthquake area, and couldn't save what we could because the government was late in bringing the needed help. With this, people forgot all their fears with this pain and now everyone is writing their opinion on social media because they have nothing left to lose. It’s already happened and now everyone is writing their opinion. It was a big change this week. Normally nobody wants to write their opinion. But now it's changing. It’s changed, and changing”. This emphasizes how rhizomatic alternative media increases and spreads throughout minority communities. Even fully Turkish communities stand up for those minorities. More individuals become collective activists on social media to portray the messages they feared to speak up about when they realize there is economic corruption that becomes more exposed when facing a natural disaster and the world is watching as this corruption unfolds through social media.

In the digital age, cyberspace had changed from a simple platform to contain information, to many uses such as cyber warfare, cyberweapons, hackers, and disinformation. Global communications is inherently “a ripe field for new forms of propaganda, spying and surveillance”, as Professor Joe Khalil mentioned in one of our classes. One theory I saw as very crucial was the investment in geo-cultural/linguistic markets. Soft power shapes global public opinion through certain cultural values, political values, or even foreign policies. K-pop culture is a strong example that has influenced millions. I believe this was why one of the performers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar’s opening ceremony was the Korean Popstar of BTS, Jung Kook. By having JungKook perform in the World Cup, Korea used its soft power in coordination with Qatar. Qatar was able to benefit from this by gaining more audience. Not only did that help Qatar’s economy, but it also helped the finance ministry of Korea in their investment of The K Wave. There was an opposing side to this exposure of media. BBC and other Channels refused to showcase the opening ceremony (Al Jazeera, 2022). When looking at this from a hegemonic perspective of traditional media flow, they did not want a Middle Eastern country to influence Western audiences viewing a Muslim, Arab country hosting The World Cup . The opening ceremony held strong messages of being united, no matter what race, disability, or background as long as there is mutual respect between one another. The BBC claimed to not stream the first 2 minutes of the opening ceremony in honor of criticizing the treatment of migrant workers, the controversy over FIFA’s corruption in addition to the conservative rules on homosexuality. Both World Cup streaming channels and those who did not stream The World Cup opening ceremony in Qatar chose to use media to serve a political or social message.

Furthermore, one reading that stuck with me in my first Georgetown class was the Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values reading by Ronald Inglehart and Wayne Baker. When looking at contrasting regions, the differences between perspectives of those beliefs in different countries, affect the production of media and the type of message that is to be conveyed (Inglehart & Baker, 2000). Cross-cultural differences create contrasting messages in the way government-funded media is used. This is interconnected with a theory from my Global Media class, known as media deterritorialization. The content that may be created in America for example, would be reconstituted in a different geographic or social territory and would be shaped according to the appropriate cultural norms and foreign policies. Before the start of the FIFA World Cup of 2022, there were major speculations of a no-drinking policy in stadiums due to the presence of traditional Islamic values. Many major newspapers had released earned media to the World cup and Budweiser issue, criticizing the last-minute ban on alcoholic beer in stadiums such as The Guardian, CNN Business, New York Times, and Forbes. Despite the reported $75 million sponsorship contract with FIFA (Mollman, 2022), there was another angle to present the brand. Media deterritorialization was a strategy used to maintain both cultural change and religious values. Budweiser had begun promoting their non-alcoholic beer through advertisements such as The World is Yours to Take campaign with major celebrity appeal through globally recognized footballers, Neymar Jr. and Leonel Messi (Exchange4media, 2022). This advertisement conveyed the middle ground between the domestic policymakers of Qatar, the collective Muslim native majority, and the non-Muslims who expect to drink Budweiser in stadiums despite the domestic policy.

Furthermore, gramscianism/hegemonic theory is a theory in both my alternative media in the Middle East class and my international relations class. The Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci had a critical inquiry about this theory. The emphasis on institutions/companies being controlled in terms of material capabilities can shape state formation to a large extent. Unlike liberals, Marxists view markets as inherently exploitative. Neoliberalism is a concept that puts less regulation on price controls and trade barriers. This affects the international political economy, but the media has been used to combat that. Unethical Capitalists pay workers less than the labors worth. This can notably be seen in consumerist brands such as Shein and other major corporations that take advantage of child laborers or sweatshops that underlay their workers. Countries such as Indonesia or China may not have as strict and ethical regulations in terms of workers or child labor compared to other countries. The exposure of this dark side to capitalism shows how certain fast-fashion companies and conglomerates like Shein, grow with the ignorance of millions of people who fall into the capitalist fast pace consumerism. Purchasing from fast fashion companies further supports and funds the copying of small businesses, modern-day slavery, and the violation of labor laws. There has been an exposure of notes sewn onto their clothing tags such as “Help me”. Users on Tiktok have been sharing that to raise awareness of the dark side of fast fashion (Siriyium, 2023). Shein, along with many other companies, affects the global political economy on a large scale . The top 20% of the population enjoys more than 70% of global wealth, which is not healthy for the economy (Aid, 2012). Neoliberalism is a major crisis in the global political economy because the increasing distance between the upper class and lower class is allowing more people to be below the poverty line. Overall, this can contribute to inflation and economic corruption, leading to the lower class being unable to live in today’s economy. Many users on social media are bringing awareness to these unethical brands and the long-term negative impact they have. In hopes that if governments cannot begin ethical investigations, the mass majority of people will stop purchasing from these brands to stop supporting the unethical cycle of mass consumerism.

Finally, my last class at Georgetown University in Qatar was foreign policies in Middle Eastern states. One concept that resonated with me was the concept of political messages being portrayed by the media or the people and how a community can affect foreign and domestic policy. According to the reading by Graeme Davies, one can evaluate how Iran has reformed their foreign policy due to domestic instability. The analysis of the factors affecting foreign policy in Iran showed that the more domestic instability there is, the more Iranian aggression decreases against the United States. What constitutes domestic instability? One recent example is Mahsa Amini and the Iranian theocracy. Ever since September 16th of 2022, the death of Amini, the 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, had been arrested and executed by mortality police due to violating Iran’s dress code for women, and domestic instability in Iran skyrocketed (Zandi, 2022). Hundreds of thousands of media interactions and impressions, political protests, and rebel against the mortality police had been ongoing until January of 2023. This led to the imprisonment of at least 30 Iranian journalists, with 70 detained (Afp, 2023). The reason why foreign policy is also involved is when a domestic issue is regarded as a global one. Media is the bridge to bring that difference and elevate a local issue into a global one. Protesters and Iranians who live in the United States and European states push efforts to create rallies over issues like Mahsa Amini’s custody and death. 

In conclusion, the theme of using a voice through a platform, to change or voice out any political or social issue or opinion is crucial in today’s world. Media, whether it is the use of Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat, has so much potential for redirecting leaders into making policy changes or providing financial or physical aid to those in a political or social crisis. I feel as though the experience of the media and politics minor has elevated my ways of understanding the interconnectedness of social media. Whether it stems from accredited news channels or alternative media from regular citizens of a country, they all have one purpose. This purpose is to demand change or recognition. Just like how many demonstrators choose to meet up on a particular day in a known public place, the mass majority of social media accounts voicing a particular message makes the message easier to spread around the whole globe. I believe that the media is the catalyst and bridge to bring change. It is much easier for a collective group of individuals to sign online petitions and donate towards a political and social cause. This is the power of using media in politics. I believe this minor has encouraged me to build the bridge between alternative media and politics to enhance the political messages, opinions, and pleading of the need to change governmental systems and foreign policies.  I saw that vision very strongly in real life when I went to Istanbul at the end of 2022 and met a citizen who was using media to give themselves a voice that otherwise, the mainstream media in Turkey would have not. I discovered through that citizen, how the use of media was changing after the earthquake that occurred on February 6th, 2023. How natural disasters leave hundreds of thousands in desperation to use the media to show the painful conditions of the less privileged, and the neglect of certain governments.

Works Cited:

Afp. (2023, January 12). At least 30 Iranian journalists still in jail over Mahsa Amini protests. The National. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/2023/01/12/at-least-30-iranian-journalists-still-in-jail-over-mahsa-amini-protests/ 

Aid, C. (2012, April 23). The rich, the poor and the future of the earth: Equity in a constrained world - world. ReliefWeb. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://reliefweb.int/report/world/rich-poor-and-future-earth-equity-constrained-world 

Al Jazeera. (2022, November 20). BBC relegates World Cup Opening Ceremony to online coverage. Qatar World Cup 2022 News | Al Jazeera. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2022/11/20/bbc-relegates-world-cup-opening-ceremony-to-online-coverage 

Budweiser FIFA World Cup Cry: 'The World Is Yours to take'. exchange4media. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.exchange4media.com/advertising-news/budweiser-heralds-return-of-fifa-world-cup-with-global-campaign-122451.html 

Gilchrist, A. (2022, October 20). Allegations of 'modern slavery' & violations of labour laws, here's exactly why Shein is bad. ELLE. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://www.elle.com.au/fashion/why-is-shein-so-bad-27846 

Inglehart, R., & Baker, W. E. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657288 

Mollman, S. (2022, November 20). Qatar just spat in the face of Budweiser's $75 Million World Cup sponsorship. Fortune. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://fortune.com/2022/11/18/world-cup-qatar-budweiser-inbev-alcohol-ban-sponsorship/ 

Siriyium, N. (2023, January 16). Is Shein exploiting forced labor? how ethical is the fast fashion juggernaut really?Impakter. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://impakter.com/is-shein-ethical-or-is-exploiting-forced-labor/ 

The Swimmers. (2022). Netflix.com. Retrieved March 7, 2023. 

Thompson, K., Bordwell, D., & Smith, J. (2022). Film history an introduction. McGraw Hill Education. 

Zandi, J. (2022, November 23). It's vital to center Jina Mahsa Amini's Kurdish identity. Time. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://time.com/6236067/mahsa-amini-jina-iran-kurdish-identity/