Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-247) and index.
Contents:
1. Introduction -- 2. Towards a Theory of Scapegoating, Catharsis and Narrative Closure -- 3. Towards a Method of Intervisuality -- 4. A Genealogy of the Terrorist in Western Culture -- 5. Portrayals of Terrorists -- 6. Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.
Summary:
This book explores how terrorists have been portrayed in the Western media, and the wider ideological and social functins of those representations. Developing a theory of scapegoating related to narrative closure, as well as an integrated, genealogical method of intervisuality, the book proposes a new way of thinking about how political images achieve power and influence the public. By connecting modern portrayals of terrorists (post-9/11) with historical and fictional images of villains from Western cultural history, the book argues that the portrayal and punishment of terrorists in the Western media implicitly perpetuates neo-Orientalist attitudes. It also explains that by repeating these narrative patterns through a ritual of scapegoating, Western media coverage of terrorists partakes in a social process that uses punishment, dehumanization and colonialist ideas to purge the iconic 'villian', so as to build national unity and sustain hegemonic power following crisis--back cover.
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