Seemingly innocent pictures. Visual representations of migrants and refugees circulating through the Czech Facebook nationalistic universe
Abstract
In recent years, a growing academic interest in both the theoretical and empirical examination of visual representations of migrants has become visible in the social sciences. Scholars coming from diverse disciplines have significantly contributed to our critical knowledge of the processes (e.g. depersonalisation, dehistorisation or orientalisation) and stereotypical representations through which migrants are depicted.
The article expands on this research field and it examines the practices of visual communication among Facebook users, who actively contribute to online discussions on the issue of migration by creating and sharing topical visual material drawing upon the local and the international anti-immigrant content and context. In particular, it focuses on the visuals, which actively use the figures of humour, satire or parody in order to diminish the representatives of migration.
The content of Facebook posts is approached in a complex way, and therefore visual as well as textual elements are analysed and their rhetorical strategies and intertextual references are also taken into consideration.