Space and legitimation: The multimodal representation of public space in news broadcast reports on Hooded Rioters
Abstract
This article analyses the multimodal representations of public space in Chilean broadcast news reports on the figure of the hooded rioter and its alleged connections with the student movement. We seek to identify how space is constructed as a (de)legitimation strategy in relation to the actors involved and the actions taking place across four different news broadcast pieces in the light of Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis and Systemic Functional Linguistics. Results show that the multimodal representations of space are crucial to identify and functionalize hooded rioters as belonging to the student movement. Actions are dependent on the spaces in which actors operate, restricting the occupation of certain spaces to specific actors. Thus, transgressive protest actions are to be contained to educational spaces and represented as naturalized vandalism, ignoring the students’/demonstrators’ motivations to recuperate/vindicate the public space.
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Appendices
| T | Visual frame | Visual image | Kinetic action | Soundtrack | Metafunctional interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02.18 |  | CP: moving D: Long shot C: green, black HP: horizontal VC: Molotov cocktail; hooded face CO: Naturalistic–decontextualized VS: Hooded protester | [hooded protester runs towards the left aiming at the camera holding a Molotov cocktail] | [♫] [±][☺♂] Wednesday at the/ | EXP: hooded protester runs towards viewer INT: (1) viewer positioned as the recipient of the action (2) tempo of music: threatening TEX: (1) suspenseful music; (2) contextualization of the action (time and place); (3) thematic condensation of themes to be explored in the report |
| 02.21 |  | CP: Static D: Long shot C: dark green, black [smoke] HP: horizontal VC: fully geared officer, barricade CO: Naturalistic – mildly decontextualized VS: Police officer, dark smoke from barricade | [Police officer walking backwards, away from the barricade] | [♫] [±][☺♂]/Faculty of Philosophy at | EXP: police officer walks away from the barricade, towards the viewer INT: viewer positioned as if in a safe space TEX: as above |
| 02.24 |  | CP: Moving (forwards) D: Long shot C: dark green, pink, white [water] HP: horizontal VC: firing water canon CO: Naturalistic – mildly decontextualized VS: water from water canon | [water canon fires water at unknown recipient [a house/building]] | [♫] [±][☺♂]/Universidad de Chile | EXP: intrumentalization of police force firing unknown recipient INT: viewers as witness TEX: as above |
| 02.25 |  | CP: Moving D: Long shot C: dark green, white [smoke] HP: horizontal VC: fully geared and shielded officers CO: Naturalistic – mildly decontextualized VS: Police officers, foliage | [at least 6 officers move as a group towards the right-hand side] | [♫] [±][☺♂]/a group of hooded protesters start | EXP: police officers slyly and strategically moving towards the right-hand side INT: viewer as witness TEX: It establishes the protective role of the police and their containment strategies |
| 02.27 |  | CP: Moving D: Medium long shot C: dark green, black [hood] HP: horizontal VC: Molotov cocktail; gas mask CO: Naturalistic – mildly decontextualized VS: hooded protester, gas mask, blue fence, white car | [Hooded protester runs towards the left-hand side while holding a projectile object in his or her hand. S/he pay attention towards the camera, and hides behind a car] | [♫] [±][☺♂]/the disturbance s. they move and hide by/ | EXP: actor, action (hooded protester runs and hide behind a car) INT: (1) viewer is involved through gaze and camera movement (2) viewer is protected by the fence TEX: (1) violence and threat (2) it confirms the idea of confrontation between two forces |
| 02.30 |  | CP: Static D: Very long shot C: light colours, blue [fence] HP: horizontal VC: nude sweater, hood CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: two hooded protesters, blue fence | [Hooded protesters run away from the camera and disappear] | [♫] (±][☺♂)/hideouts they know by heart] | EXP: actor, action (hooded protestors run away from sight) INT: viewer as witness TEX: (1) it confirms the idea protesters belong to this building (2) it confirms the idea of confrontation between two forces |
| T | Visual frame | Visual image | Kinetic action | Soundtrack | Metafunctional interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08.50 |  | CP: moving (hand-held lean in) D: medium long shot C: black, grey, green HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hoods CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: backpacks and dark hoods | Group of young people walking away from the camera | [¤ undistinctive talk] | EXP: protesters walk and scatter among the crowd INT: viewers as witness TEX: Undistinctive noises, voices and laughter among the crowd |
| 08.54 |  | CP: moving (hand-held lean in) D: long shot C: black, grey, pink HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hats, scarf CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: a man and a woman walking | Two people from the previous group walking away from the camera | [±][☺♂] The march reaches its end and this Young man walks care-free with his Friends along Alameda towards the south. He acts normally because everyone/ | EXP: Camera crew follows protesters by the sidewalk. INT: viewers as witness TEX: It confirms the protesters’ reckless actions [descriptivization of actions] |
| 09.02 |  | CP: moving (hand-held lean in) D: long shot C: black, grey, green HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hats, scarf CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: same man and woman walking | Same group of people walking past four police officers who are standing in the street | [±][☺♂]/ had already changed their clothes. Even on their way/ | EXP: Protesters walk in front of a police squad INT: viewers as witness TEX: It normalizes their effrontery |
| 09.06 |  | CP: moving (hand-held lean in) D: long shot C: black, grey, dark saturation HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hats, scarf CO: Naturalistic – [verbally and visually] contextualized VS: Subway station, same man and woman walking | Same couple walking past another three officers outside República neighbourhood | [±][☺♂]/ they continuously come across police officers, but they couldn’t care less/ | EXP: as above INT: as above TEX: as above |
| 09.09 |  | CP: moving (hand-held lean in) D: long shot C: black, grey, green HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hats, scarf CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: bus stop, same man and woman sitting | Back shot of the same group sitting on a bus stop | [±][☺♂]/they are so shamelessly relaxed, that they sit right behind a police squad. | EXP: Protesters walk towards the bus stop on front of another police squad INT: viewers as witness TEX: Moral evaluation of the protesters’ actions |
| 09.15 |  | CP: moving (panning, lean in) D: long shot C: black, grey, green, blue HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hats, scarf CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: bus stop, bus, same man and woman sitting | Same group getting on the bus | [±][☺♂]/They get on a public bus. We follow them/ | EXP: Protesters get on the public bus INT: viewers as witness TEX: It confirms they are being followed |
| 09.20 |  | CP: moving (hand held) D: medium close shot C: black, grey, red, orange HP: horizontal VC: bag pack, hoodie CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: a man walking along the bus | Group moving along the bus | [±][☺♂]/And they got off at Universidad de Santiago/ | EXP: protesters move along the bus to get off on the next stop INT: viewers as witness TEX: It spatially identifies where the protesters are heading to. [Universidad de Santiago–concrete spatialization] |
| 09.23 |  | CP: moving (hand held, lean in) D: long shot C: blue, black, grey HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hats, scarf CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: same man and woman sitting, blue fence | Same couple walking along the blue fence | [±][☺♂]/At the entrance, they were checked by the police, but the officers/ | EXP: a couple of protesters move forward to the university entrance INT: viewers as witness TEX: It confirms the police are unable to recognize the hooded protesters |
| 09.29 |  | CP: moving (hand held, lean in) D: long shot C: green, black, blue HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hats, scarf, police uniform, helmets CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: police officers, same man and woman sitting, blue fence | Police officers frisking the same two people from the group | [±][☺♂]/did not even know that minutes earlier [the young rioter and friends] had starred serious incidents; that had attacked/ | EXP: a couple of police officers run an identity check on the protesters. INT: viewers as witness TEX: It confirms the police are unable to recognize the hooded protesters involved in vandalism |
| 09.34 |  | CP: moving (hand held) D: long shot C: black, blue HP: horizontal VC: bag packs, hats, scarf, CO: Naturalistic – [verbally] contextualized VS: same man and woman sitting, blue fence | Same couple walking along the blue fence | [±][☺♂]/with sticks and stones to other officers. They leave and access the university/ | EXP: protesters resume their way INT: viewers as witness TEX: It confirms the protesters belong to the university they have access to |
| Visual image | ||
| CP: camera position | HP: horizontal perspective | VP: Vertical perspective |
| D: Distance | VC: Visual collocation | VS: Visual salience |
| C: Colour | CO: coding orientation | |
| Soundtrack | ||
[♫] instrumental music | [☺♀]: female speaker | [☺♂]: male speaker |
| [±] off-screen voice/speech | [¤ xx]: non-speech and/or non-musical sounds, including silence. | ↓: continuation of the previous marked sound |
| Metafunctional interpretation | ||
| EXP: Experiential | INT: Interpersonal | TEX: textual |
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Biographies
Carolina Pérez-Arredondo is an Adjunct Lecturer at Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez (Chile). During her PhD in Linguistics and MA in Discourse Studies at Lancaster University (England), she analysed the discursive construction of the Chilean student movement in the national press. Currently, her investigation revolves around the linguistic construction of motive of the same social movement in the national media. She is also interested in the analysis of discriminatory manifestations and practices in the Chilean context, especially in relation to domestic work.
Camila Cárdenas-Neira is a Doctor in Translation and Language Sciences (Pompeu Fabra University, Spain). During her MA in Communication (Universidad Austral, Chile), she analysed the ideological representation of Chilean youth in historical and specialized discourses that reconstruct their political actions in the recent past (1970–1990). Currently, her investigation focuses on the representation of the student movement on Facebook, from the multi-semiotic production of discourses spaces, and practices of youth protests. She is also interested in the pedagogical function social networks have in the formation of a critical society.
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Article first published online: April 2, 2019
Issue published: June 2019
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