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Item type: Item , Modern griots in the FYP: digital (re)existence on brazilian TikTok(2025) da Silva Nascimento, Maria AugustaThis thesis investigates how Brazilian influencers from marginalized communities use TikTok to resist epistemicide and assert cultural identity. Drawing on the concept of the modern griot the study examines the digital transformation of traditional knowledge through oral storytelling, aesthetic strategies, and emotional performances. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on 99 TikTok videos from creators @pretaletrada, @cristianwariu, and @deusacientista. Using deductive coding and thematic synthesis within a decolonial communicative framework, the research treats TikTok not as a neutral platform but as a contested space shaped by extractive logics, yet open to tactical appropriation. The analysis identifies five key narrative themes: digital (re)existence, knowledge in performance, cosmologies of the self, narratives of belonging, and subversive futures. These themes demonstrate how creators navigate platform constraints to affirm cultural memory and identity. This study contributes to understanding the continuity between ancestral knowledge and digital expression, showing that these modern griots actively reshape storytelling in the algorithmic age. The findings highlight alternative modes of knowledge production that challenge dominant digital logics, advancing discussions on resistance and representation in digital media.Item type: Item , Finding common ground: the framing of environmental issues in climate-sceptical discourses(2025) König , CeliaResearch into climate scepticism often conflates environmental and climate issues, portraying climate supporters as ‘pro-environment’ and climate sceptics as ‘anti-environment’. This polarising narrative overlooks the environmental care previous research has found among climate-sceptical populations, fuels inertia among climate-supportive groups and limits the potential for collective action. Through qualitative content analysis, this dissertation challenges this narrative by examining how environmental issues are framed in 100 news media posts published by six influential US and UK climate-sceptical news websites, think tanks and blogs (2021–2024). It found that 49% of posts express some concern for environmental issues, particularly pollution, biodiversity loss and landscape destruction. The analysis also revealed potential overlaps between climate-supportive and climate-sceptical discourses in the concerns raised for disadvantaged groups and the types of arguments being waged on both sides to discredit each other’s claims. Ultimately, this dissertation offers suggestions for more inclusive and effective climate communication, built on common ground.Item type: Item , Genderqueer identity development in the digital age: an exploration of transgender, nonbinary, and genderqueer people’s experiences navigating gender and online spaces(2025) Tiemersma , KimOnline spaces can be safe or alternative spaces for transgender, nonbinary, and genderqueer people to develop their gender identity and self-expression. Although online spaces have become more relevant for younger generations, and can provide LGBTQ+ people with community and support, online gender identity development remains under researched. This study explores gender identity development in the digital age for genderqueer people and how online spaces have played a role in this process. A sample of eleven participants took part in qualitative in-depth interviews which were then analysed according to grounded theory. This analysis resulted in four main themes with corresponding subcategories. The findings indicate that transgender, nonbinary, and genderqueer people actively use online spaces to help develop their gender identity in many ways, warranting future research.Item type: Item , Building a second home: how the pakistani community in Barcelona uses media to foster connection and belonging(2025) Zahra, FatimaThis study examines how Pakistani migrants in Barcelona create a sense of belonging through everyday media practices, addressing research gaps in Southern European migration. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from Brah, Georgiou, and Anderson, and supplemented by interviews from ten participants, the study reveals that Pakistani migrants participate in strategic selective engagement, preserving homeland ties via Urdu media and WhatsApp family groups and simultaneously integrating into Spanish digital environments. Results show that the length of settlement increases rather than decreases transnational citizenship. The study reveals mostly individualized rather than communal digital habits, thereby promoting local integration and personal identity negotiation. The study reveals a unique "Mediterranean model" of integration marked by pragmatic tolerance and extends theories of mediated transnationalism and imagined communities to digital diaspora contexts, therefore contributing to communication studies and overall migration and diaspora studies.Item type: Item , Exploring the gender paradox of chinese male beauty influencers and masculinity(2025) Huang, YitaoThis theoretical dissertation analyzes the paradoxical and multidimensional position of Chinese male beauty influencers in the challenging of traditional masculinity. Against the background of converging forces of national ideology, traditional culture, cyberspace, market and capital, the study explores how such influencers both challenge and perpetuate masculine norms in the highly regulated Chinese media environments. Through theoretical analysis, the research finds that while male beauty influencers use makeup, language and aesthetics to perform masculinity outside its boundaries, their performances tend to be shaped by consumerist forces and political constraints.Item type: Item , Transmedia storytelling in video games: the league of legends arcane(2025) Huang, XinThis research examines how the animated series League of Legends: Arcane connects with the League of Legends player base through transmedia storytelling strategies and analyzes how players participate in these strategies and develop engagement with the game. Through qualitative content analysis of Arcane and its linked content with the game, as well as interviews with eleven players, the study identifies three core transmedia storytelling mechanisms: distributed storytelling structure, media characteristics that lead to differences in content, and the co-constructive role of player communities in the storytelling. The study found that Arcane enhanced players’ understanding and engagement with their characters, prompting them to engage across multiple platforms. At the same time, players also participated in the storytelling process through sharing story and game behavior extension. This study expands the theoretical perspective of transmedia storytelling and emphasizes the importance of user experience and engagement.Item type: Item , Projecting the human: anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism in animated children’s films(2025) Ezera, Anete LauraThis study explores how anthropomorphized nonhuman animal characters are portrayed in contemporary children’s animated films and how these portrayals are shaped by or reinforce anthropocentric worldviews. Drawing from critical animal, media, and film studies, the research used qualitative content analysis to examine language and visual elements in 100 scenes from four animated films released between 2019 and 2024. The findings showcased a close connection between anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism, which aligned with the literature. Characters with more human-like traits were typically granted more narrative importance, agency, and emotional depth. Human social hierarchies were often reflected in interspecies relationships, shaped by Western cultural frameworks. Less anthropomorphized characters were commonly excluded from emotional relatability, though some exceptions used highly anthropomorphized characters to generate empathy for others. Overall, the films primarily used nonhuman animal characters as tools to reflect human values, with some exceptions offering more nuanced, complex representations.Item type: Item , The Commodification of second-hand fashion as a sustainability trend on social media(2025) Kontaxi, Kassiani MariaThis research explores the motivations behind second-hand fashion consumption and the role of social media in shaping sustainable practices among young adults in Greece. Using a mixed- methods approach combining an online survey and in-depth content analysis of two influencer accounts, the study investigates the relationship between consumer behaviour regarding sustainable fashion and the role of social media in making sustainability and Second-hand shopping a 'trend'. While sustainability is present in consumers’ discourses, price and style motivations often overshadow it. The study applies a critical theory lens to examine how digital platforms may be co-opting resistance to the capitalist fashion industry for profit. Findings suggest that although sustainable narratives are visible online, consumer practices often reflect the influence of capitalism in the online platforms rather than structural activism and public discourse.Item type: Item , Newspaper narratives of migration during national elections in Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands(2025) Loop, Annika; Tortajada, Irene; Boham, Leviathan; Andersen, LineThis study examines how migration is portrayed in national newspapers in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Spain during each country's most recent election. Drawing on Policy Narrative Framing and broader framing theories, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of 300 articles, 100 per country, selected through stratified purposive sampling from two national outlets in each country, representing both left- and right-leaning perspectives. Our findings show that, regardless of editorial stance, mainstream media attribute limited agency to migrants, portraying them predominantly as either victims or depersonalised threats. At the same time, political and institutional actors drive the narrative. This marginalization of migrant voices reduces complex human experiences to policy abstractions and narrows public debate to questions of control or charity, rather than representing migrants as individuals with agency and the capacity to influence the political debate. We also observe that right-leaning outlets primarily emphasize securitization and cultural identity frames, whereas left-leaning outlets tend to foreground humanitarian and policy critique frames.Item type: Item , A Feminist Analysis of Gender Bias in Artificially Created and Human News Articles(2025) Sackl, StefanieThis analysis compares the different kinds of gender bias apparent in human-written and artificially created News articles. Focusing on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, articles published by EuroNews on that topic get used to generate similar articles produced by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and DeepAI. By applying a feminist qualitative content analysis, the study explores how gendered language, stereotypes or forms of discrimination can manifest in both types of texts. While results show that both human and AI-generated articles reflect some forms of existing gender bias, the AI-generated texts offered the readers more context on how those inequalities could be dangerous for marginalized groups and included more diverse voices. The outputs by the different AI-models were generally less biased, most likely through content moderation and guidelines inside the algorithms. The findings highlight the mutual shaping of technology and society and urges for more transparency and diversity in AI development.Item type: Item , Almazuela, una revista cultural de La Rioja(2025) Izquierdo Ubis, PatriciaAlmazuela es un proyecto práctico, una revista cultural de la comunidad de La Rioja. El presente documento es el trabajo teórico que precede al producto creativo f inal. Aquí se recogen las teorías utilizadas para su desarrollo, así como los referentes, las motivaciones de la autora y un estudio previo de la situación mediática de la zona. Se hace una definición de cultura utilizada para la realización del primer número de Almazuela, así como del tipo de periodismo del que se ha servido la estudiante, constructivo, local y cultural.Item type: Item , “Capitalism in Under 30 Minutes”: An Analysis of how YouTubers from Greater China Discuss Capitalism and GrowthCentric Development(2024) Leung, Bonnie OliviaThis dissertation analyses a sample of YouTube videos to determine the perspectives and communication tactics the content creators used to discuss impacts of capitalism and growth-centric development. The sample includes YouTube videos from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan from 2019 to 2024. The research found that positive and negative impacts of capitalism are often discussed in the temporal framing of past, current, and future generations, while discussions of impacts to current generations are the most prevalent. Although some exceptions of communal or degrowth perspectives exist, discussions on the commodification of labor and nature, as well as solutions to consequences of capitalism are influenced by 20th century Marxist theory which focused on technopositivism and green technology. The use of analogies, provocative imagery, pseudonymity, regional and traditional references, published acadèmic sources and online consensus were used to build credibility, accountability, relatability, and authenticity in the videos.Item type: Item , Exploring Patriarchal Beliefs about Womanhood, Motherhood and Femininity: A The Real Housewives Case Study(2024) Weygold, LisaThis study examines how the representations of womanhood, motherhood, and femininity in The Real Housewives perpetuate traditional patriarchal norms and reveal instances of internalized sexism and misogyny. Employing qualitative content analysis, the study uses purposive sampling to select episodes from multiple US franchises of the show and collects data from those aired between 2009 and 2023. Recurring themes centered on women’s bodies and appearances, their role as a mother, and their relationships with men. The findings indicate that the show reinforces patriarchal views through adherence to traditional gender norms, the pressure to conform to idealized roles of femininity, and patriarchal notions that shape female identity. Despite their self-perception as empowered women, the housewives exhibit internalized sexism and misogyny, which undergirds patriarchal power. The study concludes that while The Real Housewives reflects societal patriarchal norms, it also at times critiques and challenges these expectations and thus highlights the complex nature of womanhood, motherhood, and femininity in postfeminist contemporary media.Item type: Item , A qualitative analysis of gender stereotypes of men-pretending-women short videos on Douyin(2024) Zu, MengyuanThis paper examines the portrayal of women in Douyin's men-pretending-women short videos and analyses the characteristics of the female image in these videos and the embodiment of women's stereotypes. This paper employs the method of thematic analysis, focusing on the bloggers of men-pretending-women on Douyin, who have a large fan base, as the research object. 50 video samples are selected for coding and analysis. The study demonstrates that these videos utilize the appropriation and exaggeration of female features to present female image. Most of the videos feature women wearing women's clothes, wigs, and make-up and other items, yet the presentation is not aesthetically pleasing. Rather, it is a scandalous portrayal of women. Besides, the video focuses on three roles – women in the home, women in the workplace and women in heterosexual relationships – and illustrates four female stereotypes: appearance-conscious, controlling, “good wife and mom” and hypocritical.Item type: Item , Permitted Gaze. An Analysis of Young Japanese Animated Characters and Hypersexualized Content on X/Twitter(2024) Aves, Rona Rizza L.Japanese popular culture has entered the mainstream, from using Japanese brand mobile phones to growing up with Japanese animation shows and reading Japanese comics. The world has integrated Japanese culture into their daily lives. Japan’s age of consent problem is highlighted in the many depictions of child-like characters that are often sexualised in shows and by fans. This has transverse social media platforms ever since the development of technology and the internet. The study aims to analyse content on X/Twitter, specifically depictions of hypersexualised child-like animated characters from the male and female demographic. It is necessary to study this issue as there are only a few studies on this subject, and most focus on the actual work of the Japanese creators rather than what is being created by the fans.Item type: Item , Making and Taking the Red Pill: Deconstructing the Key Manosphere Narrative Tool and Using It to Decode Popular Culture(2024) Ivanova, YuliyaThis work examines the ethics of trophy hunting from the perspective of critical animal studies. It focuses on the difference between theoretical knowledge about trophy hunting and the information provided by Safari Club International (SCI), one of the largest organizations advocating for the right to hunt. The analysis also investigates the language used by the organization to promote and defend its activities. Texts from SCI’s website published between February 21, 2024, and April 29, 2024 are analyzed using Critical Discourse Analysis. The goal of this work is to draw attention to the unnecessary exploitation of animals for human interests, speciesism, and the treatment of animals as objects that people can use as they wish. SCI's approach is primarily anthropocentric. While conservation is touched upon in its statements, the organization prioritizes the needs and interests of people above the ethics of trophy hunting and animal rights. The study concludes that SCI uses 13 discourses like Hunting As a Family Activity, Animals As Objects, Victim Mentality, etc.Item type: Item , Making and Taking the Red Pill: Deconstructing the Key Manosphere Narrative Tool and Using It to Decode Popular Culture(2024) Reedy, BrianThis theoretical work is a critical discussion of the online misogynist communities known as the manosphere. It examines how men’s dissatisfaction with lack of success in romantic relationships escalates into a complex shared imaginary which of a feminist-controlled world which oppresses men, which leads to sometimes devastating real world consequences. The narrative bridge which links this dissatisfaction to the radicalized worldview is the concept of the red pill, taken from a scene in the 1999 film The Matrix. The red pill is deconstructed into a complex blend of ideas from neoliberalism, evolutionary psychology, and zero-sum thinking which consolidate into a sense of aggrieved entitlement which unites various hybrid masculinities around a single adversary: misandry; the shortcomings of the red pill are also analyzed. The red pill will then be used as a decoding tool to discuss two films popular with the manosphere: Joker (2019) and Taxi Driver (1976).Item type: Item , The representation of refugees and migrants in the Instagram posts of UNHCR and IOM: an analysis from a decolonial feminist perspective(2024) Rabassa Breva, LauraThe UNHCR and the IOM are two IOs that influence the global governance of refugees and migrants. Through Instagram, they can easily transmit their messages to the public by publishing images. Therefore, this research analyzes the way these organizations represent migrants and refugees, and the feelings they evoke, by adopting a decolonial feminist perspective. Results show that the gender of the individuals depicted in the post impacts how they are represented, but it does not have so much influence in the feelings evoked. The main individuals appearing in the photos are black women, whose specific marginalization due to the intersection of gender, race, class, etc. is overlooked. Furthermore, the posts usually present a single individual and try to appeal to compassion, and they evoke colonial and patriarchal discourses. Thus, there is the need to recognize horizontal differences and the agency of the individuals in order to promote more equality worldwide.Item type: Item , Libertad, Poder y Performatividad mediatizadas por la Male Gaze: Estudio de Caso de la Campaña 'Fue Dorsia'(2024) Campos Vázquez, CarlaEste trabajo analiza las implicaciones de la male gaze en la campaña publicitaria 'Fue Dorsia', enmarcada dentro de la estrategia publicitaria conocida como femvertising, que busca promover la emancipación femenina. Utilizando la teoría feminista de la comunicación y el Análisis Crítico del Discurso Multimodal, este estudio propone un análisis de la campaña para examinar cómo se representan los conceptos de libertad, poder y acto performativo bajo la male gaze, proporcionando una comprensión crítica de la representación de las figuras femeninas. Los resultados esperados son comprender cómo se construyen y representan las figuras femeninas en discursos que pretenden ser subversivos, pero que, en última instancia, acaban reproduciendo la male gaze.Item type: Item , Security vs. Justice: Greenpeace and the securitisation of the climate crisis on Instagram(2024) Raymond, HannahGlobal action on climate change requires engaging communication to convince people of the need for extreme measures to mitigate the threat of climate change felt most severely by vulnerable groups. Informed by the conceptual framework of (just) securitisation theory, and integrating insights from strategic communications, this study explores the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the construction of the climate crisis as an existential threat. Capturing textual and visual data, a multi-modal qualitative content analysis performed on 67 of Greenpeace International’s Instagram posts from 2023 finds that Greenpeace intertwine security and justice framings, frequently calls for the protection of vulnerable groups and ecosystems, identifies big oil as a responsible figure, and proposes justice-oriented solutions characteristic of the ‘extreme measures’ of securitisation. By maintaining moral integrity, educating audiences and utilising humour, NGOs role in the construction of the climate crisis as an existential threat challenges the traditional role of state actors.