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Absence in Visual Narratives: The Story of Iran and Pakistan across Time

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Exploring Silence and Absence in Discourse

Part of the book series: Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse ((PSDS))

Abstract

The stories we tell about places and people are structured not just by what is said, but also by what is not said. This narrative strategy acquires great significance when applied to the stories of nations, as told in the prestigious outlets of the global news media, e.g. Time magazine. How a country is portrayed in news narratives influences how it is perceived, and thus treated, by the international community. Applied to two geopolitically significant nations viewed as ‘problem cases’ in the international press, Iran and Pakistan, this chapter examines the stories told through photojournalism in the pages of Time, over the course of 30 years (1981–2010). In doing so, it departs from two key trends in relevant existing research. This study moves beyond the tendency to study visuals within a synchronic context, and it diverges from the trend of examining national images within textual news coverage only. It suggests, therefore, the need for a paradigm shift within Semiotics, and calls for an expansion of research on national images to the realm of visual analysis.

With the help of a triangulated methodology that draws on both quantitative and qualitative techniques—content, semiotic and narrative analysis—this study traces the construction of the visual narratives of these two countries. The significance of the data trends is viewed through the lens of a syncretic theoretical framework that draws on the work of van Leeuwen, Homi Bhabha, and Judith Butler. Visual analyses are interpreted using their notions of power, identity, and representation. In this way, the chapter interrogates the workings of the visual lens through which the stories of Iran and Pakistan are told and understood in modern media narratives.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is relevant to note here that Time publishes four different editions, for the U.S, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and the South Pacific region. The editorial philosophy remains essentially the same across all editions, and all four editions share the same content with some variations, usually with reference to cover stories. This study focuses on the Asia edition, since the two countries included in the study are given extensive coverage within it.

  2. 2.

    See www.dawn.com/news/731670/timeline-history-of-us-pakistan-relations

  3. 3.

    It is worth noting here that existing research literature on the news coverage given to Pakistan and Iran tends to focus on American media outlets. This may be due to two reason. First, American media outlets such as The New York Times and Time magazine have global audiences, and are therefore seen as influential agenda setters. Second, given the complicated history of political ties between the United States , with Pakistan and Iran respectively, researchers from both countries are, perhaps, more likely to focus on publications emanating from a global superpower that has considerable influence over the international community.

  4. 4.

    It is noted here in the interests of full disclosure that a certain issues were missing from the two archives from which this data was collected (4.68% of the total sample). However, given the sheer volume of the data, this is a negligible percentage.

  5. 5.

    For an exploration of the data trends for Composition, see Durrani and Caple (2018).

  6. 6.

    It should also be noted here that with reference to quantitative coding, the category of ‘gender’ was coded into the following subcategories: Male, Female, Both (a photo that shows both men and women), and Unclear (where the photo is too grainy to allow a determination of gender). The subset analysed here refers to the categories of Male and Female, and more specifically, only those males and females identified in the verbal context unit as Iranian, since the sample does contain stories about Iran that contains photographs of other nationalities (e.g. American).

  7. 7.

    It is useful here to look at real numbers, not just percentages, because the numbers for photographs that feature direct eye contact for both genders, with reference to Pakistan, is somewhat higher: men (18) and women (9). Also, while the percentage of Pakistani women who make direct eye contact with camera is higher, the number is clearly lower. For Iran, the numbers are fewer: men (10) and women (4). Iran does, however, receive less coverage than Pakistan in overall terms, so this pattern is consistent with overall trends.

  8. 8.

    It is interesting to note here that the first visual instance of press freedom violations in Pakistan appears in May 1999 in the sample. This is when Pakistan was under democratic rule, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the helm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Sameera Durrani

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  1. Sameera Durrani
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  1. Modern Languages and European Studies, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom

    Melani Schröter

  2. School of English, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom

    Charlotte Taylor

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Durrani, S. (2018). Absence in Visual Narratives: The Story of Iran and Pakistan across Time . In: Schröter, M., Taylor, C. (eds) Exploring Silence and Absence in Discourse. Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64580-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64580-3_3

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