Aesthetics of Otherness

Representation of #migrantcaravan and #caravanamigrante on Instagram

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2414435
AutoresFernanda R Rosa (0000-0001-6677-8403, Virginia Tech, autor correspondente), Arthur D Soto-Vásquez (0000-0001-7240-2242, Texas A&M International University)
Ano2022
Volume8
Fascículo1
Data de publicação2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSocial Media + Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2056-3051 • E-ISSN: 2056-3051
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/20563051221087623
OpenAlexW4225796359
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8
Referências citadas38

This article examines the representation of the migrant caravan on Instagram showing how an aesthetics of otherness has prevailed in this representation. Aesthetics of otherness is the result of the interaction between platform users' selections and platform affordances that creates a gap between the marginalized other and the user. Based on a qualitative content analysis of posts with the hashtags #caravanamigrante and #migrantcaravan, this research reveals that the two hashtags form parallel, although not alike, communicative spaces where migrant caravan representation is mostly mediated by professionals and organizations interested in promoting their own work and not by the migrants themselves. Despite this trend, users posting with #caravanamigrante were less likely to hijack the intent of the public, more likely to reference reasons for migration, and overall less likely to employ the aesthetics of otherness, which point to the possibility of circumventing the role of the platform in shaping the representation of marginalized people and social justice movements

Aesthetics · Affordance · Art · Cognitive psychology · Economic Justice · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Social Media and Politics