J.Demant 25 AUGUST 2010 AARHUS UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR ALCOHOL AND DRUG RESEARCH DRUG DISCOURSES IN DANISH MEDIA HOW COCAINE BECOMES HIP AND AMPHETAMINES

J.Demant

25 AUGUST 2010

AARHUS UNIVERSITYCENTRE FOR ALCOHOL AND DRUG RESEARCH

DRUG DISCOURSES IN DANISH MEDIA

HOW COCAINE BECOMES HIP AND AMPHETAMINES AND ECSTASIES BECOME CONNECTED WITH PROBLEM USE

JAKOB DEMANT & ANNE MARIE LYAGER KAAECRF, AARHUS UNIVERSITY

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RESEARCH QUESTION

› The paper analyses how different kinds of recreational drugs are portrayed in Danish media. Excluding

cannabis and heroin.

› A discursive analytical approach is applied in order to investigate how different discourses are fragmented

and intersect with each other very differently according to the drug in question. The qualitative analysis is

combined with a descriptive quantitative analysis of the newspaper contents where it becomes evident

that the distribution of newspaper stories on the different drugs does not represent the factual distribution

of the drugs in real life.

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DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

› Discourse analysis is a method for identifying specific meanings in empirical, textual data by searching for the cultural or normative context for a given utterance or perception.

› Theoretically based on: › Norman Fairclough - critical discourse analysis› Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe - discourse theory

› We research which signs or understandings that are associated with each other, thereby constituting a “chain of equivalence”. In addition, we look for how each discourse is also defined by what is not; by what cannot be included in the discourse.

› Explorative mixed method stategy

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DATA & OVERVIEW Data concists of 603 newspaper stories from the 8 largest Danish

nationwide newspapers. (Berlinske Tidende, Politiken, Jyllandsposten, Bt, Ekstrabladet, Information, Børsen & Kristeligt dagblad)

Period: 01.01.2009 – 30.06.2009

Cocaine: 401 articlesAmphetamine: 118 articlesEcstasy: 67 articles

Methamphetamine: 7 articlesKetamine: 7 articlesFantasy: 3 articles

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23 MAY, 2009

AARHUSUNIVERSITET

CODING

Cocaine

› Crime: 43 %

› Famous people: 38 %

› Abuse/abusers : 11 %

› Young people’s parties: 9 %

Amphetamine

Crime: 63 %

Abuse/abusers: 17 %

Famous people: 14 %

Young people’s parties: 7 %

Ecstasy

Crime: 46 %

Young people’s parties: 30 %

Famous people: 13 %

Abuse/abusers: 11 %

Percentage of the coded themes within each

drug:

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COCAINE

67 % of the total number of articles investigated concerned cocaine

Even though the majority of the articles are dealing with crime storticles,

stories on celebrity users make up 38% of the articles

Among the investigated drugs, the discourse on cocaine withholds the greatest variety of meanings

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CELEBRITY DISCOURSE

“ A lot of things can be said about the

members of Mötley Crüe – but “boring” isn’t

one of them! Tommy Lee is famous for his

severe cocaine-abuse and sex-escapades

with Hollywood blondes”

(Svendsen, Emil Møller: “Sex, drugs and Rock n’ roll”, BT

10/6 2009).

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”Last year Hugh Jackmann was

appointed ”The World’s Sexiest Man” by People Magazine. Today, he’s annoying the international tabloid press. Not only is the man insultingly happy. Hugh doesn’t cheat on his wife either, who is 8 years his senior. He doesn’t do cocaine with Jack Osborne”

(Høegh, Henning: ”Verdens lykkeligste X-.man”, BT 29/4

2009).

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20 DECEMBER, 2008

AARHUSUNIVERSITET

ORDINARY CITIZENS AND COCAINE

”The amount of young cocaine addicts has doubbled since the year of 2000 –

from 2,7% to 5,6 % according to The Ministry of Health (…) The problem with

the drugs are so widespread, that the chairman of the highschools’

headmasterunion, Peter Kuhlman, encourage parents to get their kids

drugtested at home”

(Zand, Nilo: ”Test dine børn for narko” Berlingske Tidende 18/2 2009)

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AMPHETAMINE› Amphetamine becomes a part of a crime discourse

› Amphetamine as a low status drug compared to cocaine

› The discourse on amphetamine as less versatile than the discourse on cocaine

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PROVINCIAL AMPHETAMINE

”When Brian Sandberg, at an earlier

age, went ”off the rails” in the night life

of small town Slagelse, he didn’t want

anyone to doubt who he were. The Hells

Angels Biker, who was almost assasined

in Copenhagen, was trying to put

himself above the crowd as a ”great”

man”.

(Vedsmand, Kasper: ”Raketmanden Sandberg”,

BT 30/1 2009),

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ECSTASY AS A SUBCULTURAL PRACTICE

• Ecstasy is only connected to subcultural

settings

• The discourse on ecstasy is limited and

one-sided

• Ecstasy becomes a solution for problem

ridden and insecure teenagers

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PROBLEM: TEENAGE LIFESOLUTION: ECSTASY

“Line was at a big techno party in London with her new, Australian travel mates. She didn’t

like the music and had a hard time identifying herself with all the people in weird clothing,

who jumped up and down like crazy to the monotonous music.

But the pill in her hand would make her fit in with the group. That’s what her travel mates

told her. And Line Risberg wanted to fit in so terribly that she swallowed the pill”

› (Petersen, Tea: “Et liv på piller”, Jyllands Posten 15/2 2009)

After the dead of his mom, Jean entered the techno-scene wearing poulaines and blue spikes

in his hair. He began using ecstasy and gyrated as a go-go dancer at the podium of the

nightclub X-ray”

(Glanowski, Maria: “Overleveren”, Politiken 15/2 2009)›

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DISCUSSION

› Very different discourses on the three drugs: › Cocaine partly positive and contradictonary, › Amphetamine more onesided negative and connected with crime and abuse › Esctasy primarly related to problems.

› Very different representation in media compared to prevalence of lifetime use with nightclubbers (Järvinen, Demant & Østergaard 2010 nov).› Cocaine 32%, Amphetamine 32%, Estascy 24% lifetime prevalence with noght clubbers

vs. › Cocaine 67%, Amphetamine 20%. Estascy 11% in media representration.

› Cociane media discoruse reflects cocaine discourse among young adults (Demant & Ravn 2010. Durgs. Education, Prevention & Policy).› Danísh young adults consider cociane the second least risky drug next after cannabis.› Discourse among young adults show more acceptance of cocaine in everyday life› Cocaine has the possibility to take on even higher prevalence

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Anne Marie Lyager Kaae, Bac. Soc. Email: [email protected]

&

Jakob Demant, Ph.D, Assistant professor

Centre for Alcohol and Drug ResearchAarhus University DenmarkE-mail:[email protected]

Documents

J.Demant 25 AUGUST 2010 AARHUS UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR ALCOHOL AND DRUG RESEARCH DRUG DISCOURSES IN DANISH MEDIA HOW COCAINE BECOMES HIP AND AMPHETAMINES