Alternative Media and Social Justice Movements: The Development of a Resistance Performance Paradigm of Audience Analysis

ABSTRACT

This study examined the performances of social justice activists who were audiences of alternative media—media that are defined by their resistance to social and corporate power structures. Contemporary performance-oriented audience paradigms do not take into account power and ideology, which are integral to the content of alternative media. Through interviews with 27 social justice activists and qualitative analysis of the alternative media content that they used to gain information about social justice and corporations, we explored performances of alternative media audiences to develop a new performance-oriented audience paradigm. With the resulting data, we developed a resistance performance paradigm that accounts for (a) different critical worldviews and interactions of audiences with alternative media production within (b) intertwining “theatres” shaped by alternative media content, (c) which were coordinated by common visions and goals and separated by the differing themes in the alternative media content.

Keywords:

• Alternative Media
• Social Justice Movements
• Resistance Performance Paradigm
• Protest

Notes

1. Names of people, places, or organizations (i.e., Activists #2–27, Mystical City, Peace Alliance) have been changed to protect their anonymity.

2. Although NPR takes contributions from corporations, most audience participants were unaware of this, and, therefore, the audience participants considered NPR and All Things Considered to be alternative media.

3. The following footnotes provide information about the participants referenced throughout the essay:

• Activist #2 was a Pakistani student who studied journalism at Mystical State University and worked with the Amnesty International group on campus.

• Activist #3 was a freshman at Mystical State University and a member of the campus activist groups. He attended group meetings and participated in group activities, but that was the extent of his participation.

• Activist #6 worked as a link between two social justice groups in Mystical City, Peace Alliance and the Student Action Network; she identified more with the Student Action Network.

• Activist #7 was a male anarchist protester who identified himself as black bloc anarchist, demonstrators who wear black masks, destroy property, and clash with the police. This audience participant protested against the U.S. government, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. In this role, he often engaged in militant actions, such as throwing tear-gas canisters back at the police during protests.

• Activist #8 was an anarchist who believed that corporations, as well as governments, are corrupt because they harm individuals and, therefore, should be abolished, similar to Activist #7 described previously.

• Activist #9 was born in the early 1960s, was enthralled with “hippy groups” of the 1960s and 1970s, and was an advocate of “street politics.”

• Activist #16 volunteered his time at homeless shelters in Mystical City and attended demonstrations with the Catholic Workers organization; at these demonstrations, he was often arrested for blocking entrances and traffic.

• Activist #17 was a volunteer for the Peace Alliance and worked part time at Mystical State University.

• Activist #19 was employed by a local social justice-oriented community group to organize demonstrations and community activities. She also was deeply involved with various national/international social justice groups, such as Amnesty International.

• Activist #21 was a office administrator at Mystical State University who volunteered her time with the Peace Alliance.

• Activist #22 often was described as the leader of Peace Alliance by activists in Mystical City, though he refused to acknowledge such a role. He organized protests, edited a newsletter produced through the Peace Alliance, and produced a weekly radio program.

• Activist #23 helped Activist #22 to run Peace Alliance—a local social justice group. Within that organization, she worked to organize demonstrations and edited the Peace Alliance Observer.

• Activist #25 volunteered to teach a community class about gender. She also was involved in a workshop where people of Jewish and Middle East decent came together and discussed the Middle East conflict without fear of reprisal.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joshua Atkinson

Joshua Atkinson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse Univesity. Debbie S. Dougherty is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Missouri-Columbia.