Exploring Crónicas through their value positions : a narrative discourse analysis of contemporary literary journalism on the Mexican illicit drug trade

Abstract

The heart of this dissertation consists of texts that represent crónicas, a contemporary form of Mexican literary journalism. The dissertation’s original contribution is its concentration on crónicas from a unique angle – through the value positions they reveal.

The theme of the illicit drug trade is used as a methodological and contextual tool with which to filter out valid texts about controversies and representations of societal frictions. The aim of the study is to answer three main questions. Firstly, what value positions can be discerned in discourses in the contemporary Mexican crónicas that deal with the illicit drug trade? Secondly, how are these value positions composed? The third and final question consists of two parts, and its answers are valid only within the scope of the current textual corpus: taking into consideration the answers to the first two questions, what is the form of a crónica and what is its function in Mexico’s literary, journalistic, and social scene? To answer these questions, ten crónicas have been selected for analysis. The theoretical framing revolves around three main concepts: values, discourses, and the crónica as a genre. Values are theorized from axiological viewpoints of value theory, and ‘value’ is defined as something considered as either good or important (or negatively, not good or not important). For discourse, I apply the narrative approach (Todorov), the action-based approach (Potter & Wetherell), and the Foucauldian approach, which looks at discourse as a generator of social and collective meaning(s). With regard to the crónica, defining the genre is one of the secondary aims of this monograph. In the process of framing the crónica, both previous scholarly work and current research results are considered. To answer my research questions, I employ narrative discourse analysis. The model for the analysis is derived from the semiotic square and actantial model, developed by semiotician Algirdas Greimas. Based on Greimas, I have formed a compatible model that helps to systemize the accounts of values, and this model points to corresponding narrative structures in the texts. The Greimas-inspired axiological model for narrative analysis figuratively presents the relations between the actantial value positions in the narrative and makes it possible to reflect results in reference to the reality the actants depict.

The results of this study demonstrate three main aspects of the value positions in contemporary Mexican crónicas dealing with the illicit drug trade: variety, inconsistency, and contradiction. In composing the value positions, mostly abstract and allusive modalities are employed. In order to heighten emotion in readers, authors of the crónicas mainly use four types of literary mood: irony, suspense, worry, and melodrama. In terms of form, the crónica, according to this study, could be defined as a genre that mediates the author’s value positions vis-à-vis circumstantial value positions. The function of the crónica can be described as giving a description, analysis, explanation, or criticism of different value positions. All in all, it could be said that the crónicas have powerful evaluative potential.

Väitöskirjan aiheena on arvoihin liittyvä merkityksen luominen Meksikon huumekauppaa käsittelevissä cronika-nimisissä julkaisuissa. Huumekauppaa syvällisesti käsittelevien kymmenen artiklan (julkaistu 2000-2013) analysoinnin kautta on väitöskirjassa avattu nykyisen Meksikon polemiikkia aiheuttavia yhteiskunnallisia keskusteluja. Väitöskirjan tavoitteena on myös cronika-julkaisutyypin esittely, sillä eurooppalaisessa tutkimuksessa on tätä merkittävää Latinalaisen Amerikan narratiivisen journalismin tyylilajia vielä melko vähän käsitelty. Arvoihin liittyvien narratiivisen diskurssin analyysissä on käytetty Algirdas Greimasin kehittämiä semioottisia malleja.

Väitöskirja esittää yhteenvetona seuraavat teesit: Meksikolaista huumekauppaa käsittelevien cronikojen luonteenomaisia arvoja ovat vaihtelevuus, epäsopu ja ristiriidat. Artikkeleiden kirjoittajat käyttävät huolestunutta, ironista, jännittynyttä tai melodramaattista narratiivista sävyä, tarkoituksena herättää lukijoissa tunnereaktioita arvoihin liittyvissä tekstinosuuksissa. Kronikan tehtävä näyttää olevan ensisijaisesti arvoihin liittyvä eli mm. arvojen kuvaaminen, analysoiminen, selvittäminen ja myöskin arvosteleminen.