Det upphöjda och det triviala : En kritisk diskursanalytisk undersökning om hur manliga och kvinnliga soloartister representeras i svenska morgon- och kvällstidningars konsertrecensioner under 2018

Sammanfattning: This study aims to examine the representation of male and female solo artists, based on reviews of their concerts, found in Swedish newspapers using the method of Critical Discourse Analysis, CDA, with tools of critical linguistics. This is to illustrate how male and female solo artists are represented in morning- and evening papers, and to see if there are differences or similarities between the representations, depending on which newspaper it is from.   One theory important for this study is popular culture, what defines it and why some cultural entities are assumed to belong to either “high” or “low” culture. Based on these theories, this study has divided the four newspapers into these categories. The morning papers are traditionally seen as “high” culture, while the evening papers are traditionally considered “low” culture. We do, however, problematize the fact that this border is elastic. Other theories that are touched upon in this study are representation, stereotypes, masculinity and femininity in popular culture. Earlier research and articles about music criticism, judgment based on gender, stereotypes found about celebrities and female- aging are also seen as important for this study.   We organize the analysis in three categories: performance, activity (on stage) and the human body. Each category discuss the differences and similarities of the representation of male and female artists from the different newspapers. Some examples of the results are that all evening papers mentioned the age of all women and how the men were better performers. According to both the evening and morning papers, all men were better performers. We saw this in how the writers implied that the men could simply stand alone on stage and still deliver a good performance. Though all women had many activities on stage while performing, e.g. dancers, the articles focused on the men’s talent to perform and how the women struggled to perform on the same level. The focus on women were also more on their bodies and their songs about love and relationships.