Arga motormän eller upprättelse för landsbygden? -en kritisk diskursanalys av Expressens och Aftonbladets framställning av Bensinupproret

Sammanfattning: During the spring of 2019, the Facebook group Bensinupproret (Gasoline Uprising) was created as an appeal against the increasing petrol price in Sweden. The Facebook group quickly grew to gather over 600 000 members. At the same time, the group became heavily reported and debated in media. It is the media representation of Bensinupproret that is the focus of this thesis. Previous research has shown that media tends to represent the working class and so called “ordinary people” in a deceptive way. For example, people from the working class often get depicted as unmodern and reactionary. Therefore, this study finds it interesting to see if similar elements are displayed in the representation of Bensinupproret. The aim of the study is to investigate how two Swedish newspapers, Aftonbladet and Expressen, represented Bensinupproret. By using critical discourse analysis, this study aims to chart the discourse around Bensinupproret, and followingly, to relate that discourse to the wider societal context – that being, the regional inequality in Sweden, and the urban/rural conflict that this inequality has enhanced. The analysis shows that the representation of Bensinupproret is multifaceted. On the one hand, Bensinupproret is depicted as a privileged, masculine, and unmodern group. On the other hand, Bensinupproret is represented as a movement for the right and restoration of the Swedish countryside. The main conclusion of the study is that is the rural/urban conflict affects that way that media portray the Bensinupproret, and the countryside at large.