Role Models, Realistic Representatives or Stereotypes?
During the first half of 2010 I studied the Representation of Moroccan Dutchmen in the Dutch Media, as part of my Master Studies in International Development at the Wageningen University and Research Center. Below you find the conclusion of my research. Please email me if you’d like to receive the full thesis on mgosker@gmail.com.
Conclusion
In this conclusion I will answer the main research question ‘To what extend do Moroccan Dutchmen feel themselves represented in Dutch media and how do Dutch media think about their role in this representation?’ As the question is twofold, the answer will be as well. First I will answer the question To what extend do Moroccan Dutchmen feel themselves represented in Dutch media?’, secondly I will answer the question: ‘How do Dutch media think about their role in this representation?’. In my answer I will interlink both theory and empirics in order to fully answer the research question.
To what extend do Moroccan Dutchmen feel themselves represented in Dutch media?
The Moroccan Dutch respondents all felt they were too negatively represented in Dutch media. They felt they were approached by Dutch media through the frames of Fleras I described in the theoretical framework. Especially the ‘invisible’ frame, the ‘problematic’ frame and the ‘stereotype’ frame were very familiar to the respondents (Fleras 2001: 318). The ‘invisible’ frame was especially recognised through the absence of Moroccan Dutch experts on any other subject than minority-related subjects in the news media. The ‘stereotype’ frame was mostly discussed by women. The women from the Al-Amal foundation for example felt they were stereotyped as suppressed and ignorant women due to their headscarves. The male respondents were also confronted with stereotypes. They were most familiar with the stereotype of ‘Kutmarokkaan’ and ‘(semi) criminal’. The ‘problematic’ frame, which was by far the frame the respondents were most often confronted with, was visible through the strong linkage of Moroccan Dutchmen and crime in Dutch media.
The linkage of Moroccan Dutchmen with crime has been an intensely discussed subject during this research. Sibon already demonstrated in 2005 that Moroccan Dutchmen were overrepresented in the crime reports of four Dutch newspapers, while other minorities were underrepresented.
Many respondents mentioned they feel Moroccan Dutchmen are the target of actually everything. They were well-known with the ‘intruder’ frame and the ‘victim’ frame of Van Gorp (2005) and the matching ‘semi criminal’ and ‘victim of the situation’ stereotypes of d’Haenens (1996, in: Haghebaert 2005: 16), while they felt these frames and stereotypes do not apply at all to their ethnic group. They do admit there are problems with Moroccan Dutch youngsters in Dutch society, but they do not feel that a Moroccan Dutchman is a synonym for a criminal. Neither do they see themselves as intruders, as most respondents were born in the Netherlands, feel Dutch and want to get rid of the division between ‘allochtonen’ and ‘autochtonen’. Lastly, they also do not feel like victims of the situation, they are no helpless people who do not know how to speak Dutch, pay at the Albert Hein or read the sign at the bus stop.
All these negative associations with Moroccan Dutchmen and the widening gap between ‘us’ and ‘them’, feeds the soil for alienation. However most respondents claimed they have become mellow due to the overload of negative stories of Moroccan Dutchmen, or stand above the whole thing, some respondents did mention they felt hated, or were recognising alienation among other Moroccan Dutchmen.
Another interesting topic in our interviews was the supposed cause of this negative image of Moroccan Dutchmen in Dutch media. The respondents thought news selection was mainly based on sales numbers. They felt that the more negative the reporting, the higher the sales numbers. Though one respondent argued that it is not fair to solemnly judge Dutch media for this, as the consumers are maintaining this selling point as well by eager consumption.
The Moroccan Dutch respondents furthermore felt that the link between their ethnicity and crime was constructed both through media, as through individuals like extreme-right politician Wilders. According to the respondents, Wilders focuses the attention of media and individuals to problems around integration, by putting it high on his priority list. This is in accordance with the ideas of Vliegenthart and Boomgaarden.
The representation of Moroccan Dutchmen in Dutch entertainment television programmes, was more positively approached by most respondents. They said the entertainment television with a multicultural character could contribute positively to the image of Moroccan Dutchmen. Most respondents liked the positive role models present in series like ‘SpangaS’ and ‘Dunya & Desie’ which are ethnic Dutch productions. Others appreciated the productions of Moroccan Dutchman Benchiki better. Benchiki himself was the exception on the previous claim that most respondents liked the Moroccan Dutchmen in Dutch entertainment programmes. Benchiki thought the Moroccan Dutch characters created by ethnic Dutchmen are not righteous at all, and are often portrayed way too exemplary or as stupid.
To conclude, the Moroccan Dutch respondents did not feel righteously represented in Dutch media. They felt Moroccan Dutchmen are not visible enough and represented too negatively. They felt they are too negatively portrayed, as they feel there is a strong association between Moroccan Dutchmen and crime, there are vivid stereotypes and frames used in Dutch media, and there is an absence of Moroccan Dutch experts on non-Moroccan Dutch subjects. However in entertainment programmes their representation is, although not authentic at all the times, appreciated by most respondents, as they feel it is contributing to a more positive representation.
The respondents saw the increase of Moroccan Dutch media workers as a contribution to a more righteous representation of Moroccan Dutchmen. Furthermore they thought more interpretation and clarification of the stories reported in Dutch media will help to draw a more righteous image of their minority group. Thirdly, one respondent mentioned a change in the demand side by media consumers could lead to a more righteous image, as this would lead to a change in the supply side as well. And lastly, the respondents would like to see the partition between ‘allochtonen’ and ‘autochtonen’ go, as they claimed, they are all Dutchmen.
How do Dutch media think about their role in this representation?
Dutch media in this research represented Dutch newspapers and Dutch television. The ideas of the respondents regarding their role in the representation of Moroccan Dutchmen differed between the respondents who work for the newspapers and the respondents who work for television. Although both groups of respondents felt the negative image of Moroccan Dutchmen had to change into a more righteous image. I will first discuss the ideas of the respondents who work in television and then the ideas of the respondents who work for newspapers. Finally, I will provide some of my own ideas on the topic and give an overall conclusion of this chapter.
Amongst the group of respondents who work for television, they felt conventional Dutch media were presenting a far too negative image of Moroccan Dutchmen. They therefore wanted to change the present image in to a more righteous image. The respondents presented three ways in which entertainment productions tried to deal with this desired change.
One way, which scriptwriter Vallenduuk subscribed, was through clarification. The scriptwriters of ‘ONM’ tried to explain the actions of their Moroccan Dutch character Yousef by showing the underlying thoughts of Yousef, and by explaining Moroccan Dutch culture and patterns. They emphasised not to judge any of his ideas or actions, or the ideas of those opposing Yousef’s ideas and actions. All they wanted to do was showing different points of view of a certain situation.
The second way was more actively trying to bend the negative stereotype of Moroccan Dutchmen well-known in conventional media into a more positive one. This is the way Derksen preferred, by presenting her Moroccan Dutch characters in a very positive role model. In ‘SpangaS’, the soap opera for children Derksen is responsible for, she has put Moroccan Dutch characters whom are exemplary Moroccan Dutch youngsters. Off course they have small problems too, but those problems are not typical Moroccan Dutch youngster problems, those are general youngster problems. Derksen liked to present a better image of the Moroccan Dutchmen than the image showed in conventional Dutch media, as to supply Moroccan Dutch children with more positive role models than the ones known from conventional media, and to show ethnic Dutch children, that Moroccan Dutch children are not per definition like the youngsters they see on the news.
The third way was presented by Beerends, who is responsible for the characters in the series ‘Dunya & Desie’. With the series, she tried to make nice television in the first place, and show that multiculturalism can enrich one’s life, in the second place. This was a more silent message, whereby ethnic Dutchmen who like the series because of the themes that address girls, like friendship, boys, make-up, etcetera, without really mentioning it too obvious, are getting used to Moroccan Dutch culture, patterns, rules and habits.
In television programmes that deal with real persons instead of characters, like the news, political programmes like ‘Buitenhof’ and talk shows, there are still too little Moroccan Dutchmen visible, according to the respondents. Besides that, the image of Moroccan Dutchmen coming from these programmes, according to the respondents is too negative. This is mainly due to the absence of Moroccan Dutch experts in these programmes. Therefore the entertainment productions want to compensate this in their fictive programmes, by showing the more positive side of this minority, the energy and the humour of the group.
The respondents who work for the newspapers agreed that the present image of Moroccan Dutchmen is too negative. They also have different ways to create a more righteous image of Moroccan Dutchmen. One way is via interpreting their stories about Moroccan Dutchmen, clarifying terms as ‘Moroccans’ into ‘low educated Moroccan Dutch youngsters from disadvantaged neighbourhoods’ for example, and try to stay clear of the use of the standard stereotypes or frames. Another way is just trying to be as objective as possible without discriminating positively or negatively. The hypothesis rose that so-called quality papers are using more nuanced language in line with their urge for interpretation of their stories, while the more popular newspapers are just reporting the news as it is, and have less problems with using the term ‘Moroccans’ in case of limited space for example.
All respondents claimed they try their best to report as truthful, objective and accurate as possible. Scheffer however urged for a profound clarification of Dutch newspapers, by being more problem-solving instead of just indicating the problems with Moroccan Dutch youngsters. He urged for the disappearance of the whole idea of ‘allochtonen’ and ‘autochtonen’. In accordance with his theory on migration which follows the steps of ‘avoidance’, ‘conflict’ and ‘accommodation’, he thought it is not so bad to report on Moroccan Dutchmen and mention their ethnicity as well, as long as the statements about them are righteous and true of course. Because Moroccan Dutchmen are in the migration-stage of ‘conflict’ now, which sounds more negative than it is, as according to Scheffer it indicates people care about each other. He thought it is only a matter of time before the stage of ‘accommodation’ settles in, and the issues of Morrocan Dutch youngsters in Dutch society as well as the image of the negative imaging of Moroccan Dutchmen in Dutch media will be solved. This stage of ‘accommodation’ would probably lead to a blur of the terms ‘Moroccan Dutchman’ and ‘ethnic Dutchman’.
In his idea of the image of the imaging, Scheffer explained how he thinks the whole idea of the negative image of Moroccan Dutchmen in Dutch media is exaggerated and generalised as well, just like the negative image of Moroccan Dutchmen is exaggerated and generalised. According to Scheffer, the image of non-ethnic Dutchmen in Dutch media has already undergone a huge change into a more positive one, as almost all newspapers have non-ethnic Dutch columnists, and according to him, many success stories on non-ethnic Dutchmen are being told. As testing this statement was no part of the research, I do not know whether this is true, but I do know that the Moroccan Dutch respondents at least did not feel there already had been a huge change in their representation in Dutch media.
Due to commercialisation and consumerism, newspapers tend to write what potential consumers want to read, which leads to the idea that ‘the more negative the story on Moroccan Dutchmen, the better is sells’. According to the respondents, an increase of Moroccan Dutchmen consuming Dutch media and working in Dutch media would help to bend the negative image of Moroccan Dutchmen into a more positive image. As Dutch media would become more interesting for Moroccan Dutch consumers when they are more righteously represented, this would lead to an increase of Moroccan Dutch consumers. Such a trend would make Moroccan Dutch a more interesting target group for the publishers of newspapers who would then start to cater for them by a more righteous representation. However Scheffer warned that minorities should definitely not become journalists in order to write solemnly about their own ethnic group, as this would be stereotyping and stigmatising.
To conclude, all respondents working in Dutch media do think the role of Dutch media in the representation of Moroccan Dutchmen is important. Still most of them experienced their own role as very small. The respondents who work for television have other ways in which they try to change the present image of Moroccan Dutchmen in Dutch society into a more positive one, than the respondents who work for newspapers do. Inside those groups there are differences as well in the ways of making this change able to proceed. Which way is best, depends on the consumers and the mission of the medium.
I think, as news tend to be negative, and daily Moroccan Dutch life itself is not necessarily newsworthy, it is good to have entertainment television programmes that show daily life of Moroccan Dutchmen, since ethnic Dutchmen do not know this world. They do not know about Moroccan Dutch culture, patterns, rules and habits. The only thing they see and hear, comes form own experiences with Moroccan Dutchmen, experiences of relatives and friends with Moroccan Dutchmen and Dutch media. And since many ethnic Dutchmen do not have much or even any contact with Moroccan Dutchmen, especially in the more rural areas of the Netherlands, they are dependent on Dutch media. Therefore without entertainment programmes that deal with Moroccan Dutch culture, they would just see the negative excesses of Moroccan Dutchmen in the news, and occasionally a positive chart about the level of Dutch spoken among Moroccan Dutchmen for example.
Excesses of ethnic Dutchmen in the news, are experienced as exceptions, as ethnic Dutchmen know that a ‘normal’ ethnic Dutchman, like everyone in their own social group of relatives and friends does not act like this. Due to the lack of knowledge on ‘normal’ Moroccan Dutch life however, the excesses of Moroccan Dutchmen exposed in Dutch media, seem to be ‘normal’. Therefore I think, showing daily life on Dutch television in entertainment programmes, and clarifying Moroccan Dutch culture, patterns, rules and habits, is a very good way of presenting a more righteous image of Moroccan Dutchmen. The almost too positive characters Derksen uses in ‘Spangas’ as role models where siblings of ‘Kutmarokkanen’ can live up to, is fine in my opinion, as long as it is a children’s programme. I think for youngsters and adults it is important there is a certain level of realism. Of course that does not say a character like Nassim would not be realistic, as Moroccan Dutchmen like Nassim do exist. I am an advocate of presenting all sorts of different characters of Moroccan Dutchmen. I just think that it is important for both ethnic Dutch as Moroccan Dutch youngsters and adults, to show what Moroccan Dutch daily life looks like, what problems may be encountered and how to deal with these, or even better solve them.
Altogether, change is needed in the representation of Moroccan Dutchmen in Dutch media, according to both the respondents who work in Dutch media as the Moroccan Dutch respondents. To what extend this change has already started, how this change should be achieved, and what the end result should be, differs between Moroccan Dutch respondents and ethnic Dutch respondents, between Moroccan Dutch respondents among each other, between respondents working for Dutch television and respondents working for Dutch newspapers and even between respondents inside those groups. One thing everyone agrees on, is that the present image of Moroccan Dutchmen in Dutch media is too negative, and that this image needs to change to a more righteous one.