Heavy metal media : the representation of metal music in the Lebanese media

Abstract

This study revolves around the representation of Metal Music in the Lebanese media. In other words, this study examines how the Lebanese media showcases Metal Music and explores the diverse meanings the media associates to this “foreign genre”. The main areas of focus are the study of whether this representation underwent any changes between the years 1996 to 2020, bookending two milestone dates for the Lebanese Metal scene: the year Metal Music was blacklisted until the year a local Lebanese Metal band had their music aired on mainstream television. Within the study, the aesthetic features of Metal Music, the conventional “Metal look” (long hair, tattoos, piercings, black-colored wardrobe), are brought to light and are discussed under media perception and self-presentation. The research and analytical framework follow a qualitative approach, specifically a discourse analysis strategy. Lebanese media content that discussed Metal Music is collected as data and analyzed and conceptualized. Additionally, interviews were conducted with prominent members of the Lebanese Metal community aiming to get first-hand knowledge of the local scene. The interviews target Lebanese Metal history, evolution, political interferences, media exposure, and Lebanese perception. Following the works of theorists Stuart Hall on representation, Stanley Cohen on moral panics, and Erving Goffman on self-presentation, multiple aspects were extracted on the surface of the media-Metal analysis. This thesis takes a deeper look into the existence of representation, the type of Metal representation, as well as stereotypes, and the ways the media may try to counterfeit certain negative ideas about Metal Music. The status of the Lebanese music market is taken into consideration as an active factor determining the state of Metal Music’s representation. Finally, the study introduces a breaking down of the “Lebanese crisscross” targeting the relationships between Lebanon’s politics, religious influence, media, and the public sphere.