PÅ GRÄNSEN TILL DET OANSTÄNDIGA. En kritisk diskursanalys av de svenska mediernas behandling av romancegenren genom exemplet "Twisted Love" (2023) av Ana Huang

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine how the romance genre is potrayed by the Swedish media, and how the treatment impacts both the readers and the genre by using the example of Ana Haung’s novel "Twisted Love" (2023). The study consists of two parts; first Huangs novel is analysed to determine if it can be considered a romance novel, and secondly the study examines how the media potrays "Twisted Love" and SVT:s recital of the novel. Two different methods are used for the examination; one being a genre analysis based on Pamela Regis’ eight essential narrative elements that a romance novel must contain, and the other being a critical discourse analysis. The results show that "Twisted Love" can be considered a romance novel as it contains all eight essential narrative elements that a romance must include. The critical discourse analysis reveals that the potrayal of both the novel and the recital is based on the sexual elements the novel contains, which means that the novel is seen as pornographic by the media. Futhermore the focus on the sexual elements results in the conclusion that the media platforms choose to highlight the sexual aspects, not because they are problematic, but because the space the romance genre is given in society threatens the existing power balance. They therefore choose to exploit the sexual aspects and portray them as pornographic, as a way to control how the genre is perceived by the public. This shows that there is no available space left for the romance genre in the public sphere, and therefore it should remain in hiding so as not to upset prevailing dynamics of gender, sex, and power.