ABSTRACT
When I discussed the concepts ‘American’ and ‘un-American’ with the participants in this study, they often mentioned media representations of what it is to be American. Nausheen (21 years, US-born) found the mainstream media to be ‘un-American’:
A lot of [American] people think people from other countries [Muslims] shouldn’t be given American citizenship. Especially nowadays I’ve realised that with Muslim countries that they’re [also] really, actually cautious about letting people into America because they’re so scared of all the stuff that’s going in the media … the message that the media’s portraying to everyone … If they’re so much about freedom of speech and freedom of religion, freedom to practice [religion], why are they [the media] doing that? That’s where I think it would be un-American.
(interview, Virginia, 2009)