Abstract

VILLA-GOMEZ, Juan David; VELASQUEZ-CUARTAS, Natali; BARRERA-MACHADO, Daniela  and  AVENDANO-RAMIREZ, Manuela. The role of mass media in the fabrication of memories, emotions, and beliefs about the enemy, which make political polarization easy and legitimize violence. Ágora U.S.B. [online]. 2020, vol.20, n.1, pp.18-49. ISSN 1657-8031.  https://doi.org/10.21500/16578031.4642.

This article delves into how mass media have agency in building social beliefs, narratives of the past, and collective emotional orientations about the enemy, which sharpen political polarization and legitimize the armed exits to the social and political conflict, which has existed in Colombia for more than five decades. The results show a linear, hegemonic, and homogeneous discourse, which is induced clearly from the media, according to participants’ voice, which constitutes an absolute enemy in guerrillas, particularly in the FARC, a stigma that extends to left-wing political demonstrations or to a pro-political settlement of the armed conflict. On the other hand, an actor referred to as little known, confused with guerrillas or considered a minor or legitimized evil, are the paramilitaries and a narrative of the hero who sacrifices, cares for us, and protects us, in the Military Forces, from those who minimize their violated human rights actions. It concludes on the need to discuss the role of mass media and social media, critically by contrasting the information they offer.

Keywords : Social Beliefs; Narratives from the Past; Collective Emotional Orientations; Psychosocial Barriers for Peace; Political Polarization; and Critical Social Psychology..

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