The topic of Socially Withdrawn Loners (SWL) has seen a surge in coverage by South Korean media in the past few years. This coverage is not always accurate and many SWL express feeling stigmatized...Show moreThe topic of Socially Withdrawn Loners (SWL) has seen a surge in coverage by South Korean media in the past few years. This coverage is not always accurate and many SWL express feeling stigmatized by society. This thesis explores how SWL are portrayed in Korean drama and if this portrayal coincides with academic literature on this topic. In order to research this, this thesis analyzed and compared four Korean dramas and with the literature as foundation, established a thematic understanding of SWL in dramas. It finds that SWL-characters are generally portrayed positively and sympathetically. Instead dramas are found to have the tendency to trivialize SWL and misrepresent the severity of it.Show less
Fatphobia is probably one of the only ways of discrimination that is absolutely normalised throughout all layers of society. The big fat body scares Americans because of the pre-existent ideas...Show moreFatphobia is probably one of the only ways of discrimination that is absolutely normalised throughout all layers of society. The big fat body scares Americans because of the pre-existent ideas regarding fat people as lazy, inadequate, deserving of disgust, ugly and unlovable. This fear of fat runs so deep that the mainstream media has found ways to reinforce these stereotypes. ‘’The Biggest Loser’’ (TBL) is America’s shameful addiction to seeing fat people humiliated and suffering for the pursue of thinness. This study focuses on exploring how shows, such as TBL, contribute to the stigmatisation, discrimination, and marginalisation of fat people across the US. By marking and analysing the plot of several TBL episodes, this thesis establishes that by creating a relationship of causality between fatness and weight, TBL contributes towards a fatphobic discourse towards fat people in the United States.Show less
