This thesis explores the Danish public discourse about biological reproduction by focusing on how three fertility campaigns, issued by public agencies, produce and reproduce gendered identities and contribute to shape a national identity. The theoretical framework is built on insights from feminist research in international relations, sociology and gender studies and highlights how ideas about femininity and masculinity are central regarding both biological reproduction and national identity. The method used in this thesis is a Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis. The results show that traditional gendered identities in many ways are reproduced in these campaigns. However, the results also show that the campaigns give masculinity and men more space in the discourse of biological reproduction and the campaigns somewhat challenge traditional notions of masculinity. In the campaigns it is acknowledged that it takes both eggs and sperm to create a baby, but the results show that women still are ascribed the main responsibility for biological reproduction. The results also show that the construction of Denmark as a nation can be connected to the myth of “common origin” which creates a homogenous and exclusionary vision of the nation. Further, since these campaigns in many ways reproduce traditional gendered identities, Denmark is argued to be constructed as a traditional and conventional nation.

The study explores the phenomenon of girl trends on TikTok, specifically focusing on the Clean girl and Rat girl communities. It aims to understand how these communities influence self-representation and femininity, highlighting the significant role TikTok has in creating ones identity. The paper specifically researches how modern femininity is represented and which discursive strategies are leveraged to construct identity on the platform.  By implementing a multimodal critical discourse analysis, the study dissects visual, textual, and auditory elements from videos tagged with either #cleangirl or #ratgirl on TikTok. By utilizing a framework that combines Sensemaking theory with concepts of Respectability and Performativity, this study analyses the material within a Postfeministic context. The findings show that Clean girls align with more traditional notions of femininity, emphasizing an aesthetic lifestyle deemed respectable and desirable. Meanwhile, Rat girls subvert these ideals by promoting authenticity and non-conformity by distancing themselves from stereotypical norms. The analysis emphasizes the interplay between autonomy and gender expectations in shaping identity on TikTok. The results of the study contribute to the understanding of femininity, suggesting that TikTok both influences user engagement and reinforces stereotypical norms upon its users, thereby affecting the shaping of self-representation. Despite the surge of new and alternative expressions existing within the concept of girl trends, all interpretations still fall within the same context and expectations of femininity. This complex interplay negotiates femininity through a paradox where TikTok offers both freedom of expression and upholds societal norms when allowing its users to construct their identity.

The aim of this study is to critically analyze how the news media in Sweden reported about Folk och Försvar’s conference 2024 on TikTok. Considering the platform’s young audience, this will make it apparent how journalism for children can be constructed. Critical discourse theory, system functional grammar and sociosemiotics are used as a theoretical framework. The method used is Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis and the material is collected from six national news channels that published about the event on TikTok. By analyzing the language and visual elements used, the result of the thesis shows which discourses were conveyed in the reporting. The main findings were five different discourses that were compiled into two more general discourses. One of them strengthens the threat of a military war in Sweden, while the other one defuses and problematizes the statement from the Swedish armed forces. The first one was more common in the commercially financed news media, whereas the second was found in public service media. The conclusion furthermore indicates that public service adjusts their journalism more to align with the young audience on TikTok. The critical discourse analysis showed that depending on which discourse was used, different messages were communicated to the audience. This contributes to a power imbalance between the journalists and the children, especially considering young children have not fully developed critical thinking. The news media that claim to be aimed towards Sweden's entire population, does not however consistently take children into account.

Med det socialkonstruktionistiska antagandet att verkligheten skapas genom språkanvändning, undersökte denna studie hur sex konstrueras diskursivt i vloggar på Youtube. Materialet som analyserades var fyra stycken vloggar av Youtube-profilerna Therese Lindgren, Tova Helgesson, Lakidoris och Aina & Thobias. Syftet var att blottlägga underliggande sexuella normer och hierarkier för att skapa en klarare bild av diskursen kring sex i vloggar. För att uppnå detta syfte applicerades den kritiskt granskande metoden multimodal diskursanalys med tillhörande analysbegrepp (MCDA) i kombination med Rubins (2006) modeller över sexuella normer och hierarkier på materialet. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgjordes även av begreppen Infotainment och Edutainment som definierar medieinnehåll som befinner sig i gränslandet mellan information, utbildning och underhållning.     Analysen resulterade i tre teman som tillsammans bildade den övergripande diskursen. Det första temat var att vlogg-profilerna intog rollen som sexualupplysare. Med en ofta humoristisk ansats innehöll språket uppmaningar som bland annat handlade om sexuell integritet. Främst låg fokus på positiva aspekter av sex, snarare än negativa. Det andra temat var att vlogg-profilerna konstruerade bilden av sex utifrån ett subjektivt perspektiv där egna åsikter presenterades som objektiva sanningar. Det tredje temat var att det i vloggarnas till synes normbrytande diskurs förekom dolda sexuella normer och hierarkier. Det kan anses problematiskt att vloggarna utbildar och informerar sin publik när de har en humoristisk ansats, samtidigt som de utgår från ett subjektivt perspektiv och reproducerar sexuella normer och hierarkier. Detta eftersom den unga publiken, som ofta saknar egna sexuella referensramar, kan påverkas av de konstruktioner som de exponeras för. Vidare diskuteras fördelar och nackdelar med den undersökta sexdiskursen, vem som bär ansvar för den konstruktion av sex som unga människor exponeras för och hur normer utvecklas i takt med samhällsförändringar.

Globalization has significantly reshaped communication trends that influence nation branding practices. Many studies examine the development of a nation and destination branding; however, little has been done to examining the planning processes and the selection of representative messages that nations choose to communicate through their individual brands. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the key concepts that are used to build Brand Singapore. Singapore is a small, diverse country that attracts attention both as a tourism destination and political and economic entity. Hence, the study examines its branding materials and messages chosen in order to stand out from the competition, as well as the rationale behind these choices. For those purposes, the process of multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) was used on text and visual based messages present in the “Singapore – Where Passion is Made Possible” nation branding video of Singapore. In order to break down and identify the core messages that Brand Singapore communicates, results were subjected to contexts of safety and diversity in Singapore along with theories of re-orientalism and competitive identity. The examination revealed that Singapore is persistently showcasing itself as a multi-ethnical country, but it is rather understanding and tolerant. The presence of the social and economic hierarchy is present, and the Chinese ethnicity is granted the highest status in the messages. Communication practitioners and marketing organizations will find this study helpful in developing branding strategy planning for the most demanding countries.

Visionsbilder över byggprojekt har under de senaste decennierna blivit en vanlig typ av platsmarknadsföring. Visionsbilder kallas även för renderingar och är ett slags digitala collage som försöker övertyga publiken om platsens förmåga att fungera. Till skillnad från fotografier är renderingar sammansatta av visuella element som aktivt valts ut av producenten. Visionsmaterial innefattar en maktdimension då materialet ligger till grund för politiska beslut gällande kommunalt finansierade projekt. Det finns i dagsläget inga studier på visionsbilder ur ett kommunikationsperspektiv i en svensk kontext. Genom en multimodal kritisk diskursanalys undersöker studien vilka värden och löften som synliggörs samt vilka ideologiska funktioner dessa producerar och reproducerar. Analysmaterialet består av visionsbilder med tillhörande text från tre svenska kommuner; Lund, Västerås och Kiruna. Resultatet påvisar en genomgående nyliberal ideologi där både platser, människor och praktiker kommodifieras. De ideologiska funktionerna synliggörs genom teman som; en aktiv livsstil, globalisering, gemenskap via konsumtion, estetiska val och utopiska fantasier. / Images representing a vision of urban redevelopment projects have during the last decades been more frequently used in place marketing. These rendered images are digital collages used to persuade the audience how the place is supposed to work. In rendered images all visual elements are, unlike photographs, composed by the producer. These types of images carry a power relation due to being a part of political decision financed by municipalities. There’s up to this point no research regarding this subject in a Swedish context. This study examines, through a multimodal discourse analysis, which values and promises are made visible and which ideological functions these images and texts produce and reproduce. The analysis covers urban visions regarding three Swedish municipalities; Lund, Västerås, Kiruna. The result depicts a strong commodification and a neoliberal ideology seen through themes like; active lifestyle, globalisation, community via consumption, esthetics and utopian fantasies.

The Finnish police have power and influence as they are gate keepers of the criminal justice system. Governmental crime reduction policies rely on the actions of the police and in 2020 the Finnish police made a TikTok video to warn adolescences about dangers of sexting. My thesis uses Lerner’s Just world hypothesis and Bacchi’s What’s the problem represented to be as a theoretical framework, and multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) to identify how the victim is represented in the TikTok video. The analysis on the content of the TikTok video is representing the victim as culpable for the crime against him/her. When the analysis is applied to the theoretical framework, it can be argued that the instructive TikTok video bears pressing social and institutional problems and extends people’s responsibility for avoiding crime and therefore fails achieving a balanced policy between crime prevention and criminal justice response.

Corporate image reflects on how a company is perceived to the public outside of the organisation. It is based on the reputation the company already has and constantly creates. Today numerous people use and rely on social media networks which encourage companies to try to reach their audiences and shape company image by the usage of different digital networks. One of the platforms where companies can represent their business is LinkedIn, as it is designed specifically for organizations and individuals to develop a professional image. One of the platform’s most popular feature is the possibility to post job advertisings that are seen in several platform areas. These job offers serve as a recruitment tool but also simultaneously shape the image of a company. Therefore, it is interesting to explore how job posts of a company manage to stay informative, focused on the targeted audience and, at the same time, shape corporate image. Thesis project, “Communicating corporate image: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis on LinkedIn Job Advertisements”, aims to examine how world leading Swedish companies create their corporate image through job advertisements posted on the social media platform LinkedIn and what that image is. The study draws on media logic theory together with the concept of discourse and tries to reach the project’s aim by applying multimodal critical discourse analysis. By this model, job advertisements of 3 companies based in Sweden were analysed. Results show that corporate image through job advertisements is created equally by the company and the platform LinkedIn. Companies in job advertisements use semi-formal language, creative elements, address accomplishments, values and goals to attract the reader. While LinkedIn places main company information that can influence job advertisement readers to obtain a primary opinion about the enterprise.

Representation in the media has become a debated topic over the last decade, with many people advocating for more diversity in movies and on TV. After ten years of entirely white male superheroes, Marvel released Black Panther in 2018, featuring an almost all-black cast. Four years later, in 2022, they released Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with Marvel's first ever black female superhero in the lead.  This thesis examines the construction of gender in the two movies, whilst applying a lens of intersectionality. The purpose of the study is to analyze how the films relate to stereotypes and norms surrounding masculinity and femininity. The research question posed was: How is gender represented in Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, from an intersectional perspective, through the negotiating of stereotypes and gender norms? The theoretical framework consists of Hirdmans gender-contract, Hall's representation theory, intersectionality as well as social semiotics and discourse-theory. The research question was answered using multimodal critical discourse analysis. The model “Hero's Journey” was used to identify key-scenes in the movies which were then analyzed based on the theoretical framework.  The study finds that the movies overall do a good job of negotiating stereotypes, with many examples of norm-breaking behavior from both female and male characters, despite the latter being somewhat more in line with the stereotypes identified. Seeing as representation is a powerful tool in shaping societal discourse, this speaks for the movies abilities to create a more inclusive perception regarding the topic of gender.

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