The Neglected Voices Amidst the Noise. Exploring personal narratives and international media's absence through Cuba's 11th of July Social Movement
Translated title
The Neglected Voices Amidst the Noise - Exploring personal narratives and international media's absence through Cuba's 11th of July Social Movement
Author
Houmann, Hannah Bilde
Term
4. term
Publication year
2024
Abstract
This thesis explores how personal narratives provide a more nuanced picture of Cuba’s political realities and expose the limited, often skewed, international media coverage, focusing on the 11 July 2021 uprising. Based on four semi-structured interviews with Cuban individuals, the study employs narrative analysis within a framework that links micro and macro histories and draws on concepts of false consciousness and resistance. The analysis indicates that the state sustains hegemony by cultivating false consciousness, repressing 11 July activists, tightening internet controls, and monopolizing communication channels, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. A pattern of hyper-recognition—disproportionate punishment of dissent—emerges, with consequences such as house arrest, job loss, and forced exile, underscoring the breadth of state control and the harsh costs of resistance. The narratives highlight the absence of rights and freedoms and recurrent themes: censorship, political imprisonment, deteriorating health conditions, psychological strain, political manipulation, and a lack of in-depth investigative reporting. While some human rights organizations offer critical, uncensored coverage, their reach is limited; larger outlets often echo the government’s anti-imperialist framing, producing a significant coverage gap. The thesis calls for more comprehensive, uncensored international reporting and for centering personal narratives to counter censorship and advance a fuller global understanding of Cuba.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan personlige fortællinger giver et mere nuanceret billede af Cubas politiske virkelighed og afslører den begrænsede, ofte skæve, internationale mediedækning med fokus på oprøret den 11. juli 2021. På baggrund af fire semistrukturerede interviews med cubanere anvendes narrativ analyse i en ramme, der forbinder mikro- og makrohistorie og trækker på begreberne falsk bevidsthed og modstand. Analysen peger på, at staten opretholder hegemoni ved at indprente falsk bevidsthed, undertrykke 11.-juli-aktivister, stramme internetkontrol og monopolisere kommunikationskanaler, særligt under COVID-19-pandemien. Et mønster af hyper-anerkendelse—uforholdsmæssig straf af dissens—træder frem, med konsekvenser som husarrest, jobtab og tvungen eksil, hvilket understreger omfanget af statslig kontrol og de hårde omkostninger ved modstand. Fortællingerne synliggør fraværet af rettigheder og friheder samt tilbagevendende temaer: censur, politiske fanger, forværrede sundhedsforhold, psykisk belastning, politisk manipulation og mangel på dybdegravende journalistik. Mens nogle menneskerettighedsorganisationer leverer kritisk, ucensureret dækning, er deres rækkevidde begrænset; større medier gentager ofte regeringens antiimperialistiske rammesætning, hvilket skaber et betydeligt mediegab. Specialet efterlyser mere omfattende, ucensureret international rapportering og en prioritering af personlige narrativer for at modvirke censur og fremme en mere fyldestgørende global forståelse af Cuba.
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