Twitter and politics: a framing analysis of Maryam Nawaz and Imran Khan's social media discourse

This study explores the framing strategies employed by influential Pakistani political figures, Imran Khan, and Maryam Nawaz, on Twitter. By adopting Hallahan's framing theory as an analytical framework, we analyze their tweets to reveal how they strategically shape political narratives and influence public perceptions. The study enhances our understanding of the interplay between political communication and political identities, shedding light on the nuanced strategies used by political actors to construct persuasive narratives. Our findings provide evidence of Twitter's significant role as a powerful tool for political communication and discourse in the Pakistani context. This research contributes to the broader landscape of Pakistani political communication and the intersection between social media, politics, and framing strategies

Constructing Gender Identities Multimodally: Young, Middle-Class Pakistanis on Facebook

In recent years, in Pakistan, Facebook has emerged as a dynamic online platform that provides its users (both men and women) with unparalleled opportunities to express themselves using variety of multimodal resources. Using Multimodal Discourse Analysis and taking insights from the theory of performativity, this study specifically aimed to examine how young middle-class Pakistani men and women mobilise visual and linguistic resources in constructing their gender identities in their Facebook posts. More importantly, the study explored in what ways young middle-class Pakistani men and women adhere to or contest the prevailing linguistic and socio-cultural norms and stereotypical gender notions in Pakistan in their Facebook posts and what specific role Facebook plays in enabling and constraining the construction of their gender identities. The results of the study indicated that in Pakistan, Facebook constitutes as a complex phenomenon. On the one hand, Facebook has become another venue where gender norms are reinforced and perpetuated. On the other hand, Facebook was found to be particularly empowering for previously marginalised groups (e.g., women assault victims, the LGBT community) as it offered them space to resist the dominant hegemonic discourses. Thus, these results are in line with previous findings that the gender differences visible in the offline world are not only reinforced but also challenged on social media platforms, as these provide users with a site on which they can simultaneously transgress the dominant gender ideologies.Viime vuosina Facebookista on tullut Pakistanissa dynaaminen internetalusta, joka tarjoaa käyttäjille mahdollisuuksia ilmaista itseään uusilla, monimodaalisilla tavoilla. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan multimodaalisen diskurssianalyysin ja performatiivisuuden teorian avulla sitä, miten nuoret, keskiluokkaiset pakistanilaisnaiset ja -miehet käyttävät visuaalisia ja kielellisiä resursseja rakentaessaan sukupuoli-identiteettejään Facebook-postauksissaan. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan erityisesti sitä, miten pakistanilaisnaisten ja - miesten tavat esittää sukupuolta Facebook-postauksissa sekä noudattavat että haastavat vallitsevia kielellisiä ja sosiokulttuurisia normeja sekä Pakistanissa vallitsevia sukupuolistereotypioita. Lisäksi tutkittiin, millaisilla tavoilla Facebook itsessään mahdollistaa ja rajoittaa sukupuoli-identiteettien rakentumista. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat Facebook-viestinnän monitahoisuuden. Yhtäältä Facebookista on tullut paikka, jossa sukupuolinormeja vahvistetaan. Toisaalta Facebook osoittautui voimaannuttavaksi aiemmin marginaalisoiduille ryhmille kuten väkivallan kohteeksi joutuneille naisille ja LGBT-yhteisöille: se tarjoaa tilan, jossa vastustaa vallitsevia hegemonisia diskursseja. Nämä tulokset vahvistavat aiempia tutkimustuloksia, joiden mukaan sosiaalisessa mediassa voidaan sekä vahvistaa että haastaa yhteiskunnassa vallitsevia sukupuolieroja

Hollywood comes to Pakistan : Churails’ appropriation of Hollywood detective genre

This research study employs Bordwell, Thompson, and Staiger’s classical Hollywood narrative framework to investigate how the Pakistani web series Churails appropriates and redefines the conventions of the traditional Hollywood detective genre by incorporating local cultural and social contexts. The study’s findings provide significant insights into the emergence of new narratives in Pakistani media that draw inspiration from global genres while also reflecting local realities. The analysis contributes to the larger discourse on the global impact of the genre on contemporary media and has the potential to inform and influence media production and consumption practices, both in Pakistan and beyond.peerReviewe