The perceptions of breast cancer within a society have changed in time. Although still largely surrounded by stigma, several other discourses emerged, constructing breast cancer as a life-affirming experience. Women, afflicted by the disease, are now portrayed as “pink survivors” or “she-roes”, and not only as “victims”. Within the field of health care breast cancer in Slovenia is a well-researched topic, but in terms of social aspects such as representations and meaning-creation it remains moderately unresearched. The main objective of this thesis is to explore how a non-profit organisation Europa Donna communicates about breast cancer and creates constructions of it through its communication campaigns. This thesis shows that the meanings of breast cancer are constructed in a way that reflects the current discourse practices and values in society such as increased emphasis on factors of prevention, individual responsibility and maintaining an optimistic mindset while battling the disease. The following multimodal analysis then reveals those exact ideas embedded within different semiotic choices and affordances as part of a “Lep je dan” communication campaign. The thesis shows how these kinds of constructions and representations can be problematic and concludes in agreement with certain findings made by other authors, therefore positioning Slovenian constructions of breast cancer in line with them.
|
