Narration of Lives and Nations. National Stereotypes in the Coverage of World Cup Football in the Norwegian Channel TV2

Abstract

Iran was one of the participants in the 2006 football World Cup (WC) in Germany. A special WC programme on TV2, one of two primary Norwegian TV channels, entitled World Cup Studio (Norwegian: VM-studio), offered various reports for a Norwegian audience and was sent before and after each match along with a short segment of reportage from the countries involved. The present article focuses on one of the World Cup Studio programmes broadcast during the WC games between Iran and Mexico. The purpose of the article is to investigate how Iran and Mexico, as two national and cultural entities, are presented in relation to a Norwegian socio-cultural context. Additionally, the particular geopolitical condition at the time before the World Cup, as represented in these programmes, is identified and classified.