"Do Brazil a favor: adopt an outlaw" - the constitution of meanings on the adolescent subject in conflict with the law on the tv news program "SBT Brasil"

Abstract

This study aims to present the results of an ongoing research on adolescents in conflict with the law, and the way they are represented by the Brazilian news media. We focus on a television report broadcasted in February 2014, by a Brazilian news program called “SBT Brasil”. Based on French Discourse Analysis theoretical concepts, especially Michel Pêcheux’s (2009), we focus on the language materiality, the news piece’s conditions of language production, and the discursive position occupied by the subjects in order to develop an analytical reflection on the historical resumption that supports the crystalized speeches about the adolescent’s discursive place. After comparing descriptions and interpretations, we concluded that the observed effects of meaning remind us of “already stated” point-of-view that value/defend/legitimize the punishment by the biased view of dehumanization. It also promotes the oblivion of the legislation that guides the policies for the adolescents in conflict with the law.