Media representations of metal music in the Dominican Republic: Between oppression and social resistance
Article
Mendoza, S, Varas-Díaz, N, Rivera-Segarra, E et al. (2018). Media representations of metal music in the Dominican Republic: Between oppression and social resistance
. 4(1), 197-208. 10.1386/mms.4.1.197_1
Mendoza, S, Varas-Díaz, N, Rivera-Segarra, E et al. (2018). Media representations of metal music in the Dominican Republic: Between oppression and social resistance
. 4(1), 197-208. 10.1386/mms.4.1.197_1
Metal music is a global phenomenon, and research addressing its development throughout the world should focus on the local and regional factors that help shape it. The Dominican Republic saw the emergence of a local metal scene in the early 1980s. Unlike other scenes in the Caribbean region, the local media outlets (i.e. newspapers, tv shows, radio shows) have played a crucial role in its development. This article aims to examine the role that media has played in the development and hindrance of the local scene and its interrelation to shifts in the racial/ class composition of its members. We carried out ethnographic observations and in-depth qualitative interviews (n=10) with local fans and musicians. All data were analysed and categorized using NVIVO software. In this short article, we discuss how the media played a dual role in the development of the local metal scene. Initially, media representations of metal music contributed to hinder and stigmatize local metal fans. Later, those same media outlets were used by metal fans to counteract stigmatizing representations of metal and expand the scene. Such was the case of the Avanzada Metallica, a local radio show that organized local concerts and informed the metal scene for 20 years. We will discuss how it became a platform to promote local metal bands in the Dominican Republic and Latin America through its organized activities, while simultaneously expanding the scene in terms of its racial and social class composition.
