Desiring the indigenous : affective commodification of the Sámi

• Published in: Social Semiotics
• Main Author: Westberg, Gustav
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap 2023
• Subjects: affective practice; multimodal critical discoursestudies; sámi; sápmi; indigenous tourismi; General Language Studies and Linguistics; Jämförande språkvetenskap och allmän lingvistik; Sámi
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-92503; https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2021.1942824

This paper argues that the multimodal enactment of affect plays a key role in the commodification of indigenous cultures. Departing from an understanding of affect as integral to discourse, the paper investigates how indigenous cultures are construed as an object of consumerist desire by employing subject formation, strategic perspectivation and affordance as conceptual starting points. As a case in point, affective meaning-making is studied as it is semiotically materialized in the commodification of Sámi culture by the predominant actor in marketing indigenous experiences in Sweden. By pondering the social force of affective meaning-making from the perspective of the perceived consumer, the analysis reveals that consumers are invited to affectively encounter the Sámi through curiosity, tranquility and excitement. However, the paper contends that the representations not only enable positive emotions; they also work their social force by constraining engagement in any disturbing, conflicting or uncomfortable emotions that are associated with the post-colonial heritage of the Sámi. Samer till salu: multimodal kommodifiering av det ursprungliga Sámi for sale:multimodal commodification of indigenousness