Chile helps Chile: exploring the effects of earthquake Chile 2010

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the present paper is to explore the political discourse present in the show Chile Ayuda a Chile [Chile helps Chile] to support the survivors and victims of the last earthquake hit Chile in 2010. Based on the belief that nationalism plays a vital role in cementing the process of recovery by making survivors believe that they, after all, have a new opportunity to be on feet again.

Design/methodology/approach

The visual methodology (enrooted in the analysis of content) is the chosen technique to develop five indicators which replicates the nationalist sentiment of Chileans post-disaster context. The archetype of nationalism is activated whenever the community is in danger.

Findings

As Baudrillard put it, the post-modernity is witness of a much wider nation-state’s declination. Nonetheless, current information presented in this report very well contrasts a thesis of this caliber. Far-away of being experiencing a decrease of Nationalism, we argue that in contexts of emergency and chaos, nationality plays an important role to maintain a firm bondage and prevent social fragmentation. Five indicators are found in the discourse of Chile helps Chile, beautiness, sport, coercion, stratification and materiality.

Research limitations/implications

The outcome of this research, because of its qualitative nature, does not allows statistical or broader inferences. For this, further investigation is needed.

Originality/value

Much of disaster-related texts have been influenced by Jean Baudrillard and his thesis of nation state decline. The originality of this research shows the opposite. As a process of resiliency, the national being still plays a crucial role in revitalizing the social tenets of community in context of uncertainness.

Citation

Emanuel Korstanje, M. (2014), "Chile helps Chile: exploring the effects of earthquake Chile 2010", International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 380-390. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-01-2012-0002