Abstract
The issue surrounding plastic in the ocean has recently been put on the agenda by the newspapers around the world. More and more articles are being published about the topic, consequently giving more information to the general public about the issue. However, this same issue has mostly been overlooked by the field of criminology. To fill that gap, the consequential aim of this thesis is to explore the issue of plastic in the oceans from a criminological perspective. The overarching research question is how the representations made by Norwegian newspapers of plastic in the ocean have changed during the past 4 years, and what social repercussions such change has had. I utilise a document analysis as the main research method, analysing all articles published about the issue by three different newspapers – VG, NRK and Dagbladet – between January 2015 and August 2018. In total, I include a database of 405 articles from the given time period. The findings show that the representation of the issue of plastic in the ocean made by Norwegian newspapers changed in early 2017, a moment after which they started focusing more on this as a topic of public concern. The themes of how plastic affect marine animals, the politics surrounding plastic use (such as initiatives to apply taxes/bans), and the dynamics of plastic emission have been the focus of attention after the turning point. I discuss my findings in the light of diverse theories and notions: a media analysis shows the importance of media in conveying information about an issue and in affecting the perceptions of the public. The application of three green criminological concepts: the treadmill of crime, speciesism and north-south divides, shows that capitalist structures dictates how we are spending our limited resources whilst harming our oceans and its inhabitants; how marine animals are seen as inherently different to us due to the difference in the environment they live in and their appearance (which facilitates engaging with harmful behaviour); and that north-south divides fuels the transference of harm from the global north to the global south. I conclude that there are much too do to combat the issue of plastic in the ocean. I recommend three possible solutions for the future: (1) viewing harm towards animals the same as towards humans; (2) implementing effective laws and regulations; and (3) more attention from the field of criminology. I have tried to bring the issue of plastic in the ocean into a criminological light hoping that it will be the beginning of more, and hopefully larger studies.