From idealisation to demonization : Aung San Suu Kyi in the Western media

Before 2012 Aung San Suu Kyi had been universally acclaimed and achieved a celestial position of a "democracy icon" in the West. As a consequence of that, the political struggle in Burma/Myanmar became inseparably linked with Suu Kyi who dominated the picture for Western media. However, after 2012 Aung San Suu Kyi has been equally strongly criticised for alleged betrayal of democratic values and experienced a spectacular degradation: she was downgraded from a celestial position to that of a “shrewd” politician. The current media discourse in the West can be characterized by the following features: the notion of betrayal of values and a deep sense of disappointment; appeals to Suu Kyi to "wake up"; strong moral condemnation based on the "becoming a politician" concept; calls for her to change policy and to Western policymakers to influence her. Thus, the Western media's discourse made a 180 degree turn: idealization of Aung San Suu Kyi gave place to demonization. The changing discourse on Suu Kyi in the Western media has, however, one permanent feature: the continued "celebrity" bias. PreǦ2012 media coverage on Suu Kyi placed her in both private and celebrity realms which produced consistent stripping Aung San Suu Kyi of her political identity and resulted in the depoliticization of her image. PostǦ2012 discourse follows the same media logic over movie stars, singers and other celebrities, with their rise and fall in the flashlights. Thus, Suu Kyi is still being judged by the logic of the celebrity realm not by the one of the political sphere. Consequently, both Western media discourses on Aung San Suu Kyi suffer from biases and as such do not present Suu Kyi the way she is: a strong, rational, realistic stateswoman.