The article provides discourse analysis of memes about Democratic politicians in the current 2020 US presidential campaign context. Memes are considered as polycode texts, including verbal and iconic components, that participate as constituent elements in the development of more general coordination patterns. These patterns - stable, repeatedly reproduced schemes of argumentation, along with verbal and non-verbal elements typical of these schemes - in turn, form a unified global communicative strategy of creating a negative image of the political opponent. During the analysis, lexical, syntactic and iconic components were distinguished, in relation to which the creators of memes are coordinated with each other, and also, more broadly, with other users on various Internet sites, trying to implement the basic strategies of their group. The study involves a multifactor analysis, which includes the search and description of the means of influence of the same type and / or form used in memes, taking into account the values and stereotypes of the audience to which they are addressed. It examines how these tools are combined with each other (including through cross-modal coordination), forming unified argumentative blocks, and are integrated into coordination patterns that combine the communicative contributions of a large number of participants in socio-political discourse, ensuring their e-participation in political struggle. It is shown how texts about specific politicians correlate with stereotypical role ideas about democrats in general, such as hypocrisy, financial illiteracy and irresponsibility. The development of the image of “scary socialists”, including by means of parasitism on the use of popular democratic slogans, is discussed, as well as its transfer to the entire group of opponents, also the article shows a mirror attack on Biden through associating him with the harassment problem.
Translated title of the contributionENBEDDING THE MEMES ABOUT POLITITIANS INTO COORDINATION PATTERNS OF SOCIOPOLITICAL DISCOURSE
Original languageRussian
Title of host publicationСлово, высказывание, текст в когнитивном, прагматическом и культурологическом аспектах
Subtitle of host publicationМатериалы X Международной научной конференции
Place of PublicationЧелябинск
PublisherЧелябинский государственный университет
Pages226-232
ISBN (Print) 978-5-7271-1672-2
StatePublished - 2020
EventX Международная конференция "Слово, высказывание, текст в когнитивном, прагматическом и культурологическом аспектах" - Челябинск, Russian Federation
Duration: 1 Oct 20203 Oct 2020

Conference

ConferenceX Международная конференция "Слово, высказывание, текст в когнитивном, прагматическом и культурологическом аспектах"
Country/TerritoryRussian Federation
CityЧелябинск
Period1/10/203/10/20

    Scopus subject areas

  • Arts and Humanities(all)

ID: 74177213