Make America Great Again Meme Anti Trump Cartoons 2017
Abstruse
Cyberspace memes are the most pervasive and malleable form of digital popular civilisation (Wiggins 2019: vii). They are a way 'a order expresses and thinks of itself' (Denisova 2019: ii) used 'for the purpose of satire, parody, critique …to posit an argument' (Wiggins 2019, encounter also Ponton 2021, this event). The acts of viewing, creating, sharing and commenting on memes that criticise or 'troll' authority figures accept become 'fundamental to our political processes… becom[ing] ane of the near important forms of political participation and activism today' (Merrin 2019: 201). However, memes practice not communicate to us in logical arguments, but emotionally and affectively through short quips and images that entertain. Memes are 'function of a new politics of affectivity, identification, emotion and humor' (Merrin 2019: 222). In this paper, we examine not only what politics memes communicate to us, but how this is done. We analyse memes, some in mainstream social media circulation, that praise and criticise the disciplinarian tendencies of former US President Donald Trump, taken from 4Chan, a habitation of many alt-right ideas. Through a Multimodal Critical Discourse Studies approach, we demonstrate how images and lexical choices in memes practise non communicate to us in logical, well-structured arguments, merely lean on affective and emotional discourses of racism, nationalism and power. Equally such, though memes have the potential to emotionally appoint with their intended audiences, this is done at the expense of communicating nuanced and detailed data on political players and issues. This works confronting the ideal of a public sphere where contend and discussion inform political decisions in a population, essential pillars of a democratic society (Habermas 1991).
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1. Introduction
Since the Paleolithic Era when humans dwelt in caves, withal imagery has been an integral part of how nosotros communicate (Clottes 2019). Thousands of years subsequently, modernistic media such as newspapers depend on images. These are 'instrumental in making meaning' based on a deep-seated societal belief that 'the sense of a technical, dispassionate point of view afforded past the camera continues to be central to journalistic say-so' (Allbeson & Allan 2019: seventy–71). Despite our historical beloved of still imagery, null compares in volume to the daily drench of images we now feel online. It is estimated we took over ane.2 trillion photographs in 2017 and nosotros share more than iii billion images every mean solar day (Lavoie 2018). Memes are an integral office of our social media appointment with imagery.
On social media, though we view 'hard' news and political commentary, studies show we prefer entertainment that communicates to usa affectively as well as cognitively (Boyd 2008). This notion is not lost on political communication scholars, many of whom 'acknowledg[e] that the historical separation of entertainment and news is obsolete…' (Esralew & Immature 2012: 338). Social media users engage in 'roll civilisation', where we are guided past our thumbs, skimming, reading, liking and commenting on a constant flow of artefacts that entertain and inform. Though much of this is considered 'mundane', on closer examination it is highly ideological (Way 2021a, 2021b). It is precisely through (digital) popular civilization where we almost experience politics 'as fun, as style, and simply as part of the taken for granted everyday earth… [though these] are infused by and shaped by, power relations and ideologies' (Machin 2013: 347). Using the case report of memes most former United states of america President Donald Trump, this paper considers what politics memes offer us and how these communicate to u.s. emotionally and affectively in our insatiable search to be informed and entertained.
2. Memes, politics and impact
The term 'meme', coined by biologist Richard Dawkins (1976), refers to the way we pass on 'cultural information and ideas betwixt individuals and generations', similar to the way genes are passed on betwixt generations. However, this concept is inadequate when considering internet memes (future 'memes'). It is improve to consider memes as remixes and iterations, viral texts that mutate and replicate and are readily transformed and altered by purposeful human agency, with mutation being desirable and often unavoidable (Denisova 2019, Wiggins 2019).
Memes entertain us, though they are more than than just a express mirth. They are a way 'a guild expresses and thinks of itself', where '"everyday" media texts intertwine with public discourses' (Milner 2012: 9; Denisova 2019: 2). Throughout the 1990s-2000s, memes went from an entertaining 'geek' civilisation in-joke to a mainstream gimmick and 'the ways of political and social deliberation' (Denisova 2019: 10). They are manipulated texts produced and distributed 'for the purpose of satire, parody, critique… to posit an argument, visually, in order to embark, extend, counter, or influence a discourse' (Wiggins 2019: 11). Memes are an integral part of 'trolling culture', as defined by Merrin (2019). Here, nosotros are not referring to 'splenetic attacks… whose hate speech, and rape and death threats… are ruining the internet [because] their abuse and hatred are serious' (Merrin 2019: 202). Much of this behaviour has been chastised equally an 'anti-social personality disorder' (Bishop 2013) used past those who have advantage of 'toxic disinhibition' of anonymous, online communication to express their anger (Suler 2005: 184). Instead, this paper considers trolling more than broadly, based on the angling term to elevate a 'baited line behind a gunkhole to see what could be caught' (Merrin 2019: 202). In this sense, memes are a office of a 'sport' that ridicules 'those who get to a higher place themselves, or set themselves higher up others – at those asserting, or in, authority' (Merrin 2019: 202). This action is 'cardinal to our political processes, spreading through the mainstream to become one of the most of import forms of political participation and activism today, employed by politicians, political commentators and the public akin' (Merrin 2019: 201).
Memes influence viewers' awareness of people, issues and events and connect mainstream media topics with social media users. This is evident in the 2016 US election entrada, when memes 'highlighted and promoted the trending discourses around both candidates' (Denisova 2019: 186). They are constructive because they are short, snappy, entertaining and limited a detail point of view through humour. They serve every bit 'mind-bombs', a term coined and practiced by Greenpeace co-founder Bob Hunter, by distributing a symbolic text that expresses an idea in a nutshell and has an emotional impact (Weyler 2020). When used strategically, they 'aid attract attending to political problems and suggest alternative interpretations' (Denisova 2019: 195). They are a way to understand and question concepts, identities and claims made by diverse political groups.
Despite the power ascribed to memes past some scholars, their limits are also recognised. Their political power lie in their ability to accost and appeal to specific groups of political actors with item views in order. In other words, memes tend to 'appeal to an already-existing attitude, assumption, prejudice, fear, point of pride, conspiracy theory, value etc. to achieve salience in a given grouping' (Wiggins 2019: 64). Phillips (2009) demonstrates this through his examination of the Obama Joker meme. Here, he finds this meme was used and manipulated by various groups to limited a number of sometimes opposing political views. The political potential of memes are partly determined through acceptance past and incorporation into a group or customs and this is limited, dependent on offline social relations and activities including people talking about and discussing memes (Wiggins 2019). Their power is likewise dependent on whether or non audiences indeed read memes as their producers desire from a 'preferred reading position'. Furthermore, their ability lies in whether audiences are able to successfully reference real-world events represented in the meme, every bit well every bit the media texts and formats memes copy, parody and/ or manipulate.
A dominant characteristic of memes is they exercise not communicate to u.s. in logical well-structured arguments, but emotionally and affectively (Denisova 2019, Merrin 2019, Wiggins 2019, Style 2021а). Though both concepts are intricately linked, affect is not emotion, only 'provides and amplifies intensity [of emotion] by increasing our sensation of a sure mind or trunk state that we, every bit adults, acquire to label as a particular feeling and express every bit a given emotion' (Papacharissi 2015: 309). So, bear upon, in brusk, is the intensity in which we experience emotion. By communicating to the states affectively and emotionally, memes reduce and simplify political facts and arguments. They are 'another movement away' from rational, communicative contend, 'part of a new politics of affectivity, identification, emotion and humor' (Merrin 2019: 222). This paper reveals how memes communicate to us on these melancholia and emotional levels.
3. Authoritarianism and Trump
In mainstream media, Trump has been criticised for being also disciplinarian by some, whilst being praised for being a 'strong man' by others. Authoritarianism consists of three core components which are (1) 'security against risks of instability and disorder', (two) 'group conformity to preserve conventional traditions and guard our way of life' and (iii) 'loyal obedience toward strong leaders who protect the grouping and its community' (Norris & Inglehart 2019: 7). It is straight linked to the 'politics of fear' (see also Ozyumenko & Larina 2021, this issue) where there is a search for commonage security of a dominant grouping, unremarkably referred to as 'our people' against 'them', at the expense of personal freedoms. Our people can be defined in terms of nationality and citizenship, or more locally every bit in-groups based on race, faith, ethnicity, location, generation, political party, gender, or sexual activity (Zappettini 2019; 2021). In any of these forms, absolutism values group loyalty, shared cultural meanings and feelings of belonging (Norris & Inglehart 2019: vii).
Authoritarianism becomes more dangerous when it is mixed with populism where populists 'pretend to speak for the underdog ['the people'] whose political identity is constructed by opposing it to an elite' (De Cleen & Carpentier 2010: 180). However, dependent on context, who are defined as 'the people' and 'the aristocracy' is fluid. Authoritarian-populist politicians tell us that in lodge to defend 'us' we need to restrict 'them'. This toxic combination results in policies that justify the restriction of immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and foreigners. At the time of writing, authoritarianism-populist politicians and parties had gained power in a number of states including the United states of america, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and Switzerland. In other states, they agree sway, including UKIP and the Brexit Party in catalysing and influencing Brexit (Norris & Inglehart 2019: i). Much praise and criticism about Trump in the media are in terms of authoritarianism. Though some mainstream media criticise Trump for being besides disciplinarian, some
correct-wing media celebrate this (Merrin 2019, Way 2021а).
Trump'southward style of governance may easily be considered disciplinarian-populist equally defined above. He 'uses populist rhetoric to legitimize his style of governance, while promoting disciplinarian values that threaten the liberal norms underpinning American democracy' (Norris & Inglehart 2019: 3). He and his supporters have attacked the 'the liberal press and their ideals of belongings dominance to account' (Happer, Hoskins & Merrrin 2019: 15). All the while, he calls his opponents 'phoney' or 'dopey', labels media and journalists as 'corrupt' or 'fake news' while discourses of violence, racism and wider uncivility get the 'new' norms of social and political doing and acting (Krzyżanowski 2020: 4). He has become the darling of the alt-correct in the U.s.a., defined as 'a range of extreme far-right movements and positions broadly unified past their rejection of traditional, mainstream Christian conservativism and republicanism in favour of white nationalism and supremacism' (Merrin 2019: 206).
four. 4Chan
4Chan is 1 of a number of websites that have become platforms to communicate alt-right ideas (Happer, Hoskins & Merrin 2019: 13). Gear up past Christopher Poole in 2003, 4Chan consists of un-archived, field of study-based boards with bearding postings. Information technology was 'part of the anything goes, libertarian civilisation of the internet, but its desire to daze and drift to the right would eventually get in and Reddit key sites for the alt-right' (Happer, Hoskins & Merrin 2019: 13). It is '[t]he mod online abode of trolling and the spirit of anarchy… the must-meet, cess-pit of the internet: as Obi-Wan Kenobi says (in a quote often applied to the site): "You volition never discover a more wretched hive of scum and villainy"' (Merrin 2019: 204). Here net users experience 'gratuitous pornography, misogyny, racism, most forms of "phobia", graphic insults, full general grossness and maximum offensiveness' (Merrin 2019: 204). Many of the memes that populate our mainstream social media feeds originate from 4Chan, information technology being '1 of the nearly artistic corners of the web, with its anarchy birthing almost every major meme or aspect of internet culture over the last decade' (Merrin 2019: 204).
4Chan is not just creative, only also political. It has run an attack campaign aimed at the Church of Scientology for attempting to censor content on the internet. It too aimed its rage at a woman game designer and and so other feminist commentators in and so-called 'Gamergate'. Hither posters presented themselves equally underdogs and victims, despite accusations of abuse by 'snowflakes, unicorns and cry bullies'. They pitted themselves against mainstream media and feminism, naming them equally both 'impossibly strong' and 'laughably weak' (Lees 2016). Non long after this campaign, 4Chan turned its attention to Trump. At first, his candidacy was seen as a joke, but then it quickly evolved into support (Merrin 2019). Its support for Trump is not surprising, because 'his politics closely chimed with [4Chan'due south] the outsider-civilization, anti-PC sentiment, racism and misogyny and the claims of post-truth "shitposters"' (Merrin 2019: 208). Links between 4Chan and Trump are more than only shared political views. Trump and his staff retweeted alt-right videos and images created on 4Chan and 4Chan's memes were part of Trump'due south campaign to relentlessly tilt sentiment on social media in his favour. As 1 quondam campaign official said: 'He clearly won the war against Hillary Clinton 24-hour interval after day after 24-hour interval' (Schreckinger 2017).
4Chan's /po/ board 'is past far the most influential disseminator of memes in terms of the raw number of memes originating from it. In item, it is more influential in spreading racist and political memes' (De Cristofaro 2018). It delivers an important youth demographic to the alt-right, playing a central role in attacks on mainstream media, mainstream politics, the culture of political correctness and Left-wing identity politics. These attacks are axiomatic on 4Chan and in Trump'south 2016 election entrada. In fact, many memes that originate from 4Chan cantankerous over into mainstream platforms such equally Twitter and Facebook to entreatment to 'normies'. It was instrumental in anti-Hillary Clinton campaigns such equally Pizzagate and other conspiracy theories. All the aforementioned, 4Chan is too a thorn in Trump's side. Despite mainstream media criticising Trump, these actions take had picayune upshot on his supporters, feeding into the narrative of Trump as an outsider. Withal, memes on 4Chan and other social media platforms have seen trigger-happy responses by Trump and his supporters suggesting 'humour and satire: the same troll-civilization that supports Trump and which he incarnates has get one of the well-nigh of import weapons confronting him' (Merrin 2019: 213).
5. Data
Our study examines a sample of image-based memes of Trump taken from 4Chan'southward /po/ lath in the spring of 2019. This fourth dimension was called to reflect what was in digital circulation almost half way through Trump'southward term in function. During this time, there were countless memes and images being created, manipulated and circulated in threads about Trump on 4Chan. This is not surprising, seeing its history of promoting not merely Trump, but likewise the alt-right. This researcher scanned hundreds of feeds in order to sympathize how memes expressed ideas about Trump in terms of authoritarianism. Through this authoritarianism prism, four dominant themes about Trump sally. These are: Trump is God-like, Trump is a powerful leader, Trump is powerful confronting the media and Trump is not beingness stiff enough. In the following analysis, nosotros closely analyse two representative memes from each of these categories to reveal how they clear discourses of authoritarianism affectively and emotionally.
6. Methodology
Memes we examine are however images and some include written text. We offering a cursory description of posters' comments about the memes we analyse to consider how they were 'read' by posters. Nosotros use Multimodal Disquisitional Discourse Studies (MCDS) to analyse how lexica and images independently and together clear discourses. This arroyo has the advantage of revealing the way each manner works to articulate discourses 'on a particular occasion, in a particular text' (Kress & van Leeuwen 2001: 29; see also Ponton 2016). MCDS finds its origins in Critical Discourse Analysis and Halliday's (1994) functional grammar which assume linguistic and visual choices reveal broader discourses articulated in texts (Kress & van Leeuwen 2001). MCDS draw out the details of how broader discourses are communicated and how the dissimilar modes play slightly unlike roles (Machin & Mayr 2012). These discourses tin can be idea of as models of the world and project certain social values and ideas which contribute to the (re)production of social life. The aim of analysis is to reveal what kinds of social relations of power, inequalities and interests are perpetuated, generated or legitimated in texts both explicitly and implicitly (van Dijk 1993).
Nosotros examine how participants are represented in our sample texts, an arroyo used extensively in previous research and shown to exist key to revealing discourses (Wodak et al. 1999, Bishop & Jaworski 2003, Wodak & Weiss 2005). Written lexica is analysed (when part of a meme) past leaning on van Leeuwen (1996 & 1995) and Fairclough'due south (2003) seminal work on the representation of social actors. We consider participants in terms of how they are named and how their actions are represented. Here questions such every bit who does what to whom and how participants are represented in more active or passive roles are examined. Though originally applied to written texts, social actor analysis is too practical to images leaning on the influential work of Kress and van Leeuwen (1996 & 2001) and Machin (2007). These scholars define iii wide analytical categories for analysing the visual representation of social actors: Positioning, kinds of participants and actions. How viewers are symbolically positioned in relation to participants in images through gaze, angle of interaction and distance is considered. These choices accept repercussions in terms of representations of power and connotations of date with viewers (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996: 127–128). When examining the kinds of participants, nosotros consider whether social actors are represented as individuals or groups, culturally and/ or biologically categorised and who is included and excluded. The representation of activeness, including process types and agency, carry with them discourses of power and are an integral part of our visual assay.
Choices in how imagery is organised and composed is also analysed. Here, we consider the internal 'period' or organisation of an epitome, salience and the degree of modality suggested in an prototype. Image arrangement, including the positioning of elements and framing, contribute to an image's internal 'menstruation' and behave with it ideological meanings (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996). Salience, which connotes importance and power, is expressed through visual devises such as potent cultural symbols, size, colour, tone, focus and foregrounding (Machin 2007). Modality is a literary concept associated with the corporeality of certainty a producer assigns to a text. In visuals, 'modality can be decreased or increased depending on how much the image departs from how nosotros would have seen the paradigm had nosotros been there' (Machin 2007: 46). Non all of these visual elements are analysed for each meme, simply like non all memes include written text. Instead, we apply the above analytical tools based on their usefulness in revealing discourses about Trump, authoritarianism, emotion and bear upon.
7. Assay
7.one. Memes of God-like powers
I obvious strategy used to correspond Trump as powerful is producing a visual mash up with his head on a mythical character's torso. 4Chan's God Emperor Trump series depicts Trump as ruler of the globe, wearing the armour of the immortal character Emperor of Mankind (likewise known equally 'God Emperor' or 'Imperium of Man') from the war game Warhammer 40,000. Co-ordinate to 'Know your meme' website, these images beginning appeared on 4Chan on xvi June 2015.
Effigy one is typical of these God Emperor Trump memes that appeared during our research. Trump stands alpine. He wears the armour of Emperor of Flesh, culturally categorising Trump as a super-being (Machin 2007). Both the vertical and horizontal angle of interactions suggest force. The camera looks upwardly to Trump connoting groovy power (Machin 2007). His body also faces the camera, though his face looks off to the side. This connotes that he is non hither to appoint with viewers in a need paradigm that connotes interaction between viewer and subject (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996: 127–128). Instead, he is offered to his viewers, posing to be admired. Abousnnouga and Machin (2010: 144) examine war monuments and discover that most of the subjects (soldiers) practise not symbolically demand anything of their viewers, but expect off to the horizon. This has the pregnant potential 'of wanting the public to meet the soldiers as office of a dissimilar world, 1 of the glory of God… metaphorically [looking] to the future and high ideals.' Here Trump gazes in a similar manner, looking thoughtful, full of high ethics, powerful and into the future. Facial expressions are stern and forceful, making articulate he is in power. His head is small compared to the massive body in the montage. However, both caput and body are salient connoting importance and power. His torso is salient through its size. Just the meme'south message of Trump equally powerful would be lost on his fans if his head was difficult to place. Light, focus and colour make his head salient. Furthermore, it is in focus and importantly, the creator of the prototype has suggested other-worldliness by including what looks like a halo around Trump's head to guide our eyes towards him.
Figure 1. 'God Emperor Trump' image in pro-Trump 4Chan thread
Compositional choices too contribute to Trump's mythical status. There is no distinguishable groundwork, just modular shades of golden-blood-red. Hither, Emperor God Trump is decontextualised. There is depression modality in this image, where we do not know where Trump is or what he is doing. Modality markers, including the articulation of item, groundwork and depth, all contribute to how 'real' an image is perceived (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996). Where figures are represented without a background, 'information technology commonly means that the prototype is symbolic rather than documentary', symbolic rather than descriptive (Machin 2007: 51). Here, this contributes to the notion that this image is less about existent power and Trump'due south actions and more near vague, emotive notions or fantasies of Trump's power experienced past his fans, however ill-defined these are (Machin 2007: 48).
The soapbox of power, but non any real tangible power, is common throughout this serial. In feeds with these memes, almost posters limited adoration for Trump and disdain for those who do non like him. Accompanying memes ii, we meet this in posts such equally 'Dubs confirm Trump is God Emperor. Sorry Liberals' and 'That's God Emperor of Flesh Trump to you, yous lowly worm'. In both these posts (and many others) we notice an 'us' group of Trump fans, united in their admiration for Trump. 'Dubs' is a personal naming of ane member of this group, active in confirming Trump's power. This presupposes that Dubs indeed has the authorization to confirm, a positive representation of power. Distinct from this group is an 'other' group named using the pronoun 'you' above (elsewhere 'them'). This grouping is impersonally and generically named every bit 'Liberals' and evaluated negatively in 'y'all lowly worm'. Past Dubs saying 'sad' to Liberals for Trump's power, the writer presupposes Liberals are saddened past Trump's (dandy?) power.
Similar the posts, the meme expresses admiration for Trump. Again, this is not about 'existent' political ability, like the ability to abolish Obamacare, build a wall on the Mexican border, close the borders to Muslims or curtail criticisms in the press. This is symbolic ability, confirming posters' adoration and pride towards Trump and Trump's America. Similarities between figures one and 2 include Trump's caput mashed-up with the torso of Emperor of Mankind. Both images see Trump'south head small-scale, yet salient through the use of colours, lighting and focus. Low modality through an duplicate background is as well common, connoting both symbolic ability over 'real' power and Trump as a mythical character.
Figure 2. Symbolic ability and nationalism in 'God Emperor Trump' images
Despite similarities, this meme is different than the first one we examined. Now potent cultural symbols change the discourse to i of nationalism and ability. Salient are reminders of America that tap into fans' national pride. Most salient is the large American flag in focus. Too, an American bald hawkeye sits on Trump's left hand. This national symbol is not free to fly like the bird in the background of Trump's halo, simply has been tamed, suggesting information technology has submitted to Trump'southward power. The America existence promoted hither is Trump's America. On the correct human knee of his armour is a face up shot of Trump. He looks direct at viewers, demanding our attention and connoting power (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996: 127–128). He is represented yelling suggesting aggression and power.
MAGA hats sit down on top of Trump's and the bald eagle's heads. This cultural ornamentation is recognisable worldwide. MAGA, brusk for 'Make America Swell Again', has become synonymous with a world view associated with Trump that includes controversial perspectives on race, immigration, the environment, politicians, authoritarianism and even cognition (Makovicky, Tremon, & Zanonai 2019). Office of this outlook is branding Trump as an unconventional, aggressive politician, symbolised here past the flaming sword with 'Trump' written on the handle. This image is non merely nigh America, only about a style of leadership that is unconventional, authoritarian and populist. Though imagery such as this connotes great ability and suggests absolutism, discourses admired past many 4Chan users and expressed in their comments, power is not 'real' or defined. As such, these memes affectively reflect and echo dominant discourses on 4Chan, discourses that gloat Trump's America, his power and absolutism.
7.two. Trump as powerful president/ presidential candidate
Trump'southward power is not just represented in God-like imagery in our sample. There are more than descriptive representations of Trump's power, such as being a powerful president and presidential candidate. Figure iii is an instance used in a thread in June 2019. The feed is made up of insults and bantering amid users about the merits of Trump and his supporters. This image accompanies a mail service that claims 'Losers lose their shit over how awesome this guy is'. Here nosotros see Trump critics named every bit 'losers' and acting negatively by 'los[ing] their shit'. This very negative representation is opposed to this 'awesome … guy', lexical choices that non but praise ('awesome'), just also suggest closeness and existence one of 'us' by using the friendly colloquial term 'guy'.
Figure three, once more nosotros detect discourses of power. This is a close upward head shot, giving viewers a bespeak of identification and making it easy for them to symbolically interact with Trump (Machin 2007). He looks direct at the camera, directly addressing viewers and suggesting power (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996: 127–128). A slight smile on his face suggests confidence. Smiles tin can accept on a variety of meanings depending on context and in some cases 'at that place may exist a kind of smiling that invites us in or allows us to share the joy of a moment' (Machin 2007:111). Hither, Trump's smile indicates he wants us to exist happy with him, to share in his victory. This is emphasised by the pronoun 'nosotros' instead of 'I' in the accompanying written text. Groups constructed using 'we' in political discourse are constantly shifting and vague, referring to party, nation, authorities, residents or other combinations used to serve politicians' purposes (Fairclough 1989: 148). Here, 'we' is non defined, information technology mayhap meaning Trump and his Republican party, conservatives, or even the alt-right. However, what is connoted is Trump is powerful, being fundamental to a winning group of 'we' Trump supporters.
Though there is no activity represented in the image, Trump is represented strong through cultural categorisation. His suit, white shirt and tie tell the states this is a formal occasion and he is someone to be respected. The colours of the accompanying writing and surrounding boxes mirror those of the American flag suggesting a national upshot. What has been 'won' is non indicated in the thread or image, though information technology is likely the meme originally referred to Trump'southward election in 2016. In any circumstance, this is an empowering image. But similar the images in the previous section, this is more than symbolic than real. The groundwork, once more, gives no clues as to any particular event or issue. The image and context connote no real action and agency. Trump is not represented doing anything to everyone. Nonetheless, this meme is about his ability and 'us' being a part of this, though nothing is divers or quantifiable.
Figure 3. Descriptive representations of Trump's power in 4Chan memes
Trump supporters started the slogan 'Tin can't Stump the Trump' during his campaign to become the Republican presidential candidate. A Trump supporter beginning posted the slogan on 4Chan on 15 June 2015. A number of conservative media outlets repeated the phrase and Trump tweeted information technology on thirteen October 2015. The now famous meme that incorporates this slogan (Fig. 4) appears regularly on 4Chan. The slogan implies an oppositional 'y'all' while the parochial lexical choice of 'stump' suggests informality. As such, Trump's unorthodox populist and confrontational style of politicking is connoted alongside his intellectual prowess. Yet, with no details or context represented in the slogan, this communicates to its audiences symbolically and affectively rather than in a tangible, descriptive way.
Choices in the image further articulates discourses of Trump every bit a powerful leader of America. Every bit is the case with the previous meme, Trump is salient connoting his importance. Aside from written text, excluded are whatever details of where he is and what he is doing. This is all well-nigh Trump. Unlike any of the previous images, there is no groundwork here further suggesting the paradigm is more than symbolic than descriptive (Machin 2007: 34). Trump'due south head has low modality. That is, 'the image departs from how we would have seen the image had nosotros been at that place' (Machin 2007: 46). Facial details, such as wrinkles, blemishes and faults are not present. There is a visual event applied to the image that eliminates these realities and offers us a young, unreal version of Trump's caput. Choosing a youthful-looking version of Trump has more associations with strength than that of an old, over-weight man. Power is as well connoted by Trump staring at viewers in a need paradigm, directly addressing his fans. His eyes are wide open as though he is afraid of nothing. His forehead slightly leans frontward and his mentum is tucked in every bit though he is daring viewers to question his intelligence asserted in the slogan. As seen in the final meme, at that place is a slight smile, connoting conviction.
Figure four. 'Can't Stump the Trump' meme on 4Chan
Kress and van Leeuwen (1996: 193) claim that the position of elements in images create 'compositional structures' which have meaning potential. One structure is the 'Triptych' where ane element is centrally placed, acting as a mediator betwixt other elements. Within this meme, Trump occupies the middle of the meme surrounded by colours of the American flag. He is literally at the heart of America. This discourse of Trump being an essential part of American nationalism is further articulated in how Trump'due south name is presented in the meme. His proper name is integrated with the Usa flag connoting a natural connectedness between the two (Machin 2007: 154). In fact, by having Trump's name on top of the flag, overlapping occurs again connoting Trump'south strength and importance in America (Eisner 1985). Kress and van Leeuwen (1996: 193) also place the meridian of compositions as the 'ideal', generalisation or simplification of an image. The bottom is the 'existent', factual and grounded in the everyday that adds weight and credibility to the ideal. Here, the ideal is 'tin can't stump' while 'the Trump' is the factual that adds weight to the ideal. This construction emphasises Trump as unstoppable and clever in the context of power in America. As such, this appeals to posters' emotions of beingness proud to exist a part of Trump'due south America. What this is missing is whatever details and specifics about exactly what is this power, who it effects and how.
vii.iii. Images of Trump's relations with mainstream media
Trump's relations with mainstream media are antagonistic at best, well documented and discussed extensively in academia (see Hopper, Hoskin & Merrin 2019). He makes no secret of his dislike for critical media, these being regular targets for his malaise in his political rallies and printing conferences. This tendency to assail critical mainstream media is aligned with disciplinarian notions of loyal obedience toward a potent leader. Trump also shares his critical views on Twitter, including a GIF in 2017 of him body slamming the CNN logo. This GIF resulted in a meme campaign instigated past 4Chan on 5 July 2017 named 'Performance Autism Storm' or the 'Smashing CNN Meme War'. The campaign urged users to engage in a meme war with CNN because the network threatened to reveal the identity of the producer of this controversial GIF. 4Chan and Reddit users began spreading anti-CNN images, videos and animated GIFs, including a contest for the best meme in the 'Great CNN Meme State of war'. A compilation of these memes, clips and GIFs later appeared on YouTube. Much of this imagery is recycled and appears in feeds on 4Chan.
In this section we examine two memes that originate from the meme war. Posters' comments that accompany the memes, such every bit 'CNN is the fakest news of them all' and 'Destroy CNN past any memes possible', echo Trump sentiments of anger, and frustration at mainstream media. In both memes, Trump is salient. His head, which is mashed on to other characters, is large, low-cal in colour and is in the foreground of the images. Unlike memes and images we have analysed thus far, here Trump is represented acting with agency connoting great ability (Fairclough 1995: 113). The origins of effigy five is the game Mortal Kombat. As is the example with all memes, knowledge of original media contribute to the meanings articulated in memes. This paradigm is role of a fatality sequence in Mortal Kombat in which a graphic symbol called Liu Kang (Trump here) turns into a dragon and eats the top one-half of his opponent. In the altered image, the Trump dragon dominates. He is much larger than the CNN graphic symbol and in the centre of the paradigm, a salient position. His body is puffed out in a posture that connotes a threat to the CNN character. The horizontal angle of interaction does non permit us to have any symbolic interaction with Trump. This epitome is offered to u.s. as information available for scrutiny (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996: 124). We are hither to observe his force. Trump's mouth is open, yelling, threatening and possibly gear up to eat his opponent (CNN). His eyed glare down at CNN, again emphasising his anger and power. CNN leans back, cowering under his threats. Here representations of power are clear. Represented deportment of yelling, threatening and attacking are an emotional metaphor for Trump's actions and relations with mainstream media.
Figure 5. Meme of Trump as Liu Kang from the Mortal Combat game
In figure half dozen, Trump again dominates the epitome. Hither, his head is mashed on to the Hulk from The Avengers picture show (2012). In this image, Trump faces us, allowing viewers to witness his acrimony. The vertical angle of interaction emphasises his strength. In the original film, the Hulk fights Loki, a villain. Hither Trump'due south caput is mashed on to the superhero's body as he holds the villain by the feet in a sequence that sees the Hulk physically brutalise Loki. It is a one-sided fight due to the Blob's enormous force. Here, the superhero Trump physically brutalises CNN. This show of strength and connotations of who is right and who is wrong would not be lost on viewers, confirming their beliefs that mainstream media are wrong, information technology beingness 'fake news'. All the while, the meme offers no prove or context for such assertions, just metaphoric over literal representations of actions that emphasise power and anger.
Figure six. Trump as the Hulk from The Avengers film (2012)
7.iv. Criticisms of Trump for non being potent plenty
There is a lot of criticisms of Trump in mainstream media and digital pop culture. Criticism is aimed at a big number of issues including his authoritarian tendencies, his (united nations)lawful deportment, his style of governing and even his policies. Mostly, these come from a position that may be considered more liberal than Trump. Yet, in our search of 4Chan in 2019, in that location was a lot of criticism of Trump from the right. He is represented as not authoritarian enough and too tolerant towards minorities such as the Gay community, aviary seekers, Jewish people and Israel. In this section, nosotros examine a two-paradigm meme to reveal some of the strategies used to affectively connote praise and criticism nearly Trump'southward power.
As noted above, viewers of 4Chan inevitably appoint with racist texts, whether viewing, posting, commenting or creating these (Merrin 2019: 204). This is evident in threads that defend and criticise Trump. One common theme during our sample fourth dimension was an anti-Semitic discourse. Accompanying figure 7, nosotros discover the media is 'Jewish controlled' while YouTube is named 'Jewtube' and Facebook 'Faceberg'. These namings back-trail an array of conspiracy theories where Jewish people are to blame for a whole host of injustices. In the thread that accompanies figure vii, we find some users attack Trump and some defend him. Trump is attacked as being weak, represented every bit following Israel in 'Trump is blind and Netanyahu is guiding him' and 'Make these shill memes that show him MIGA instead of MAGA.' We tin only assume MIGA is an acronym that exchanges 'America' for 'State of israel' in Trump's 'Make America Swell Again' slogan. Elsewhere in the thread, the 'Jewish controlled media' are attacked for existence against Trump who will 'destroy groping Joe [Biden] in 2020', while some users believe this thread is office of a Jewish-led conspiracy to turn voters against Trump. These comments express fear of the other, in this case Jewish people and Isreal, as well every bit anger at Trump for being too accommodating towards Isreal. These emotions are also represented in this meme.
The meme is in the style of a before and after sequence. Scholars tell united states an prototype can exist organised from left to correct where the left can represent the old while the right can represent the new and the possible (Halliday 1994: 277). In this composition, the left is the past, something we already know, while the correct is something new. In the left epitome, we run into Trump culturally categorised as a Crusader. In popular fiction, the reddish on white cross we see on Trump'due south shield and breast plate is associated with not but the English flag, simply also the Crusades and Saint George, England's 'patron saint'. Though not a symbol of America, this image resonates with Trump's policies towards Muslims, keeping in mind the viii Crusader wars were 'a serial of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred past both groups' ('Crusades' 2019). The groundwork, though depression in modality, depicts a dry, desert-like landscape, a large sunday and a edifice with a dome roof. All these lean on stereotypes that suggest Trump is in the Middle East and most probably Isreal.
Figure 7. An anti-Semitic far-correct meme disquisitional of Trump on 4Chan
On the left, Trump is salient, with his head mashed on to a knight. But his head is not as salient equally in previous memes that used lighting, colour, focus and/or size for salience. Here his caput is distinguishable, but minor. The horse and American flag are far more than salient, the flag beingness both large and a potent cultural symbol. Like the positive images examined above, Trump is looking to the horizon – a man with a vision. This prototype connotes positivity, though not as obvious as previous examples. Information technology provokes longing for a time when Trump had a vision equally a candidate. His facial expressions, though difficult to distinguish, are stern and serious, like a crusader, off to make America Great Again.
The right-mitt image has less certainty and positivity and lower modality than the left paradigm. A 'realistic' photograph of Trump's head on the left is replaced with a extravaganza of Trump. It is biologically categorised based on racist stereotypes. He at present has a large nose, squinting optics and big eyebrows. Some of these qualities are used in Jewish hate literature. He looks untrustworthy connoted by his gaze that no longer looks to the horizon, merely off to the side. He is at present a flag bearer for Israel not America, indicated past the flag changes. What is connoted here is he now works in the national interest of Israel, playing on fears of expose by Trump fans. This is nothing brusk of treasonous behaviour for a president. He no longer is a warrior crusader fighting for America and its interests. Instead, he is a traitor, fighting for Israel and Jewish people. Though these criticisms are powerful, they are non specific. At that place is no articulation of an statement in the meme or in the thread of what Trump has done for or confronting America and/ or Israel. Though these memes may stir upwards emotional nationalist and racist feelings in 4Chan users, their lack of direct criticism is stark.
8. Conclusion
In this paper, we have considered how image-based memes near Donald Trump'southward power shared on social media articulate political discourses. Whether pro or anti-Trump, the power represented is non about any real tangible ability or actions, merely symbolic and/ or metaphoric. We find memes lean on emotional discourses about nationalism, racism and authoritarianism. Criticism and praise is not communicated through logical, clearly articulated, tangible arguments but affectively and emotionally. 4Chan users are presented with memes that manipulate images and lexica (sometimes) to communicate to us affectively, cartoon on feelings and stereotypes that connote other-worldly forcefulness and power. These lean on discourses of authoritarianism, discourses close to many 4Chan audience members.
Though these lean on emotion and bear on, memes similar these are important. They are pervasive, popular and effective. Many memes originate from the alt-correct and seep into mainstream social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Here, they are viewed, considered, commented upon and shared by millions, social media being a primary source of entertainment and data for many of us. These activities get audiences to consider politicians and their actions. For example, the Israel meme analysed above suggests that Trump said one thing as a candidate but acted differently every bit a president. This message has the potential to stir acrimony in users and be part of a decision making process on how to vote. All the same, we should not over-stress their importance in terms of democratic ideals. Unlike mainstream media, these offer trivial room for their viewers to analyse and question problems, events and people, confirming rather than challenging already-held beliefs. Their affective, comical and simplified nature do not invite us to consider a range of views on pertinent issues in gild for us to make informed political decisions. Instead, memes are a part of 'whorl culture' that metaphorically shouts emotionally-laden viewpoints at us. This does little in terms of creating an informed public as envisioned past Habermas (1991), thereby calculation a further accident to an essential component of a healthy functioning democracy.
About the authors
Lyndon C.S. Way
University of Liverpool
Writer for correspondence.
E-mail: lyndon.way@liverpool.ac.uk
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0481-4891
communications and media lecturer at the University of Liverpool. His area of research is analysing relations between (digital) popular culture and politics through the lens of multimodal disquisitional soapbox studies. He has co-/edited a number of publications on music and digital pop culture as multimodal political soapbox, written a monograph on Turkish music and politics (Bloomsbury 2018) and another entitled Analysing Politics and Protest in DigitalPopular Culture (Sage 2021).
Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 7ZX, UK
Source: https://journals.rudn.ru/linguistics/article/view/27484
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