Between Hagiography and Self-Trolling: Multimodal Analysis of Memes for Boric in the 2021 Chilean Presidential Election

Authors

  • Mario Álvarez Fuentes Universidad de La Frontera, Chile
  • Claudia Mellado Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile

Keywords:

Hagiography, multimodal analysis, political memes, Boric, Chilean politics

Abstract

We use the concept of hagiography to analyze the absurd content found in the memes that circulated after the first round of Chile’s 2021 presidential election. We examined 201 video and image memes to elucidate how the supporters of the then-candidate Gabriel Boric created a narrative of the political moment. A qualitative multimodal analysis shows the use of absurdity to create a heroic idealization of the leftist politician who eventually won the presidency. Social media users depicted the election as a climactic moment where democracy was in danger and portrayed Boric as the hero who appeared at just the right moment with the right message. The term hagiography refers to stories about saints that were read collectively and contributed to the creation of worship communities in medieval Europe. This notion, together with multimodal analysis, helps us understand absurdity not only as a matter of form and content but also as a mode of interaction mediated by memes.

Author Biographies

Mario Álvarez Fuentes, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile

Researcher affiliated with the Núcleo Científico y Tecnológico en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades de la Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. He holds a PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Leeds, UK, and a MA in Political Communication from the same institution. His research interests focus on political communication and its connections with popular culture, as well as the communication of grassroots organizations.

Claudia Mellado, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile

Professor of Journalism in the School of Journalism at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile. Her research focuses on the study of journalism cultures, journalistic role performance, and comparative studies. She is the principal investigator of the cross-national study “Journalistic Role Performance” (JRP) Project. His latest edited book is Beyond Journalistic Norms: Role Performance and News in Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2021).

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Published

2024-10-29

Issue

Vol. 18 (2024)

Section

Articles

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