Chapter 3. The map, the mirror and the simulacrum
Visual communication and the question of power
This article identifies the three metaphors of mirror, map and simulacrum as central for the political discourse in visual communication: Images designated as mirrors, such as documentaries, convince because they seem to reflect reality. Images designated as maps, such as advertisements, convince because they imply that they tell their observers something worth knowing. Poststructuralist criticism has deconstructed both the persuasion of mimesis and the persuasion of tellability. Deconstruction, however, does not seem to offer productive contributions in the political discourse of power and the negotiation of society’s values. Kukkonen thus suggests reconsidering the rhetorical strategies of the mirror and the map when discussing the role of images in political discourse.
Cited by (3)
Cited by three other publications
Aliakbari, Mohammad & Ayad Kamalvand
2023.
Social semiotic analysis of photographic portrayals of Iranian elders on websites.
Visual Studies ► pp. 1 ff.
Schmid, Julian
2020.
(Captain) America in crisis: popular digital culture and the negotiation of Americanness.
Cambridge Review of International Affairs 33:5
► pp. 690 ff.
Průchová, Andrea
2017.
How Do Czech Children Remember Their ‘Father’? Visual Representations of the First Czechoslovak President, T. G. Masaryk, in Czech History Textbooks in Communist and Post-communist Times. In
Globalisation and Historiography of National Leaders,
► pp. 53 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.