HOPES AND FEARS: THE SEMIOTICS OF ORCHESTRAL MUSIC IN LEFT AND RIGHT-WING POPULISM

• Authors: Moreno Barreneche Sebastián
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article uses semiotics to study two audio-visual spots produced by populist political actors (Marine Le Pen, in France, and Unidas Podemos, in Spain) with the purpose of unveiling the multimodal discursive strategies they use. The analysis presented in the article focuses on the auditive dimension and studies how Le Pen and Unidas Podemos use orchestral music as a semiotic resource for meaning- and sense-making. The analysis proposes that the use these two political actors do of orchestral music in the analysed spots is not random, but strategic. Moreover, it is argued that these strategic uses are aligned with recent scholarship on right- and left-wing populism: while – an example of right-wing populism – Le Pen draws on a discursive strategy aimed at provoking emotions like fear and anxiety based on exclusion, Unidas Podemos – an example of left-wing populism – uses one aimed at conveying the emotions of hope and possibility of change based on inclusion.

Keywords

EN

POPULISM; EMOTIONS; MUSIC; SEMIOTICS; DISCOURSE; LE PEN; UNIDAS PODEMOS

• Publisher: Institute of Sociology, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Sociológia (Sociology)
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 177 – 196

Contributors

author

Moreno Barreneche Sebastián

• Universidad ORT Uruguay, Bulevar España 2633, 11300, Montevideo, Uruguay

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/sociologia.2023.55.2.6