Visual rhetoric of the Presidency

An analysis of the Trump and Obama White House messaging in their first 100 days in Flickr images

Bibliographic Data

ID7513245
AuthorsRussell Chun (0000-0003-3936-9991, corresponding author), Russell Scott Chun (Hofstra University)
Year2018
Volume37
Issue1
Pages18-39
Publication date2018-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Visual Literacy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1051-144X • E-ISSN: 2379-6529
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1051144x.2018.1450129
OpenAlexW2790906956
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited33

In this study, we examine images released by the White House on Flickr, an online public photo sharing site, to identify the visual messaging of the Trump Presidency in their first 100 days and compare it to the previous Obama administration. We draw on Burke's dramatistic pentad and agenda setting theories to tag images in a qualitative data analysis. Our results indicate that the Trump administration frames a visual narrative, consistent with its campaign rhetoric that celebrates power with allusions to authoritarian tropes, emphasizes the singularity of the President, and glorifies his claim of widespread popularity. Our examination also corroborates an aesthetic mediocrity, which we interpret as an anti-design disposition embraced by Trump's supporters who may disparage design as an elitist endeavor even if it contradicts Trump's reputation as the consummate showman. Our findings offer a valuable adjunct to traditional analyses of political communication

Administration (probate law · Art · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Persuasion · Political science · Politics · Presidency · Rhetoric · Sociology · Visual rhetoric · White (mutation · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Visual Culture and Art Theory · Law · Social Psychology