The purpose of this paper is to discuss findings from an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded research project into the heritage culture of British folk tales. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss findings from an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded research project into the heritage culture of British folk tales. The project investigated how such archival source material might be made relevant to contemporary audience via processes of artistic remediation. The research considered artists as “cultural intermediaries”, i.e. as actors occupying the conceptual space between production and consumption in an artistic process.
Design/methodology/approach
Interview data is drawn from a range of 1‐2‐1 and group interviews with the artists. These interviews took place throughout the duration of the project.
Findings
When artists are engaged in a process of remediation which has a distinct arts marketing/audience development focus, they begin to intermediate between themselves and the audience/consumer. Artist perceptions of their role as “professionals of qualification” is determined by the subjective disposition required by the market context in operation at the time (in the case of this project, as commissioned artists working to a brief). Artists’ ability (and indeed willingness) to engage in this process is to a great extent proscribed by their “sense-of-self-as-artist” and an engagement with Romantic ideas of artistic autonomy.
Originality/value
A consideration of the relationship between cultural intermediation and both cultural policy and arts marketing. The artist-as-intermediary role, undertaking creative processes to mediate how goods are perceived by others, enables value-adding processes to be undertaken at the point of remediation, rather than at the stage of intermediation.
Details
Keywords
This research is a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of Trump's speech on January 6, 2021, which results in his supporters' storming the US Capitol in order to challenge…
Abstract
Purpose
This research is a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of Trump's speech on January 6, 2021, which results in his supporters' storming the US Capitol in order to challenge certifying Biden's victory. The Democrats accused Trump of incitement of insurrection. Consequently, Trump was impeached. This article investigates Trump's speech to label it as hate speech or free speech.
Design/methodology/approach
Analytical framework is tri-dimensional. The textual analysis is based on Halliday's notion of process types and Huckin's discourse tools of foregrounding and topicalization. The socio-cognitive analysis is based on Van Dijk's ideological square and his theory of mental models. The philosophical dimension is founded on Habermas's theory of discourse. These parameters are the cornerstones of the barometer that will be utilized to reach an objective evaluation of Trump's speech.
Findings
Findings suggest that Trump usually endows “I, We, You” with topic positions to lay importance on himself and his supporters. He frequently uses material process to urge the crowds' action. He categorizes Americans into two conflicting poles: He and his supporters versus the media and the Democrats. Mental models are created and activated so that the other is always negatively depicted. Reports about corruption are denied in court. Despite that, Trump repeats such reports. This is immoral in Habermas's terms. The study concludes that Trump delivered hate speech in order to incite the mob to act in a manner that may change the election results.
Originality/value
The study is original in its tri-dimensional framework and its data of analysis.
Details
Keywords
Rossella C. Gambetti and Robert V. Kozinets
This study aims to expand understanding of the diversity of virtual influencer forms by investigating their nonhuman-like, animal and graphic or cartoon variations.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to expand understanding of the diversity of virtual influencer forms by investigating their nonhuman-like, animal and graphic or cartoon variations.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-year multisite longitudinal netnography studied 174 virtual influencers and spanned ten social media platforms. Typological categories were constructed from the data set, focusing on 14 influencers located across quadrants. In-depth findings were then developed for eight illustrative cases.
Findings
Findings deepen the knowledge of the virtual influencer sphere by highlighting diversity in human-like, nonhuman-like, imaginative and realistic forms. The authors postulate four types of virtual influencers: hyper-human, antihuman, pan-human and alter-human. These forms are linked to specific personalities and communication styles, addressing various consumer needs. Imaginatively represented virtual influencers may prompt audiences to reevaluate beliefs, values and behaviors. These findings challenge prior work’s focus on attractive, hyperreal and human-like virtual influencers, encouraging consideration of divergent types engaged in novel meaning-shaping activities and targeting different segments.
Research limitations/implications
This research paves the way for consumer and marketing researchers and practitioners to broaden their representations of virtual influencers beyond the human-like, beyond the commercial and into new worlds of fantasy, imagination and posthuman possibility.
Practical implications
Different types of virtual influencers speak to diverse audiences and convey marketing messages in subtly different ways. Some forms of virtual influencers fit into roles like defiant voices, oppositional characters, activists, educators, entertainers and change leaders. As the universe of virtual influencers diversifies, this research opens new avenues of marketing for brands.
Originality/value
This study pioneers comprehensive qualitative research across the universe of virtual influencers and their communities, exploring links to popular culture. It offers connections between virtual influencer forms and communication strategies for marketers.