Introducing a new methodological tool to analyse politics as performance
What is it about?
This article argues that when people analyse discourse, they focus too much on the textual component of discourse - the words themselves - and not enough on other elements like the visual and especially the performative elements of discourse. Building on other methods like multimodal analysis and semiotics, this article provides a new tool that allows researchers to look at political discourse: the political performance analysis protocol (PPAP). The PPAP separates each performance into various components: the symbols mobilised, the script used, the actor(s) performing, the audience watching and the mise-en-scène (the staging). It then offers a set of questions fo each components. In the article, the case of Greta Thunberg's "How dare you?" performance is used as an illustration.
Why is it important?
It is important because only analysing the textual part of discourse means we miss on a lot of what makes discourse compelling. It's not just about the words that make a speech memorable, it is also about the way the speaker talks or moves, the relationship established with the audience, the clothes they wear, the emotions they convey and so on.