Pamela Vietri

Asynchronous Activity 4: Analysis of a multimodal text

1. The meme features close-up photographs of Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in
the 2017 American presidential campaign, and Barack Obama, the then-Democrat President
of the United States. Obama appears composed, facing forward with a serious expression,
while Trump is portrayed with pursed lips, looking sideways. Color plays a significant role:
Obama's black skin tone contrasts sharply with Trump's orange complexion and hair, relating
to the accompanying text.
2.a. The meme makes use of metonymy to connect Trump and Obama (referring to the
whole) to an orange skin tone and a black skin tone (referring to the part), respectively. It also
employs a pun to play on the TV series title "ORANGE is the new BLACK," using
"ORANGE" to represent Trump's distinct appearance, and the idiom "is the new black" to
imply a shift in trends. The effect of these linguistic resources in the meme is both humorous
and satirical, making reference to the TV series title to convey a political statement,
indicating that now Trump is in vogue, as Obama was before.
2.b. Intertextuality is apparent in the meme's linguistic text, referencing the idiom "X is the
new black" and the TV series title. There is a case of allusion that extends beyond a simple
comparison to the color black, indicating something as exceedingly popular or trendy at a
specific moment. The meme's creator adopts this allusion, replicating typography and color
from the show's title in the linguistic text. When examining the linguistic text alongside the
images of both politicians, parody emerges as Trump's orange skin tone humorously mirrors
the inmate's attire in the TV show, contrasting with Obama's darker complexion. This type of
intertextuality serves to comment on the shift from Obama's previous status as a popular
political figure to Trump assuming that role. The use of humor accentuates the stark
differences between these two textual subjects.
2.c. Memes are multimodal texts. In this case, the combination of the linguistic text and the
pictures (visual texts) of Trump and Obama serves a complementary function to reinforce the
meme’s message: the visuals heighten the impact of the linguistic text, while the linguistic
text provides context and depth to the visual comparison. This fusion of visual and linguistic
elements enhances the meme's effectiveness in conveying its message about the shift in
political power.
a) The meme is an assertive because it expresses the text producer’s belief and commits them
to the truth of the expressed meaning. It is a direct comment on the changing political climate
and the perceived differences between Trump and Obama.
b) The pragmatic effect produced by the meme is humor. This effect is achieved through
targeting the text consumer’s societal perceptions and political ideologies associated with
Trump and Obama. The meme relies on the shared cultural understanding of the phrase "X is
the new black," and its connection to the title and popularity of the TV show to create a
satirical comparison between both politicians, assuming that the text consumer will recognize
the association and find humor in the juxtaposition of the two figures based on their
appearances and personas.
c) The text producer assumes a satirical and critical stance, employing humor and wordplay
to comment not only on the changing dynamics of power and popularity between Trump and
Obama but also on the pronounced differences that exist between the two. The use of
linguistic resources (like puns, metonymy, and intertextuality) and visual resources serve as a
means to present the text producer’s beliefs on the political landscape and societal
perceptions at the time. These resources serve to underscore the differences between the two
leaders, evident in their physical appearance and implied differences in their political
ideologies (Republicans versus Democrats).
d) The meme's intended text consumer is the general public engaging in social media,
presumed to be interested in political discussions, current events, humor rooted in cultural
references and political satire.
e) This meme discusses the cultural value of liberty, particularly freedom of speech, to
comment on political figures using satire and humor. It assumes shared cultural knowledge,
referencing phrases like "X is the new black" and a popular TV show. Additionally, it
engages with societal perceptions of politicians' appearances, leveraging the assumption that
these carry symbolic meanings. It also presumes familiarity with the political ideologies
associated with figures like Trump and Obama, and expects the text consumer to connect the
complex cultural references with the resources employed in the meme.
f) The meme addresses the social taboo of openly discussing sensitive ethnic and political
issues, blending satire and social comment. It uses cultural references and political critique to
humorously yet potentially divisively address power dynamics, aligning with societal norms
on such discussions. This is possible because the text consumer, as part of the social media
community, identifies the text as a meme. In this case, the meme is an “image macro,” and as
a type of genre, it is a relatively stable and culturally bound configuration of style, content
and format, which contributes to its effectiveness within its situated context.