Internet memes as maps of political events and tools for digital political participation: the case of the Costa Rican’s government Health Minister (2022-2023)
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| Autor: | |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2024 |
| Descripción: | The following article proposes internet memes as digital communication elements capable of mapping key elements in specific political events. The objective is to demonstrate that internet memes are a fundamental tool for digital political participation used by online subjects who constantly express their opinion on socio-digital platforms through “meme accounts.” To focus the discussion on a specific case, an event with great media coverage in Costa Rica has been chosen: the second appearance of the former Minister of Health, Joselyn Chacón Madrigal, before the Legislative Assembly and her subsequent resignation. This event was preceded and followed by many internet memes, however, to generate a delimitation, 2 internet meme accounts on Instagram were reviewed (“Meme Amplio” y “Memenoticias”) of which 17 memes were selected to apply an exercise of Critical Discourse Analysis. As a main result, it is shown that internet memes are “imperfect maps” with analytical limitations, regardless, they allow us to locate relevant political actors associated with the event explored, as well as eclectic messages that play with different emotional layers, being the humoristic one the most important but not the only one. In addition to this, it is found that internet memes and “meme accounts” are involved with a dimension of political participation that allows the creation of a space for the encounter of similar ideas and differentiated follow-ups to political events. It is concluded that internet memes can be seen as repertoires of connective action, which despite their limitations, contribute to political participation on the internet and the manifestation of the paradox between the ephemeral and the permanent in digital contexts. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Institución: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/58748 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/antropologia/article/view/58748 |
| Palabra clave: | Political involvement Digital culture Political memes Mapping tool Sociodigital platforms Costa Rica Involucramiento político Cultura digital Memes políticos Herramienta de mapeo Plataformas sociodigitales |