A Semiotics Analysis to the "Jiang-Wen-Ming-Shu-Xin-Feng" Political Advertising Campaign

• Main Authors: Xinyu Yang, 楊鑫宇
• Other Authors: Lih-Yun Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/zabdpc

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 新聞研究所 === 105 === By combining semiotics methods with existing research on Communist Party of China''s propaganda and Benedict Anderson''s nationalism theory, this research analyzes a political advertising campaign of CPC named Jiang-Wen-Ming-Shu-Xin-Feng, which is strongly promoted by the propaganda department. Analysis found that the advertising campaign shows the propagators'' strong preference to symbols about Chinese traditional culture in the areas of text symbol, image symbol and artistic genre symbol. In the advertising campaign, the emphasis on national identity obviously exceeds the emphasis on loyalty to the party, which reflects the changing of CPC''s propaganda strategy as a ruling party instead of a revolutionary party. In the frame of Anderson''s nationalism theory, this research shows that CPC uses a typical "official nationalism" strategy in the advertising campaign. The propagators'' purpose behind this strategy is "marketing dictatorship", which would help CPC reinforce its authority and reign, and this phenomenon is closely related to the current social environment in China that filled with strong nationalism and patriotism atmosphere. In addition, this research found that there is significant connection between the symbols frequently appeared in the advertising campaign and the social myths nowadays in China. Through analysis, researcher found that, while the dominative authority like CPC uses the existing social myths, it also produces some new social myths in propaganda. There is the two-way interaction between dominate authority and social myths. Finally, this research found that, in the area of semiology and propaganda theories'' political application, ideology doesn''t always play the dominating role. The ideologies as discursive formations in the "hegemony" are only tools used by the ideologies of existing power structure. Even contradictory discursive formations, like nationalism and communism, could be used by the dominate power''s ideology of CPC''s at the same time if they were helpful for CPC to reinforce its domination.