Deconstructing political myths in television advertisements of major South African political parties during elections campaign : a critical discourse analysis study

Abstract

This study argues that political television advertisements possess underlying political myths. These political myths are narratives that use different discursive practices such as verbal and visual texts to construct political narratives that either legitimise and/or delegitimise a particular political discourse. This, therefore, makes political myths ideological rather than a mere narrative. Moreover, this study argues that political myths are not mere fictional and/or imaginative narratives. Underlying political myths are presented in political television advertisements of the three main South African political parties, namely: the ANC, DA and the EFF. The political television advertisements under scrutiny were used in 2014, 2016 and 2019 national, provincial and local government elections campaigns. The main contribution of this particular study is that it is the first study of its kind to explore underlying political myths in political television advertisements of South Africa’s main political parties. To interrogate underlying political myths found in the political television advertisements, this study employed different research methods of the critical discourse analysis, namely: a three-dimensional model of discourse, PDA, DMA, CMA, DHC, SSA and MCDA. The above-mentioned research methods are inherently qualitative, critical and reveal underlying discursive practices used mainly to construct underlying political myths that legitimise and/or delegitimise a particular political discourse. Among study findings identified include that the ANC political television advertisements use different discursive practices of visual and verbal texts essentially to construct underlying political myths to ideologically legitimise the significance of the party as a liberator or the “saviour” of black people from the oppressive colonial and apartheid South Africa. Underlying the saviour myth, South Africans particularly blacks live in poverty and underdevelopment regardless of the political gains of 1994. Furthermore, because of the endemic corruption and factions within the ranks of the ANC, the party has lost integrity

and suffered severe reputational damage among South Africans. None of the selected ANC political advertisements uses discursive practices to construct conspiracy myths. Like the ANC, the DA’s selected political television advertisements use discursive practices to ideologically construct exceptional myth, master myth, transformational myth, unity myth, solidarity myth, counter and conspiracy myth. The counter myth is used primarily to delegitimise the significance of the ANC in post-1994 South Africa. Moreover, the DA uses political myth to legitimise a narrative of national unity and exceptional myth while the party is involved in scandals among others of racism and marginalisation of black people in its ranks. Opposition among others to economic empowerment of black people in South Africa. None of the DA political television advertisements uses the golden age myth. The selected EFF political television advertisements use conspiracy myth, counter myth, “us” and “them” myth, solidarity myth, transformational myth, and master myth. Like the DA, the EFF uses counter myth and conspiracy myths essentially to delegitimise the significance of the ANC-led government. Although the EFF is critical of the ANC, the party is involved in various scandals of corruption, hate speech and money laundering.